Addressing Two Common Christian Resistances to Effective Giving

Claim: The salvation of a soul outweighs any effort to improve someone's living conditions.

(James 2:15-17)

"If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." 

James says that our faith is incomplete, even dead, if we don’t address the material conditions of others. It is not enough to wish for someone’s spiritual fulfillment if we don’t address their physical needs. 

Alleviating someone’s physical misery is a powerful expression of Christlike love and demonstrates to non-believers the compassion and respect that Christians show to the world. Christ does not address only the spiritual needs of His people. Many of his miracles addressed physical needs, like feeding the five thousand, healing lepers, people with blood diseases, giving sight to the blind. Being Christlike means addressing people’s spiritual needs, and their physical needs. 

Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37)

“And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Jesus’ answer to “who is my neighbour” is not the person living next door to us. Instead, it is someone on the road. Jesus’ paradigmatic neighbour is found in a transitional place, where one doesn’t expect a second encounter. It is the Samaritan’s mercy for the stranger that makes them neighbours, not geographical proximity. We learn that loving one’s neighbour means loving people that we don’t live next to, by alleviating their physical misery. Through the internet, we have the power to love our neighbours in a radical way. We are fortunate to be Christians living in a time with such access to our neighbours. We can cast a wider net with our love than ever before. 

(2 Corinthians 8:13–15)

“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.”

Our material wealth is extremely relevant to our spiritual life. God has given us wonderful blessings, and stewardship over incredible material wealth. Through Paul, God calls us to redistribute our wealth, not because we are undeserving, or because we should suffer, but for the sake of fairness. We are stewards of God’s wealth - not its owners - and we should act accordingly. (Deuteronomy 8:17–18): “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

(Matthew 25:35–40)

"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me... Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." 

When we fill the physical needs of the poor, we are loving Jesus.

Claim: I don’t need to donate money to charity, because I already tithe. 

Supporting the financial needs of my church is a duty, rather than a charitable act. It is akin to paying my rent and house bills. When I tithe, I am supporting my own community, maintaining and improving the resources that I have a shared stake in. This is fundamentally different from a charitable act. Charity means a selfless love of God and my neighbour. While supporting my community is a dutiful, wonderful thing, it is not a selfless act of love. It is in my interest to keep the lights on in my church. 

Traditionally, tithing - which means 1/10th in Hebrew - meant giving 10% of one’s agricultural yield to the Levitical priesthood, who weren’t allocated any land on which to farm. But the Bible strongly indicates that our giving should go far beyond this. The Bible speaks of the redistribution of all possessions amongst our community, even selling all possessions to give to the poor. We are not bound to view 10% as the ceiling of generosity, nor do we need to limit ourselves to supporting the clergy, especially when we have the means to go far beyond this, without reducing our material wellbeing in any way. 

Consider that on average, around 50% of churchtithing budgets go to staff salaries, 30% on operations, 10 % on community programs and 10% on charity. If I tithe 10% of my income, then roughly ~1% of my income goes to charity.

There are countless scriptural encouragements to be charitable. To name some:

•  “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” (Luke 3:10–11). This strongly suggests that my wealth is not my own, especially the surplus over and above what I can use. 

• “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.” (Proverbs 19:17)

• “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.” (Deuteronomy 15:7-8)

• “Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.” (Proverbs 14:31)

• “Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble, the Lord delivers him.” (Psalms 41:1)