3 Things Pastors Don’t Say About Giving (Part 3)

By Dan Carpenter on 9/9/11

Pastors walk a hard line with giving. They have to. If they don’t, people get offended. And our pastors can’t afford that - because they serve a much bigger picture.

That’s a difficult position & a heavy responsibility.  That’s being a pastor.

However, I’m not a pastor.

I’m like you - a disciple. A wannabe pastor at best. A poseur. Thus, I feel not just free but responsible to share the following - what God has put on my heart as I’ve pondered our pastors, giving, and truth: the top 3 things I think pastor’s DON’T say about giving. We already covered 1 & 2 (VOTE TO STOP NEUTERING PASTORS! & GIVING IS YOUR FAITH - NAKED respectively) so if you missed them be sure to catch up. Next stop, number 3…

3. GOD IS NOT A BANK & GIVING IS NOT AMWAY
Sometimes we need a push. We need one because spiritual evolution is a brutal process with growth, change, and accountability around every corner. It’s a ‘mission impossible’ scenario for anyone in any time– but it’s especially difficult for us here and now. Why?

Because giving is the single most important teaching in the life already saved – and we just happened to be born into the richest society to ever exist, a self machine that values wealth and possession as freedom and status – ideas that are in perfect opposition to the teaching of Christ, the exact wrong culture to nurture givers. The spiritual journey that starts there and journeys all the way to the ability view all money as God’s and whatever money we find in our hands as his will alone… well, let’s just say that’s an awful long walk.  And the first step is to start giving – to make a leap of faith and put your money where your mouth is.

Towards that end, when we’re first learning to give, the principles of financial investment are really important. The push of ‘cant loose!’ can be a good way to encourage people to climb out on the limb of faith and give for the first few times.  It helps us take a chance & to test our faith - to learn with training wheels on.

Which leaves us with a challenge - taking off the training wheels.

If you leave the wheels on, it can be corrupting - reinforcing the desire for money, to amass possessions, instead freeing you from it. How do I know? Easy -  I lived it!  It took me five full years to get past ‘giving to receive.’ Five years of looking for checks from God - never realizing I was trying to ride at full tilt hampered with training wheels. The problem was that I didn’t know they were training wheels - I thought, when I bothered to think, that this odd design with the little wheels at the back was just the way it worked. And why shouldn’t I? Why shouldn’t you for that matter?

If God’s intent and rationale for creation is supposed to be detectable or decipherable from inside then Ive missed it utterly. A closed loop we understand little of -  our ability to infer God from physics emerges only in hyper complexity - any guesses at his choices exactly that - guesses and nothing more. Huge on a scale we dont comprehend & empty in a way that enfeebles our capacities, our physical home - creation -is just as alien to us as God’s deepest intent: with the details not yet revealed and guessing a game one is unlikely to win. For myself, i find it likely best to make an effort in the face of this raw ‘creation’ - with its emptiness and nature to remember we are of the created and not present as creator. That we are the product - a part of a total vision - not the artist or the owner of the intent. As such, it may be that some things are and will ever be simply beyond us.  I don’t choose to presume much on that score: especially not as a reflection of the society we’ve built - its rules, structures, customs, and ethics have no power over the larger whole - reality is quite safe from our opinions.

So, please tell me - where in all that does it become self evident how the universe is hard-wired, allowing me to deduce Gods intent in the absence of teaching? Assumptions are things to be careful of - especially in matters of faith. And yet… I do wish I’d learned much of this sooner. I’m a student - one who loves questions - but i also don’t waste time. And believe it or not - what knowledge I had of giving at that point seemed consistent, self contained and as logical as the next thing. So why didn’t i know? It comes back to culture and the church - ensuring that our church reflects conscious values, not cultural leanings. I wound up there because a) we dont allow our pastors to teach the hard lessons and speak on giving with any tone but that of a cheery financial strategist (see part 1), striping our pastors of the voice of authority so that b) when they do try, going as far as they can without calling us out, we collectively refuse to recognize how critical giving is; we enable each-other to take a pass by allowing ourselves and those around us to easily avoid it. We can do so because we don’t accept giving as the perfect measure of faith it is (see part 2) and our pastors are thus left with little to talk about besides investment and financial reward - the training wheels. Because we won’t let them go. We’re far too threatened by the big boy bike.

Because the big boy bike means big kid rules - which means some hard questions, open accountability, and worse yet, authority behind it all. After all, would we stand for a message saying that, ‘if you’re not giving 10% you either dont trust, believe in, or care about what God asks of you - that a fact. If that’s you, we would like to schedule a one on one giving counseling session…’? Not ‘no’ but ‘heck no.’  A voice that spoke not just of miracles but of responsibility, of duty, of guilt, and of shame? Sounds horrid doesn’t it? And yet… imagine a place where it was the rare individual that didn’t give, where everyone walked tall with contribution, where the idea of speaking on accountability, guilt, and shame didn’t come across as ugly or archaic at all… where 90% give and such a message is one of being conscientious of the details - generated not by a need to collect money but by concern for the spiritual well being of those few stragglers…  That’s a very different place isn’t it? That’s a place with no training wheels. That’s big boy rules. We don’t allow big boy rules.

The result? Me, with five years before I learned what investment means here and that it has nothing to do with my money but instead with my values. You, with your own story, your own struggle. Our church, packed with people, our pastors proud and excited that a quarter have pledged to tithe. Know what the worst part of all that is? That they should be proud, they should be excited - a full quarter of us tithing will be a remarkable achievement, and would be anywhere in America. In not giving, we pay. In our reactions, with our unwillingness to sit for the harsh realities, we disable our pastors to help us past what we care to hear. We edit them. We dont want truth -  we want success stories. We dont want teaching - we want encouragement. We dont want accountability - we want reward. And so that’s what we have - a system that teaches giving as much as we will allow, following those rules. And that - all of that - is the broad and sweeping power of culture.

That’s why the trainers stay on and why the deeper end of the pool is left alone. And so twice a year we hear a bit more about giving. We hear a few stories about people who received miracle checks straight from heaven. We hear a lot about how good God is to givers, and about a joy to be found in giving but we don’t hear enough. We are often left with what we have demanded and enforced - lessons just good enough to get the ball rolling, encouragement, promises of success with testimony upon testimony to make you as comfortable as possible when risking your money on God. Which isn’t really giving is it? That’s investment - financial investment in the specific. It’s a story we like and are comfortable with. Teaching it, giving us our training wheels, gets us started on the givers road without the censure other giving messages can bring on the pastors. Because this story is a great fit for our culture. That’s why we all like it. It has a hero who takes a chance and wins big - in hard cash! And the best part is, it’s a true story. We learn that again and again, and at the end of the day it’s left in Gods hands, our pastors having done as much for us as they could.

It’s up to us to take it further. It’s on us to realize what giving is - what it could be if we let it. It’s up to us to speak against the nay-sayers and invite loud and authoritative voices in teaching. It’s up to us to decide the story from here. We have to choose where the story goes, we have to find the heart of it.

And ill give you a clue - it has absolutely nothing to do with making money. That’s the training wheels only. This is GOD we’re talking about. You really think that money is a top option from him? No. Money is the ‘I don’t know what to get you’ gift even amongst mortals. From God, who knows exactly what to get you…? That seems like basic no-frills encouragement to me - encouragement and assurance in one swoop, starting the engine. Something to get us down the road and teach us not to worry. And thats about it. Money is nothing to God - nothing. Unless you face truly dire straits, money as a gift from God has gotta be the bottom of the barrel - he holds the keys to any possibility, any learning, dream or goal. Who would choose money with all that actual wealth on hand? And yet it’s what we hear about all the time. Testimony after testimony about the miracle money God provides. Which has always bothered me. Even as it assured me enough to give, reluctantly, it struck me as… somewhat trite. And yet, it was true. When I started giving God blessed my socks off with financial success. And so I learned to invest in the Bank of God, financially. And he returned the investment in kind - financially.

Look at it this way - God says to give and to test him on it, right? That doing so is entry level with a guaranteed response. And so we start doing so. ‘Giving’ money to be obedient and to see it return, maybe even double. Training wheels on, we go to the Bank of God. And - here’s the important bit - GOD KNOWS IT. He knows everything in our hearts, in our minds. If we approach God, our creator and redeemer, as a bank teller, is it any surprise he responds in kind? THAT is why its important to be a cheerful giver. Because God recognizes and rewards obedience for what it is, the minimum which is not offensive. Said that plainly its a wonder he even rewards that isn’t it? The only reason why which i can think of is the same reason the pastors teach it - it gets us started. He puts us on the road pointed the way we need to go but it’s on us to stay on it and read the signs on the way. That’s the burden of free will - we have to open our minds, embrace faith, and consider where the principle of investment applied to God could mean and take a chance on him or we’ll be forever attempting to use our greatest possible teacher as a bank.

The key is in both what you do and how you do it. Consider taking a chance on God - consider approaching him with the intent to declare yourself his beyond your baptism, beyond the songs, the speeches, and the emotions: he’s asking you to do so in a way that reflects a hard choice, an announcement that is unquestionably a statement of value: your ‘wealth’ of the world or your wealth in God? We must choose: because we cannot serve both. It comes down to giving in such a way that no one, especially yourself, could fail to see your point. Like a baptism but celebrating the birth of a joyous giver… I suppose without a biblical pretense I should just call it a breakthrough. Which is exactly what such a moment is - a breakthrough and transition from one world of values to another. A world where faith is king and anything is possible with high ideals of truth, love, and compassion holding sway. Idealistic? Maybe - but so is faith. So is our God. So is our mission. If by accepting these values in a celebration of giving I enable myself to believe just a n inch more, say just one word of hope I’d otherwise not have said… it was worth it; that’s how these values become ‘real’ after all - by resulting in actions driven by them, honoring them, and reflecting them to all who know us. So get used to it - idealism isn’t going anywhere: it sits at the heart of our faith. Anyways - less idealistically - try pondering for a moment that if he rewards financial investment and minimal obedience with money, what might do to reward such a declaration, such a choice to embrace him?

So please - if you aren’t already, consider a new type of investment in God – investments of relationship, investments of value. Like investing in a friend or family member – or in an ideal like marriage or justice. All of these are worth considering in finding the means and manners that reflect your unique faith best - because thats where you’ll find joy in giving: in tune with both your own nature and with God. So make a mindful declaration - and make it with no second thoughts or hesitation: choose to really mean it. If not, as you and God will both know the truth… I dont see much point. So step small to start to make things easier - declare a beginning, a commitment to explore, to chose anew the value of giving. And from there – in return and in spirit - he will invest in you, leading you with blessings and giftings, helping you to realize new vision. In doing so he will challenge you, test you, and shape you - adding touches to your creation that only a creator could think of - seeing potentials and blessing them forward to become real -ALL based in your giving. That is how important this is - it’s just about the entire point. And while his blessings to you will sometimes touch on money as you head swiftly down the road, your training wheels left behind, I’m glad that for the most part they dont. Though I don’t know for certain I’d guess that the financial side is to help us learn to trust him as our provider - to learn, across the many blessings that come, that money is not something we need worry about.

It’s one of the blessings headed your way - financial freedom of the truest sort.

He’s God. 

And he is a giver as he’d have me become. He’ll take care of me. I’ve seen already that in him I’ll always have enough, or more than enough and just as with other gifts he’s given me my responsibility is in what I choose to do with the blessing. That so long as I am giving to god, sacrificing to know him, and evolving towards his Son, I need not be concerned with much else. Including whether or not i should be concerned about not being concerned - God knows me. He knows my gifts, my fears, my untapped ability, my unworthy lies - all of it. He uses that knowledge to form the path - challenges, blessings, opportunities and tests all aligning together beyond coincidence, beyond pattern. And I get to walk through that reassured by the simple clarity of the message - a message, composed of minor miracles, that seems to say, ‘keep going my boy - you’re doing well.’

My job is to give and to work tirelessly at becoming more like his son. So these days when he provides money or success in business I say thank you with real gratitude but little surprise – because I trust him. And when I dint see much financial blessing? I look hard at my faith, at my mind, and if everything seems good - I get really excited. Utterly curious. Because God is about to invest in me – and he’s being creative.

Because giving, I’ve learned, has nothing to do with trading money with God. Money I present only as a symbol, if at all. My investing in God is investment into this life itself - the first of the many blessings he’s given me. I celebrate that and appreciate it, and I try to go a mile further to show him. Not for reward. That’s training wheel thinking. No - because I’m in a relationship with him. As intimate as I have known. He teaches, i try to learn and fail - dramatically - as often as not. He creates and I govern my response. He challenges and I answer as best I can. I look to my total imperfection, my guaranteed failure, and i smile. Because I don’t care if it’s impossible. If God is willing to invest in me, to have this ongoing dialogue of events and efforts then the least I can do is my best. To fight and die on this hill, locked in battle with myself to be worthy of his attention, if only for a second, is the only battle I need own and own fully - and it’s one I need not even win. Because it isn’t about winning, getting, having, or being.

It’s about giving. Giving everything we have - holding nothing back. With all given and determined by God, and only our will our own, what else could have meaning to him but to show him what will we have and how freely we give it to him.

I believe THAT is the gift he most wants us to give - the rest of it training and teaching for that all important decision, one we answer with the full span of actions, thoughts, and meanings of our lives. The rewards for that are clear – you don’t need to worry about reward anymore. Because he will provide.

So when you give, try to really GIVE. Push for deeper surrender, find your own truths, and dare to consider the gift God has to give. Who needs money when ‘neither needing nor caring about money’ is on the table? Why answer any if this with a doubt when you could choose instead to dare to believe that no matter what you have planned, penned, or dreamed, God has a better option for you, the best of all possible options. He knows exactly what the perfect expression of your potential is - and to get there he just needs you to learn one simple thing.

How to give.

To learn it fully - as his son did, who gave everything he had to allow us this chance. To value what matters in our gifts - as he did in recognizing the values behind the choice Christ made. To choose in free will these values - accepting accountability for our lives as he did for all of creation so long ago. To give with perfect heart - as he did in sending his son to minister to us, making Abraham’s choice on our behalf though we never asked for it. To fight willfully to become our best selves - as he has across deserts and names, peoples and policies, evolving in an apparent expression of his values; the same as his son brought to us - built from lessons of accountability, grace, humility, compassion, honesty and the refinement of the self in faith.

Take a chance on that. On God. On yourself. On possibility. What’s the worst that could happen – you’d lose the money? You will someday anyways. Money comes. Money goes. There’s always enough & there’s never enough - a true impossibility this sums up money: it’s not real. It never has been. And to chase it, to worship it… that’s failure on so many levels, against God and against the self - cutting off your potential to embrace and be embraced by life at the knees.  Such a waste - and on an illusion too. Because that satisfaction people try to claim from money isn’t there - it isn’t real. Just an empty and meaningless bottomless pit - the perfect picture of addiction and base desire. It’s not… anything. Never will be & never was.

The same is not true for your relationship with God. Of God there can never be enough and there will never be enough. And endless desire for him is both healthy and satisfying - God once again standing in stark relief against our our cultural values of money. Just look for that as you navigate the questions and he will literally ‘light your way’ with his position, his values. He does so not just because he understands fully - and he does - but because he lived the most intimate of gift ever given, he’s walked as a man and as the ideal he asks us to journey towards. It’s a knowing request - a pursuit with meaning, one which calls us to emulate Christ - our great benefactor and teacher on what it means to give it all. It’s a long journey - life - the longest thing anyone has ever done, no matter what people say about how short it is. It’s not a race & it isn’t about achievement or acquisition - compromise or conclusion; it truly is about the journey. A good thing to know on a journey with no end - dotcha think?  To know that what matters is what we value and what we then choose to give along the way.

So be open - and take off the training wheels. Go learn, give, and invest – in your faith, in god, in life.

It’s the whole point.

A point that runs counter to everything our culture tells us. Our culture tells us that with enough money, we will be free, we will have what we want. God is saying the opposite. He is saying that our freedom lies not in acquiring money but in releasing it -  as an object, as a possession, and as a value. He is asking you to give - to better you, not him. He has no use for money. He doesn’t ‘want’ it - he just wants you to be able to hold your values and choices above it. To let go of money as your concern and take on the challenges of a journey of the spirit - free in the knowledge that he will take care of you, that he will work to free you to focus on his priority - your own growth. All easily provable truths - you just have to take a chance and REALLY give; as a value, as a sacrifice, as the declaration of a giver.

Which isn’t nearly as easy as it sounds - struggle with this is something most of us will face repeatedly; lord knows I’ve had my share. The place we’re heading towards is far removed from this cultures contemporary values - values that worship wealth as vital, the only route to freedom in a land of the free. Which, in the end, is neither here nor there - it is what it is and its not on us to judge it. Just to be accountable for what we do with it. Because our job, as always, lies in what choices we make. Our first and greatest responsibility being that we struggle to find the best possible path - working with all we have to ensure our lives reflect our values, that our choices speak to what we care for. That we try. That we always push forward. That we never give up. Because THAT is the heart of a giver. So forgive yourself being born in the relative wealth and comfort of a money worshiping culture and move forward - deliberately. Choose by value and meaning deliberately - be a giver who is always learning, always trying and you will be remarkably blessed. Take hold of the values in question by making a conscious choice, releasing the safe middle grounds, quibbling, and mediocre efforts. Be bold and joyful - celebrate as you declare your values and claim yourself in a new way for God, for yourself, and for life.

And as always the choice, and only the choice, is fully yours and yours alone - a gift of freedom easily the equal of the gift of life. I hope you invest in that freedom, reveling in life - and that your investment here in taking the time to join me in discussing a key lesson from my walk either helped you directly or at the least passed the time with ease -  bringing you a smile, a chuckle, or even a shake of your head. So long as it was authentically you - I’m all for it. Please feel invited to comment & have a blessed day.

Daniel Carpenter

ADDENDUM:
And that’s that – 3 for 3. Thanks for your patience if you bore with me. If you made it all the way through you have my thanks; sometimes there’s just a lot to say. To me that happens more often than not . And please, remember, these are my opinions - not Brandon’s, not Christian’s, and not Di’s (nor Blitzen, Rudolf or the rest). They allow me rope and room; I would ask that you allow me the same and please, your grace and prayers would be very appreciated as well. I need them.

Why?

Because living up to the spirit and ideals of everything I just said will be impossible to do perfectly – and easy to do badly. Also, please -  if something struck a chord, please, don’t run from it: Give. Free yourself. Free our pastors. Free your heart from this outrageous self machine that we all live in together.  As always, God knows the way - it’s his. A fact that just happens to apply to every single way out there - existing, probable or even just potential.  Which is likely one of the more minor perks of being God I’d suppose - hard to get lost & great with directions - I’m sure we can all agree those are great traits for anyone to possess.

D.

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