Beyond Obligation

How do you feel when someone asks you to give? Not when you read about giving, not when you think about giving in the abstract. When someone looks you in the eye and says, "can you give?"

If you are like most people, there is a twinge. A moment of resistance. A calculation in your head. A weighing of your resources against the ask. It is not that you do not want to give. It is that the asking feels like pressure.

I want to talk about that today. Because I think the way we approach giving in the church has gotten it backwards. We have made it about obligation when it should be about worship.

The Wrong Motivation

Let me name some of the wrong motivations for giving. See if any of these sound familiar.

Guilt. "I should give because I have been given so much." That is not a bad thought, but it is not the right foundation. Giving out of guilt is not worship. It is penance.

Fear. "I better give or God will not bless me." That is even worse. That is transactional. That treats God like a vending machine. Put in the money, get out the blessing.

Obligation. "I go to this church, so I should give." That is the minimum. That is keeping up appearances. That is not generosity. That is membership dues.

Peer pressure. "Everyone else is giving, so I should too." That is comparison. That is competition. That is not about Kingdom impact. That is about not looking bad.

All of these motivations are wrong. Not because the giving is wrong, but because the motivation is wrong. And when the motivation is wrong, the giving becomes hollow.

The Right Motivation

So what is the right motivation? What should drive our giving?

Worship. That is the word. When we give, we should give because it is an act of worship. Because we are thanking God for what He has given us. Because we are participating in the Kingdom. Because we are expressing our love for the One who first loved us.

Look at what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8. He is talking about the Macedonian churches, and here is what he says about their giving: "For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord's people."

Pleaded for the privilege. That is worship. That is joy. That is giving not because you have to, not because you should, not because anyone asked, but because you cannot wait to participate in what God is doing.

That is the goal. That is the standard. Not obligation. Joy.

How to Get There

So how do we make the shift? How do we move from compulsion to worship? Here are a few thoughts.

First, start with gratitude. Before you give, spend time thanking God for what He has given you. Not what He is going to give you. What He has already given. The cross. The resurrection. The Holy Spirit. Your life. Your breath. Your today. When you start with gratitude, giving becomes a response, not an obligation.

Second, ask what God wants to do through your giving. Instead of thinking about what you have to give, ask what God wants to do. What is He leading you to support? What is He stirring in your heart? When you give to what He is doing, it becomes worship.

Third, give until it costs you something. The widow's mite was significant because it was everything she had. True worship costs something. It is sacrificial. Not reckless, not foolish, but willing to let go.

The Big Picture

Let me zoom out for a moment. What is the point of all of this? Why does any of this matter?

Because the way we handle money is a window into our hearts. Because where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also. Because the church is supposed to be a demonstration of a different economy. A Kingdom economy. A economy of grace and generosity and radical sharing.

When the church gets money right, she becomes a force for transformation in the world. When she gets it wrong, she becomes just another institution. Just another business. Just another club with dues.

I want the church to get it right. I want us to be a people who give with joy. Who give with worship. Who give because we cannot help it.

Tomorrow is the final day. We are going to talk about what the church is supposed to look like. The vision of radical generosity that Scripture paints. The Kingdom community as it was meant to be.

See you tomorrow.