• "Annual Sermon on Giving - Here Beginneth the 18th Year"
• Sermon for the Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity
• November 16, 2003
• The Reverend Stephen C. Scarlett

Churches use various methods to obtain pledges for the annual budget. There is the "every member canvas," in which reluctant canvassers pursue reluctant canvassees in an attempt to get everyone to "give just a little bit more" to make the budget work. Some churches use an annual slogan as a motivation for giving. Some rely on guilt. Others beg.

Our method is simple. I preach a sermon on giving. A copy of that sermon, along with a pledge card, is sent to each of our members. We ask that the pledge cards be returned in a timely fashion to aid the budget process. This is how we have done it for seventeen years. Here begineth year eighteen.

In a sermon, Fr. Miller once said that the word "preach" comes from a Latin word which means, "to say again." I never have anything particularly new to say about giving. But, thankfully, my responsibility is not say new things. It is to say again what is timeless and true.

The Bible talks about two kinds of giving. There is the regular return to God of a portion of the increase he has given us. And then there are periodic offerings known as "freewill offerings" that are given for specific purposes. The regular return of the increase, known as the tithe, supported the priests and the temple ministry in the Old Testament and now supports the ministry of the church.

The first giving story in the Bible is the story of Cain and Abel. According to Genesis 4, Abel offered God, "the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof" The patriarch Jacob pledged to God saying, Off all that thou givest me, I will surely give the tenth to thee" (Genesis 29:22). God incorporated the tithe into the Law of Moses. God commanded the people of Israel to give the first tenth of their income to support the temple ministry (cf. Leviticus 27:30, 32; Numbers 18:24; 2 Chronicles 31:4-5).

In the New Testament, Jesus, while vilifying the Pharisees for their lack of justice, mercy and faith, nonetheless said that they were right to be meticulous in their practice of tithing (Matthew 23:23).

There are two aspects of biblical tithing. One is that the tithe is an offering of the first part. We honor God before we begin to take care our own needs. God gets the first check. This what makes it an offering of faith. When we give God what he is due first, off the top, this shows that we really trust him to meet our needs.

As it is with all things in the spiritual life, if we do not give the first part to God, it is never there at the end. If we do not make prayer, worship and stewardship the first priority, there is never time for worship and prayer and there is never money left to give. Consequently, a serious commitment to Jesus Christ requires that we reorder our commitments so that what belongs to God comes first. Then and only then do the rest of the things in life begin to fall into place. As Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these thing shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).

The second aspect of tithing concerns the amount. Tithe means literally "tenth." The biblical tithe was a measuring out of a tenth part of the increase. It is my experience that the mere mention of ten percent causes some consternation. It seems that are a few reasons for this. Some, though they profess faith, do not really believe that God is the source of all that they have and, thus, resist any notion that God has a significant claim on their wealth. Some people do not have much money and are genuinely concerned whether they can afford to tithe. Some people have a lot of money, are quite fond of it, and are, thus, quite upset about the notion that God should get the first tenth.

For some strange reason, it is harder, in general, for those who make $1,000,000 to part with the first $100,000 than it is for those who make $50,000 to part with the first $5,000-even though it is, in fact, easier for wealthier people to tithe. I think this is so because the more we have the more we become attached to it and are tempted to think, "This is mine."

Despite the discomfort it causes, I preach about tithing because there is something mysterious and wonderful in the experience of Christians who tithe that validates the practice. I have heard so many common stories to the effect that "When I started tithing, things started happening; God provided in new and magnificent ways." Even those who tithe and suffer financial setbacks seem to see the tithe as the one thing they still in a real sense have-treasure laid up in heaven (cf. Acts 10:4).

We should grow in the grace of giving just as we grow in other areas of faith and obedience. Those who do not yet tithe can grow in giving towards the tithe. God is faithful and will honor the steps we take in faith-and faith, genuine trust and the desire to obey, is the key to blessed giving. As Hebrew says, "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice that Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous" (11:4).

God blesses faithful giving in accordance with the principle of reciprocity. Jesus said, "The measure you give will be the measure you get back" (Luke 6:38, RSV). St. Paul says, "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully" (2 Corinthians 9:6). John Bunyan summed it up when he wrote, "There was a man, some called him mad. The more he gave, the more he had." The principle applies to all forms of giving and service, but the Bible is clear that is applies to money also.

We do what we do at St. Matthew's because so many people have been faithful stewards of what God has given them. And God has blessed us in accordance with his promises in the Bible. As Malachi says, "Bring the...tithes into the storehouse... and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing" (Malachi 3:10, RSV). And as Proverbs says, "Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; so shall your barns be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine" (3:9)-a promise literally fulfilled at St. Matthews.

Thus, we should offer the first and best to God because it is the biblical and faithful thing to do. We should offer the first and best to God because it is a source of great blessing for each of us personally, for the church as a community and for all who benefit from our ministry. But, above all, we should offer our first and best to God because doing so puts our hearts in the right place. As Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart by also" (Matthew 6:21).