Rev. Smit is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Doon, Iowa.

We consider now the second principle we must remember about true giving.

The second principle that we must remember is that the God who gives us all things in life, even our offerings for His treasury, is our God for Christ’s sake alone. The earthly gifts that we have, God gives to us as a blessing in Jesus Christ. We deserve to have the Lord curse us through these earthly gifts because of our sin. In fact, with respect to our giving, we deserve to perish because of our sinful failures in giving properly to Him. If God were to reward us for what we give and how we give to the treasury of our Jehovah, He could justly destroy us in His wrath because of the gross ingratitude we show at the offering plate.

But the amazing truth is that our merciful and gracious Father forgives all our sin. We learn by His Spirit that despite our unworthiness, He blesses us constantly, even through the means of all these earthly possessions. That is true only because of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ and His atoning blood. Christ has covered all of our sin and removed the curse due to us for our sin. On that basis alone, the Father blesses us with all blessings, even blessing us through the means of many earthly possessions. All these things serve our salvation and eternal profit. Growing in the understanding of that glorious truth of the gospel of Christ, the believer is profoundly thankful. Out of that thankfulness he rejoices in the privilege to give unto the Lord his God. Our desire is that the Spirit of Christ more and more work in us that spiritual gift of giving to His treasury in thanksgiving for our Father’s unspeakable gift to us of the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.

By the example of the poor widow’s giving, the Lord warns us from persistent problems that hinder our duty to give like the poor widow who gave both coins (Mark 12:41-44).

The first problem that is avoided by faithful and true giving is one that is often associated with the whole enterprise of fundraising for church and school causes. The many methods of extracting money from us for a seemingly growing number of causes may reveal a deeper, spiritual problem. The Rev. J. Heys wrote years ago, in the 1950s, about the common practice of fundraisers, and called them “bitter pills with a sugar coating upon them. Their bitterness we do not taste; and they achieve the desired end” (SB, vol. 33, p. 109).

He used that illustration to point out a root problem with most fundraising. We quote again what Rev. Heys had to say.

We have in mind this widespread and much-used method of getting—shall we say extracting?—financial support for worthy causes in God’s kingdom wherein man has to get something in return for his money.

It is a method whereby money is extracted from individuals, when actually it should have been given by these individuals and otherwise would not have been forthcoming.

There is so little giving left today because it is made so painless for us to part with our money for the kingdom causes.

The bitter part of parting with our money is sugar-coated by the thing that we get in return.

…So chicken dinners, soup suppers, baked goods sales, and a host of similar projects are initiated to make it less painful for us to part with that which is necessary for the support of worthy causes in God’s kingdom. By these methods we have tasted only the sugar coating of the “pill” and we find out that it was not so bad after all (SB, vol. 33, p. 109).

In that same vein, we ought to examine our motives in giving. Do we give to a worthy kingdom cause because we are getting something tangible in return (soup, bread, auction item, etc.)? Do we give to get honor before men? Do we play with our money before God and pay a ridiculously high price for an item or service only to look good in the eyes of fellow men? Do we give to get a tax break?

How do we evaluate the manner in which we give in the light of these comments and implications of the principles of faithful giving?

We quote Rev. Heys’ conclusion.

…Nor will we pass judgment on those societies as to their sincerity when they sponsor sales and meals with a view to using the proceeds for the support of some phase of God’s kingdom here below. But we maintain that it is a sad commentary on our giving when we must resort to such methods. It shows that we have never learned to give, or else have to a great extent forgotten how.

The Word of God has this to say, “God loveth a cheerful giver.”

II Corinthians 9:7

But let us read the whole verse. Let us read it together with the one that precedes it. “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (SB, vol. 33, p. 109).

Indeed it is a sad commentary on our giving when we are forced to use the common fundraising methods to extract out of our tight-fisted hearts and hands both coins for the support our churches and schools and in true thanksgiving. When we resort to all these “sugar-coated bitter-pill methods,” it shows that we have never fully learned how to give and have forgotten how to give as the poor widow.

In contrast to the giving associated with most fundraising today, we must heartily agree with Rev. Heys’ desire for the ideal: “How wonderful it would be if all these means to raise money were not necessary, and simply on being told of the need for funds, men would cheerfully and readily contribute!” (SB, vol. 33, p. 109). How true! How wonderful it would be if “both coins” would freely come from thankful hearts and hands to meet the needs of the churches or the schools by means of the offerings in church and by means of an announcement or two outlining the particular need.

Secondly, giving faithfully according to the principles illustrated by the poor widow, we also avoid the error of concerning ourselves with what the fellow saint is giving. This improper way of giving afflicts both the rich and the poor. The poorer are easily tempted to look at those who are more wealthy and expect them to carry more of the burden of the needs of God’s kingdom in the earth. The widow may have been tempted to approach the treasury of God in the temple with the attitude that she was not required to give anything. She may have been tempted to conclude that since the rich had much more to give, she with her two little coins was not required to give anything or, at the most, only one coin. Do not we who are poorer face that very temptation? Are not we tempted to figure out how much the rich should be giving and so decide what we should give? In our envy or covetousness, we will tell others how to give, but we will not let God tell us how to give, when He commands us to give both coins and to give them in thanksgiving, contentment, and humility before Him.

The rich, on the other hand, are faced with a temptation, too. Perhaps the rich are tempted to think that if they would give too much, then the poor might take advantage of their giving. The rich may be tempted to hold back in their giving in order to avoid losing their abundance and the style of living that others enjoy.

Such was not at all the giving of the poor widow. She did not compare herself to others and, on that basis, determine what and how she would give to God. By faith, she looked at her God in the Messiah. On the basis of that covenant relationship with Jehovah in the Messiah, she gave before the Lord, unto the Lord, and for the Lord’s sake. By faith, she gave both coins in true love and thanksgiving into His treasury.

Ought not we to do likewise? To us the Lord has given much. For the majority of us, we do not miss one meal a day. We enjoy warm houses, lots of clothes, and usually good health besides. Surely out of our abundance before the Lord and, if necessary, out of our necessity, we must give to the Lord both coins.

Finally, as we learn and embrace by faith the principles of true giving, we guard ourselves from the evil of robbing God and His treasury. The widow was prone to do that. She would give the first coin, but was prone to hold back the second. She would give the first coin to fulfill her duty, but would she give the second coin?

Would you have given the second?

We are willing to give the first coin of what we are supposed to do when the offering plate for the general fund or for benevolence passes us in the pew. But will we give the second? Will we give cheerfully, thankfully, liberally, generously, and copiously unto the Lord for the sake of His covenant? And will you give until it hurts so much that it means you will miss a meal or two?

Think about it.

Would you have given the second coin?

(…to be concluded next time)