“For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, ‘Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.'” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Tithing is a big issue in most churches. While our power and sustaining comes from God, His provision most often comes via the money our members give. Sometimes that giving is generous. Sometimes it isn’t. (And the amount of the giving has little to do with the level of generosity it reflects.)
What all this means, is that churches need money to make ministry happen. That doesn’t sound terribly holy, but it’s no less true for that. That’s the nature of the world we live in, and while God isn’t limited to that, He tends to work within it more often than not. What this means further is that talking about giving is something all churches have to do on occasion. Read the rest…
