Anonymous vs. Non-Anonymous Giving

[Guest]

Livingink,

That's quite an indictment of "the body of Christ", the church. It can't be trusted! what in the world was Jesus thinking when he established it? There is ample New Testament evidence of the church acting collectively to help the poor.

How are those on the mission field supported, and who knows what they are doing with the money anyway?

Homer,
I think Livingink was making a distinction between the "local church" and the body of Christ. I know that my local church spends the money people give it in questionable ways sometimes. We have one of those fog machines. How does that edifiy the body?

Also...when I give to my church it's usually by check -- with my name, address, phone number, and bank account all printed on it. How is that anonymous? I guess I could throw a wad of cash into the offering plate, but that would probably catch the attention of the people around me, no?


In an earlier post you said:

An additional consideration comes to mind. If we decide where to give money and do not give to or through the church (the body of Christ) are we giving it to God? When we decide just where it should go? I think perhaps when we alone determine where the money should go or we designate it for a certain cause or project we are spending the money on what we want.

I'm not sure what you mean. Do you mean that if we send money directly to someone on the mission field, or provide food for a poor family we are, or might be, doing it selfishly?

[Guest]

Folks,

You both make good points. In a recent meeting with our "local church's" District Superintendent 2 different people paraphrase him as having said that we should follow the denomination's doctrine and not worry about what the Bible says. I have absolutely no intention of giving any more money to such a denomination and I believe that proper stewardship would back up my decision. Nor would I recommend giving money to missionaries if I have no inkling of how they are spending the money. Giving the money to Simon Peter was justified as he was a great apostle and overseer of the early church. Giving to a false teacher is unwarranted.

With respect,

livingink

[Guest]

Michelle & Livingink,

What's a fog machine? Sounds wierd. Thought we were getting "near the edge" when we got Powerpoint! The congregation we attend is totally independent; we send no money to any body and there is no one who has any authority over us but Christ.

Over the years I have seen occasions where people have needed substantial help and some people were reluctant to help because they felt the persons, although repentant, had been irresponsible. Collectively, the local church made the decision to help (correctly, I believe). In one case the church then provided a capable person for oversight and counselling regarding finances. Without the church it is very unlikely that individuals woiuld have taken complete care of the need.

Some times in ignorance we give money that actually does harm by enabling the continuation of poor decisions. In many cases the collective knowledge of the church can facilitate a decision that promotes good stewardship. My wife recently finished reading a book by two Christians who lived with the homeless in various cities for six months and saw first hand how they lived. Their advice was to never give them money. Give food or a gift card from a restuarant.

I believe that we can indeed be giving money to what we want rather than what God wants. People who are popular, our friends, well liked, or attractive are likely to get our attention more readily than those who are not.

Regarding giving money for projects, a person desired to have a nice steeple on a church building. A fund was established. Did those who designated gifts for the steeple project give to the Lord or buy themselves a steeple? I can't say. But I do know they determined exactly what the money was used for.

We give by check also. Where we attend they are very discreet with the information. I was an elder for many years and had no idea what anyone gave. (The town I grew up in had a large Presbyterian church which looked like a replica of Independence Hall, with fireplaces in all classrooms. People who didn't tithe received a bill demanding that they pay up or be kicked out!) We probably should attend a church we feel practices good stewardship. I too question some of the expenditures, but that's only my opinion.

Actually I think when Jesus said to "not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing" (impossible?) He had in mind having an attitude where we would give and not even remember our good deeds.

When we support the local mission by check its as good as anonymous; we do not personally know anyone there - oops, now YOU know!

[Guest]

God loves a cheerful giver!

I send a check to various ministries and give little
to church I attend, you figure it out!

[Guest]

I need to make sure that I'm understanding a concept. As Christians, do we see everything we own as already belonging to God and God installing us as stewards of those possessions or do we own things independent of God while deciding to give God offerings from time to time? I'm attempting to compare Matthew 25:14-30 re: servants/talents with Acts 5:1-4 re: Ananias owning a piece of land then having power over the proceeds of the sales price of that land. Hopefully, this is not an invalid comparison.

livingink