"What If I Didn't Give to Other Funds...." 2 Corinthians 9: 1-5; 1 Corinthians 16: 1-4

A continuation of our stewardship series based on the question, "What if I didn't give...."  This week we are reflecting on "what if I didn't give to other funds..."

Really should be "special gifts," I suppose.  The question calls into mind two situations:  people who choose to use their wills to leave bequests to the church and the reality that many of us who give for God's work through the church also give to other non-profits doing good work.

On reason to leave a tithe of one's estate, or a specific bequest is to witness to one's faith and witness to God.  When we remember the church in our wills, we announce to everyone that we want to honor God and that we value the work God is doing through the church.  Even as we declare, "from dust we have come, and to to dust we shall return" those gifts are being given to the one to whom we are returning!

Does the gift I make to Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary or United Way count as my tithe?  Both are hopefully supporting ministries that serve God's purposes.  I'm not sure I have a clear answer to that question.  I do know that in Paul's second letter to the Corinthians he emphasizes the special offering that is being sent to the saints in Jerusalem who are struggling.   Biblical scholars tell us that for Paul this gift is above and beyond the giving of the tithe.  That's a high standard.

I do know that one reason Paul challenges them to give to the special offering is the way it connects them to the Corinthians and binds them together.  When we give to groups (maybe not the $25 gift that is easier to give than to say "no"), it does create a connection that generally leads to our being more connected with that group.

I'm pretty sure that if every Presbyterian only gave to his or her church and did not support other charitable groups, there would be some non-profits that would struggle.

My flippant answer might be - "When you get to the point that you are giving 10% to the church and to other groups, then we can talk about what that means!"  I suspect that for many of us we are not giving 10% if we add up all our giving.  And, I bet that many of us consider our income to be the amount of the check we receive each month, and forget about the money we put back into our 401Ks or our investment income.

Bottom line -- giving to other groups can support them, help us connect with them, and can help us become more generous in our giving.