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The Spirituality of Money

Readings

On this page we will present readings and links to readings that discuss issues relating to giving, charity and tithing.

“…bring all the tithes into the storehouse (temple, church) so that there will be food enough in my Temple; if you do, I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you won’t have room enough to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you! Your crops will be large, for I will guard them from insects and plagues. Your grapes won’t shrivel away before they ripen….and all nations will call you blessed, for you will be ….sparkling with happiness.” Cf Malachi, Chapter 3, The Book, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois

In Money Matters: Personal Giving in American Churches, * the authors state that the four main motivations for giving are: Reciprocity with God; Reciprocity within a Religious Group; Giving to Extensions of Self (or to the Extended Self); Altruism and Thankfulness.

It would be less than helpful to start a debate about which of the preceding motivations is the “best”. They are all reasonable and legitimate reasons to give; a giving or stewardship program based on a foundation of 10% will likely permit the giver to engage all of the above motivations. *cf Hoge, Dean R., Zech, Charles; McNamara, Patrick; and Donohue, Michael J. Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky; Chapter 6, pp. 128-143.

On Giving

(An excerpt from "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran)

Then said a rich man, Speak to us of Giving.
And he answered:

You give but little when you give of your
possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you
truly give.

For what are your possessions but things
you keep and guard
for fear you may need them tomorrow?
And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow
bring to the overprudent dog
burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the
pilgrims to the holy city?
And what is fear of need but need itself?
Is not dread of thirst when your well is full,
the thirst that is unquenchable?

There are those who give little
of the much which they have-
and they give it
for recognition and their hidden desire
makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life,
and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy,
and their joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain,
and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not
pain in giving, nor do they seek joy,
nor give with mindfulness of virtue:
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle
breathes its fragrance into space.
Through the hands of such as these God
speaks, and from behind their eyes
He smiles upon the earth.

It is well to give when asked, but it is
better to give unasked, through understanding:
And to the open-handed the search for
one who shall receive is joy greater than giving.
And is there aught your would withhold?
All you have shall some day be given:
Therefore give now, that the season of
giving may be yours and not your inheritors`.

You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving."
The trees in your orchard say not so,
nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live,
for to with-hold is to perish.
Surely he who is worthy to receive his
days and nights, is worthy of all else from you.
And he who has deserved to drink from
the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.
And what desert greater shall there be,
than that, which lies in the courage and the
confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?
And who are you that men should rend
their bosom and unveil their pride,
that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?
See first that you yourself deserve to be
a giver,and an instrument of giving.

For in truth it is life that gives unto life-
while you, who deem yourself a giver are but a witness.

And you receivers- and you are all
receivers- assume no weight of gratitude,
lest you lay a yoke upon
yourself and upon he who gives.
Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings:
For to be overmindful of your debt,is
to doubt his generosity who has the
free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father

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