The ethics of stewardship questioned

Theology
1

I’ve been watching someone close to me—someone who makes a solid living ($80k)—live in what I call “Performative Poverty.” He wears $1 thrift store jackets, drives a car that’s falling apart, and tells his friends/spouse he “can’t afford” a $60 dinner or a trip. Yet, he turns around and cuts a $4,000 check to the church without blinking.

I want to pose a few questions to this community about the logic we use for “stewardship”:

1. The “Ferrari Mechanic” vs. The Priest

We often call luxury spending “stupid” or “pretentious.” But when you pay a mechanic to fix a Ferrari, that money feeds his kids and pays his mortgage. When we give $4,000 to a church, and that money goes toward a priest’s salary or even jewelry, how is that “holier” than supporting a local mechanic? Both are just supporting a man’s family. Why do we judge the car but ignore the priest’s lifestyle?

2. The “Gym for the Soul” or a Spiritual Protection Racket?

Many call tithing a “workout for the soul,” but in a real gym, you see results. If a man gives $4,000 but his marriage ends in divorce because he was never “present” or because he forced his spouse to live in unnecessary scarcity, did the “gym” actually work? Or was he just buying “fire insurance” while his house was already burning down?

3. The 2-Seater vs. The M3 Mentality

Why are we so afraid of being “pretentious” that we live a lie? I see people who can afford a 2-seater sports car settle for a BMW M3 just so they look “sensible” to the congregation.

  • Is it “humble” to hide your wealth, or is it just social camouflage? * Is it “generous” to give $4,000 to a building while being a “cheapskate” to the people who actually love you?

4. The Guarantee that Wasn’t

The irony I’ve seen is that the church “guaranteed” a blessed life, but the marriage failed anyway. The church got the $4,000, and the husband got a divorce and a $1 jacket.

My Question to you: At what point does “sacrificial giving” stop being a virtue and start being a form of neglect? Are we funding the “Kingdom,” or are we just funding our own fear of being seen as “rich” while our real-world relationships starve?

2

Why do you work? I’m serious. Why do you work? Are you saving up for something? A new car? A house? Retirement? Do you work just to survive and to pay bills? Are you just trying to accumulate wealth? What are you working for?

Do you know what the Bible says about work? First, God created it.

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” Genesis 2:15

Second, we should not be working solely for ourselves.

“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” Ephesians 4:28

Read that again. “Let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” Say “so that.” To give. We should be working for the betterment of others. We should be striving to be blessed so that we may bless others. Jesus puts it this way.

“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” John 6:27

God does, however, require one little thing. A tithe. You would have nothing if it were not for God. You would not even be breathing right now. God would be well within His rights to require 50 percent. He could demand all of it. But God chooses not to. No, He has decided that a tithe is ten percent.

The first time a tithe is mentioned in the Bible. Abram or Abraham gave away ten percent of his captured goods. It was a thanksgiving offering to God on behalf of the people who had been miraculously rescued and brought home safely.

This became a normal practice in the old times. People started to tithe ten percent of their gains, for both gratitude and thanksgiving to God. It was also a way to ensure that all would be taken care of, even if someone was lacking. What about those who do not?

“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 3:8-12

Why does God want this?

“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.”

This is the reason: it is not for the pastor to amass wealth or for those who contribute to become rich. Instead, it is so that the church can fulfill its obligations and support those in need. Unfortunately, we have reached a point where some pastors manipulate people into giving them money.

God did not create our financial system. We did. God does not need money. We do. Instead of bringing in grains, cows, chickens, milk, honey, fruits, and veggies, today’s modern church needs money to

1- Pay bills. lights, heat, and AC. ETC.
2- To buy food to meet the needs of those less fortunate.
3- YES-To meet the needs of the pastor. The pastor should not be part-time. He should not be in need and worrying about where his next meal will come from. He should be spending his time in the Word, in prayer, and in caring for others.

Electricity is not free. Heat is not free. Food is not free. The pastor’s needs are not free. Again, not in God’s system, but rather in ours. God promises us that if we DO tithe, we do not ever have to worry about that 90 percent. That it will go far farther than that 100 percent ever will. That if we bless others, by blessing the Church, God will bless us in all things. Not that we hit the lotto tomorrow, but in life itself. As a child of God, it is our duty to do this. Remember this passage? James 2:15-16

“If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?”

Seriously. If you say you are “religious” and yet you do nothing but show up and listen to the pastor, and go home, what do you accomplish for God? It is practical, factual, and needed. It should be something, like with Abraham, that we LONG to do. Something we do proudly and humbly.

Now, is there abuse in the church? Of course. Are there pastors and church officials who will take your tithe and use it for their own gain? Yup. Just like bad doctors, police officers, drug company CEOs, whatever, there are bad pastors and administrators in the family of God. Does that change any of the reasons we need to tithe and give offerings? Nope. You are obligated to tithe. If that pastor is misusing the tithes, that is between him and God. Nothing you could ever do could compare to what God can and will do to a deceitful person using Him and His church for selfish gain.

Tithes and offerings are meant to ensure that all of God’s children have their needs met, including food, clothing, shoes, and shelter. They also support the church, the pastor, and the community.

When you give, do not do so out of obligation or expectations. Instead, give out of love, not out of a sense of duty or desire for reward.

Peter

3

It really depends on how that church is teaching about Christian living?

If a church is blowing the offering on fancy gadgets, decorations etc in the church then that church is being irrepobsible.

There is nothing wrong in a wealthy man living a wealthy life style, so long as his lifestyle matches his giving to charity.

Not everything has to go through a church.

We can give to secular charities as well as Christian charities, what we need to do is check they don’t waste the giving on admin etc.

4

@JetFalcon

I hear you! Your personal pain comes through loud-and-clear. Either you are the recipient of wrongdoing, or you are close to someone who is. I sense your strong reaction to what you perceive as ungodly injustice, and all injustice IS ungodly! Your personal pain is obvious, being broadcast within your passionate plea for a compassionate Judge who will mete out true justice. You are not alone, injustice is rampant in the world, and innocent victims of injustice are likewise ubiquitous. I will say, the case you laid out is specific, and not universal, although the sins you suggest may lie behind it are common. In your diatribe you ask many questions, which seem based on personal observations, assumptions, and/or speculation and so I won’t even try to answer them. I don’t know the rest of the story, I don’t know the other side, and I don’t know what is in any person’s heart. What looks like “performative poverty” may be exactly that, or the same outward manifestations may be rooted something entirely honorable or innocent. How would I know? How could I render an opinion? I DO know that, as human beings, we can only look on the outward words and actions of someone else, but you can be more than assured that The Supreme Judge, The ONE you call on, can peer with perfect clarity deeply into the very motivations of the human heart, He knows for certain what secrets lie in the depths and recesses of the soul, mysteries only a creator could know, things that the subject does not even know about themselves. This Judge is on NO ONE’s payroll, has no need of money, and judges in absolute righteousness, with complete impartiality. No one sways His gavel, no one biases His ruling, and to even attempt a bribe of any sort is to commit serious error and invite swift and exacting reprisal. It is on the mercy of this righteous Judge we must cast our case, and know for certain righteousness will be His ruling.

I hear your query:

Your question is insightful. You may be correct that one person’s giving is just a form of neglect, I don’t know. In my personal opinion, there is no such thing as “sacrificial giving” and mankind has never been asked to “fund the Kingdom”. These ideas do not come from The Bible. Your insight into the super-importance of personal relationships is spot-on, and one subject on which The Bible does actually have much to say. The most important part of any of your relationships is your contribution to it. Your devotion to the wellbeing of the other person, both friend and foe. No one but you determine how you relate to someone else, and that is the one part you are responsible for. Let others follow the dictates of their own heart, let the money be of no concern, concern yourself with your devotion to Jesus, and to be His disciple in every way you can. In this way we can leave the changing of hearts up to the only one who is actually capable.

IN JESUS
KP

5

Give what makes sense. Don’t let people bully you or manipulate you.

6

Yup. There is nothing wrong with buying a tithe’s worth of sandwiches and going down to feed the homeless. However, if you are in and part of a local church, you should want to support it. Not out of obedience, but rather love.

Peter

1 Like
7

It seems to me that what a person chooses to give is their business and the only one they answer to is God. “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Cor 9:7 It’s a different scenario, but what about the widow and her mite? She gave that which she had to live on. Jesus commended her, but many would call her a fool.