Money

Mike Bullmore was a professor of mine while I was in Seminary.  He now serves a church as the Senior pastor.  Recently, he preached a message from 1 Corinthians 16.  Here are the highlights.  Warning:  What you are about to read may be detrimental to how you think about giving.

1. Our giving should be a planned priority.
2. Our giving should be proportional to our income. Give obediently, generously, and sacrificially. Cf. C. S. Lewis: “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusement, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our giving does not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say it is too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot because our commitment to giving excludes them.”
3. Our giving should be marked by prudence. It should be transparent, above board, and marked by integrity. For example, a church’s giving should have public accountability.
4. Our giving and our teaching about giving should be simple and straightforward. No pressure, no gimmicks, no excessive emotion. Simply put: don’t waste your money; rather, use it for God’s purposes and for his glory.