A Cheerful Giver

From the Salvation Army, you're listening to Wonderful Words of Life. Welcome back to Wonderful Words of Life. I'm Bernie Dake. And I'm Cheryl Gillum.

And we're glad you're here. Well, last week, Mike talked about generosity by being the recipient of someone else's gift. Today we talk about being a cheerful giver and that our offerings, our donations, and our tithes are an act of worship. This is not a popular subject to tackle for pastors, but when we truly believe that all we have, every good and perfect gift, comes from above, then we understand that it was God's to begin with, and we are now stewards of those gifts.

Absolutely. And I think that God gives us wisdom to steward those gifts. We've talked about wisdom from the very beginning, and that's, I believe, an important component of what we're talking about when we talk about stewardship and whether it's how we spend our money on the necessities, but also giving to other people and what that looks like. And for me, I know that I've really just learned to listen to God.

I mean, I've asked Him, how do you want me to intentionally sow into your kingdom, to bless someone else, and to be a cheerful giver? Yeah. And for me, it's a celebration when we're able to give back. Literally, we talked last week about a lot of people wanting to be even anonymous when they're doing their giving and I'm okay with that. Yeah, I am too. Definitely. I don't want to receive the accolades from that because it is all glory to God for what He's given.

Amen. This week is our final episode in this series with Mike Harris, and we want to thank him for coming on the show, making the trip to Atlanta and sharing his wisdom with us on this subject. If you're looking for more resources and some professional advice on your finances, especially when it comes to retirement, we do want to mention that we had planned on having a representative from AIG Retirement Services join us, but COVID-19 had other plans. You can learn more about them and get in touch with someone at valic.com. That's v-a-l-i-c.com. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Welcome back, everybody. We've already introduced Mike several times. He's our friend.

Hopefully you consider him friend. He's a child of God, a Salvation Army officer, a husband, the father, a very accomplished tuba player, if you didn't know, but his role as the Salvation Army's finance secretary in the state of Texas lends him a bit of expertise as it relates to financial things. His heart as a follower of God gives him some biblical perspectives on that sort of expertise. He's continuing to share with us in this series about all things financial. Mike, today we get to talk more about perhaps the giver, not the recipient, but the giver. As someone who makes money at a job, I get an opportunity to give. You've already talked to us about the idea of tithe, let that being the first portion that comes out of what we're going to give, giving the Lord our best.

Where do you want to take us this week specifically? The tithe is a very interesting subject. It's amazing how many, dare I say, Salvation Army officers avoid this subject because it's controversial because it becomes very personal.

You're touching what people say is something that's mine. Well, the truth is we believe that everything is God's, that we are stewards of what he has, and the way that I interpret tithing in scripture is it's a response to God and it's the giving of the first fruits. First fruits are biblical concepts. All the way through the Old Testament you see the idea of giving him the first fruits, not the leftovers.

Read about Kay and Abel, you get a few ideas there. But one of the remarkable stories in scripture to me when it talks about giving, if I use the word tithe, we quickly think 10%. I think that giving is way bigger than that. Gosh, if you can give 20%, all to the good.

Don't be held to the 10%, just don't go below it. But it's the story of the widow's mite. One of the things that we forget to do with the widow's mite perhaps is to look at the context.

What's going on when she gives that money? And if you were to read the story of the widow's mite, certainly Mark's account of it, you'll see that it's after the triumphal entry. So Jesus is now in Jerusalem just days away from his crucifixion. And so what you've got is every possible person in any sort of level of leadership, the high priest, the Pharisees, the scribes, the teachers of the law, he's public enemy number one. So the context in Mark 12 is all these people trying to catch Jesus out. So you've got the chief priests. After Jesus tells the parable of the tenants, you've got the chief priests. They're looking for ways to arrest Jesus. The Pharisees come in. They question him on imperial taxes. It's when Jesus says, give to Caesar what is Caesar's. Then the Sadducees come in.

They talk about marriage and the resurrection, try and challenge him on that particular subject. Then the teachers of the law. I mean, all these people, one after the other, they come in. Yeah, what is the greatest commandment?

They're all trying to catch him out. And that particular thing that Jesus, by the way, to warn people about the teachers of the law. And what's happening as he's there, speaking as a rabbi, people are putting money into the temple treasury.

It's been happening this whole time. And suddenly along comes this widow and puts in her portion. And suddenly Jesus stops everything. If you read it, it says he called his disciples to him, stops everything. And he pulls the disciples to him. And he says, did you see that?

Did you see what just happened? I've been watching people all day long giving, making a big show of their wealth, giving only out of their wealth. But this widow just came and put in a mite and it was everything she had. And what does that tell you about how Jesus feels about giving? This was to stop the precious moment for him. He notices what we give. He notices our attitude when we give. He notices who gives sparingly. He notices who gives generously. That should not be lost on any one of us.

Giving and certainly tithing is very relevant to Jesus and he is paying attention. I love your perspective on that story. And the idea that the widow gave all that she had.

Well, yeah. And you know, the key word in that I think is the word widow because again knowing scripture, we'll recognize the widow has no means of support. Her support is gone. So, you know, that's why they would leave fields so people could glean the fields at the end so the widows would have something to eat. Yet she released what little she had.

Just let it go. Trusting God with it. Trusting he'd do something with it. For the stories you wish you kind of knew the next chapter. What happened when she went home? What was there for her? Because I'm very sure that God did not leave her to die, if you will. I'm pretty sure that some wonderful things happened to the widow. But we don't have to know that piece of the story. What we have to know is that Jesus' story is relative, relevant and important. And we trust the Lord to use what we give him.

Yes. There's a great hymn in the Salvation Army that was written by one of our musicians, William Himes. He took these words that his wife on her deathbed in a sense inspired him to write and they're simply all that I am, all I can be, all that I have, all that is me. Accept and use, Lord, as you would choose right now today. And in the case of the widow's might, she gave all that she had.

Absolutely. And as our listeners, our friends, we pray that as you choose to give and as you consider giving the Lord the first fruits, that you would find a peace in that giving and know that the Lord will continue to provide as he sees fit in your own life. Amen. We pray that you've been blessed by this series and this episode.

We've got one left for you to join us in with Mike. So come on back next week and hear what more he has to say about all things financial, particularly from a scriptural point of view. May God bless you. The Salvation Army's mission, Doing the Most Good, means helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army. Visit salvationarmyusa.org to offer your support.

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