“We Give Thee but Thine Own”

Deuteronomy 14:22-27

Today’s text is set within the latter half of a chapter dealing with various offerings and reasons for receiving them. One of the reasons for giving was to support the Levites, who had no land of their own. Another was to put back resources for support of the poor among them.

This form of thought spills over into chapter fifteen’s description of the Jubilee Year in which all property was to revert back to its original owners and all debts were to be forgiven, a Biblical mandate for the redistribution of the nation’s wealth. The just and righteous life demanded by God of his people involved economic justice. And it was, among other things, various forms of economic injustice that brought severe judgment upon Israel.

All of this was set within Moses’ final sermon to the Israelites before they crossed over Jordan to take possession of the Canaan Land. His sermon reiterated what God demanded of his people. It spelled out those pagan practices that God forbade his people to adopt. It was chock full of a cause and effect theology of blessings and curses. Do this and live. Do that and die. Do this and prosper. Do that and suffer.

In Moses’ sermon as well as the Holiness Code found other places in the Pentateuch directions for all kinds of tithes and offerings are spelled out. All this stuff can be quite boring, not to mention confusing, to the modern Christian. We know that we have been set free from the tyranny of the law. We also know that Jesus made it quite clear that he came not to abolish the laws and prophets but to fulfill them.

So what do we do with all this stuff in the Old Testament about tithing? What should we tithe? When should we tithe? How should we tithe? Are Christians even required to tithe? Those are good questions, questions that cannot be answered in detail within the confines of a twenty or thirty minute sermon. To really get at them, especially in terms of Old Testament expectations we need to join in an extended study of the latter chapters of Exodus and the entire books of Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.

The major theme that we need to pursue is God’s creation and ownership of everything that is. We cannot call anything that we have ours. Everything we have is a gracious gift from God, and we are but stewards of it. As such stewards we are to use those gifts in ways that are just, righteous, prudent, and wise. They are not ours to waste or abuse. They are intended to be shared: with God and others.

To reinforce this I’ll now share some quotes from various commentators on today’s text. In the words of G. Ernest Wright, “Since God was considered the owner of the land, it was believed proper that he should be given a share of its produce.” Roy Lee Honeycutt wrote, “Whatever the era, a person gives [him- or herself] through giving [his or her] possessions.”

In their shared commentary Henry Shires and Pierson Palmer put it this way, To make the support of the Lord’s work the first charge to one’s income and to pay it gladly has always been a mark of [the godly]… the larger principle underlying tithing is that all belongs to the Lord, that we but return what he has given.”

A final quote, this one from William Ford Nichols, contains the most important message of them all: “We need to give, more than the Lord needs our gifts.” It’s real easy to get hooked into all this stewardship and tithing stuff at a legalistic level, as in: “God demands a tithe so we must give it. Truly godly people tithe. It is our duty to support the work of the church. If we don’t people will think we’re not real Christians. If I don’t tithe I’ll go to hell.”

If any of you are thinking of giving or tithing in those terms, please stop. Giving to support the work of Christ and his church is not some externally imposed duty. Nor is to be thought of as a burden. Tithing is never to be driven by guilt. Giving is an act of praise and thanksgiving. Tithing is a way of saying, “I love you” to God in response to knowing that it is he who first loved us. Giving is to be an exercise in joy. Tithing is an act of worship and adoration.

At the risk of being redundant I will repeat this truth: God doesn’t need our gifts. Anything and everything we might give God is already his. We don’t give because God needs to receive. We give because we need to give; just as we need to worship and pray. Tithing benefits us.

How so? Giving to God liberates us from our cultural bondage to things. Giving helps us step off the treadmill of debt that we accumulate as we try to keep up with the Jones’. Giving reminds us that we, unlike the rich young ruler, are not possessed by our possessions. Giving reinforces our belief that God will provide, maybe not everything we want but surely everything we really need.

During and after the past two stewardship seasons I’ve received feedback about how some folks wish I wouldn’t talk about money so much. In recent weeks I may have spoken more bluntly about financial stewardship than some of you think I should. In recent weeks I’ve spoken rather boldly about what I have named holy recklessness and holy imagination as they pertain to financial stewardship. I’ve been up front about my dream for more powerful worship and my vision of changes that need to be made to our building. I have tried my best to exercise pastoral sensitivity. I have worked hard at not being a nag. I hope and pray that I have spoken the truth in love.

I am aware that the economic situation is bad and growing worse. I’m sure some of you who depend on investment income have been taking a beating of late. In some ways this is probably not the best year for me to be stressing increased giving. But increasing giving to the church is a lot like having a baby. If we wait until the conditions are right we’ll never do either.

One of the necessary by-products of our present economic downturn is that folks are forced to define necessities and luxuries. People are being careful about going further in debt. We are exercising some wisdom in how we budget our money. We are reconsidering our priorities. Like it or not we’re finally dealing with financial realities.

This may be the best time to speak of stewardship because people are actually exercising it in their daily lives. I can think of no better time for Christians to count their blessings and reassess their priorities. I can think of no better time for Christians to prayerfully consider what matters and what doesn’t. I can think of no better time for a church to prioritize the various facets of its ministry and then budget accordingly.

This coming Thursday is Thanksgiving Day in America. We will gather with family and friends to give thanks for our blessings. Following this sermon we’ll have an opportunity to stand and give thanks to God for his acts of grace, mercy, and generosity. Following that we will collect our financial pledges for 2009. This too will provide each of us with an opportunity to say thank you to God. Just like every other part of today’s service the collection of pledges will be a time of worship and praise.

Every Sunday morning we say together that God is good all the time and all the time God is good. Every Sunday we sing the words “we give thee but thine own” and “praise God from whom all blessings flow.” Today we get to do more than just sing. We get to show God in a tangible way just how really thankful we are.

Does God need our tithes, offerings, and pledges – does God need our praises and adoration? No! But for the sake of our spiritual lives we need to offer them up to him. Amen.