“I’ve never seen a hearse with a U-Haul trailer attached to it.” These words were spoken by Ruth Graham, the wife of evangelist, Billy Graham. Her point was that we cannot take our possessions with us when we pass. The only thing that will matter when we die is our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, along with how we have used our gifts and blessings for the kingdom. Salvation is a result of the first, rewards or lack thereof will be the result of the second. And yet, so many I have met and ministered to throughout the years have not seemed to grasp this reality.
Let me give you a little context. For nearly twenty-five years, I have been a pastor. During these years, I shepherded all kinds of people; younger, older, richer, poorer, Caucasian, African American, Asian, and Hispanic. As a result, I discovered many different attitudes when it comes to money along the way. In particular, I noticed that those who possessed the least amount of money were less engrossed by it. Though the amount they gave to the church certainly did not rival the amounts of wealthier members, they possessed a humility and serenity that the former did not. They seemed to understand that God was their provider, and that he could be trusted not only with their daily provision, but more importantly with their lives.
Contrast this with members who were wealthier. I must be careful here, because certainly not all church members I pastored who were blessed with wealth were engrossed by it. There were some who were as humble as their fellow members whose income was lower. However, there can be no doubt that with many, the more money they made, the more positions in the church they seemed to hold. The more power in the church they were given. These members by and large were also more vocal about the amount of “their” money given to the church’s budget, or to items of special interest. Very rarely was their giving done in secret. They wanted me to know about “their” generosity.
And yet, sometimes I wondered. Were these wealthier members really giving ten percent of their income? If so, why weren’t we making church budget? Why hadn’t I nor any of the other church staff received a raise in several years? As a rule of thumb, I never had access to the amounts of money a person gave, and this was for good reason. I didn’t want to be guilty of treating people differently because our church depended upon their money. I wanted to treat all church members the same. Still, I pondered whether tithing becomes harder when incomes reach certain levels. Does a multimillionaire really give hundreds of thousands of dollars to their church each year? Or does the fact that they give larger amounts of money than less endowed members justify them not giving a full tithe?
Jesus offers another view of money, which runs contrary to what happens in too many of our churches presently. Luke describes it this way:
As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
The point seems to be clear. The widow who puts in an extremely small amount of money, only two mites, gives more in God’s eyes than all who put in larger amounts before her. Her sacrificial giving is an act of faith, an admission of her complete dependency upon God. Which raises a question. Do we possess the same attitude of the widow today? Do we view everything we have been given as a gift from God? Does our giving reflect the surrendered life he has called us to live? What does your pocketbook say about your heart today?