We live in a society that recognizes achievement. We get credit for doing things right. It starts early with gold stars, report cards, and the coveted “classroom prize box” that my children get to raid if they have good behavior for a month. Who knew that a .75 cent orange-plastic yo-yo would be such a great motivator?! This continues on in life as you get paid for your expertise in a particular field, or in other ways such as having good relationships when you treat others well.
When I write my tithe check at church I am recognized as well…by the IRS!! I have the ability to write off the amount at the end of the year, the same as if I was giving to any other “non-profit” entity. There are obvious tax advantages to having many write-offs, so I pay my tithe with a check and add the total amount to my taxes as a deduction.
A few months ago, I had a day off of work. I decided to stop in and see my pastor, which I rarely get to do during the week. Pastor Andrewasked if I could help count the tithes from the weekend, and one of the staff members gave me the rundown on how our church receives the money. If it’s cash in the plate, it’s tracked as cash, all the checks are counted together, and cash in an envelope has its own category. I remember opening a blank envelope containing a large amount of cash. I said “Hey, this person just lost the tax advantage of paying with a check. They could have at least put their name on the envelope so we could have tracked their tax deductions this year.” My pastor replied, “Well, they must not be concerned about getting credit for their contribution. For that individual, giving is about their relationship with God and not about gaining approval from anyone.”
My pastor says things like that from time to time, in a matter-of-fact way, that stick in my head like super glue.
I was reminded of that discussion the other morning while talking with a friend. During the last several weeks he has been let down by several “Bible Toting Christians” (his term). My friend has been financially blessed. Not rich like some, but comfortable. His kids are involved in a successful, private school football program, and he wanted to bless them. He spent several thousand dollars on some new equipment for their team and was asked to go to lunch by the Dean of the school. My friend thought for sure that the Dean was going to thank him for his generosity, and what he got instead was a lecture on how “NOW the soccer and tennis parents want new equipment too.” Apparently the Dean received some angry phone calls from a handful of parents. The Dean suggested my friend should pay for some additional equipment for these other programs also. My friend pictured himself using the “church going” Dean as a Blocking Dummy.
He said “Jason, I’m going to get a tee shirt printed that says Jesus, protect me from your followers”. (He is one). He talked about how this situation left such a bad taste in his mouth that he was considering not giving anything to anyone ever again.
In this instance, my friend wasn’t seeking unjust recognition. He was hoping for a simple “thank you”, and felt like he had been slighted. We talked about the spiritual aspect of giving, and much like I am tied to the tax advantages of my tithe, he is tied to the recognition and approval of doing a good deed for his community and his kids. We talked about how much more satisfying it would be if we gave without expectations.
Gave for the sake of showing Christ to others.
Instead, many times the act of giving is tied to the idea of getting something in return. Even the expectation of “thank you” that was not received can cause significant frustration.
Recently our LifeGroup was challenged to do a micro-mission to give our time or money to someone that couldn’t pay us back. This could be something that we do for someone anonymously, or doing something for someone with no means of repayment. This task has proven a bit more difficult than we all imagined. Our LifeGroup has a tendancy to want to help each other, and there are certainly some people in our group that could use some help.
As we move forward with our micro-mission, my challenge to you would be to do the same. As Pastor Andrew challenged my thinking, I would challenge you to not be concerned about getting credit for your contribution. This week, give to simply strengthen your relationship with God, and not to seek approval or credit from anyone.
