And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.   -II Corinthians 8:1-4

This will not surprise anyone who has made LifePoint their church home for any significant amount of time, but we do not take up an offering during worship. This is not a common practice for most churches. When I was a boy, our parish church took up the collection the old-fashioned way. Very serious and scary looking men carried baskets with long handles and walked down the aisles each Sunday for the collection. You simply dropped your offering into the basket when it was waved under your nose. It was very convincing. My father used to let me drop the envelope in the basket occasionally, and even when a super-sweet, beautiful, dimple-faced, precocious and humble little boy like me looked up and smiled at them, the men remained stalwart and steely-eyed, focused on their one mission—the Lord’s Day collection.

As with most things, there are some positives and negatives to the way we take up the offering at LifePoint. The positives are that we do not make newcomers feel uncomfortable while we drop checks and cash in a basket in front of them (for those under thirty years of age, these were common ways of transferring currency before PayPal and Zelle), and we do not place undue emphasis on money. In addition, a collection time does not interrupt the service, thus we can use that time in different ways. Here are the negatives. For some it is “out of sight, out of mind.” When a bulky, mafioso type guy isn’t waving a basket under our nose, it’s easy to pass off giving until next month, or the month after. It is also much easier to forget that everything we have is a gift from God. “What do you have that you have not received,” Paul asked his friends in Corinth, “and if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you had not?”

Stewardship is part of our worship. We worship God by giving him thanks for the grace he has extended to us. Look what happened in Macedonia in the apostle Paul’s day. Out of a time of severe suffering and trial the churches there (modern Greece/Albania) begged Paul for the privilege to share God’s grace with other believers who were also suffering financially. It is an act of worship to trust God completely with your finances and to give as a way of demonstrating obedience to him while demonstrably saying “thank you.”

Don’t let the fact that we have chosen not to take up an offering each week let you off the hook so that you carelessly forget to be good stewards of all that God has given you. Learning to be good stewards of your finances and resources is part of the process of sanctification (becoming more like Jesus), so do not raise one hand in praise to God and save one hand to guard your wallet or purse. God wants all of you, and everything you have ever “owned” in your life belongs to him anyway (Psalm 24:1).

This is not a plea to give to the church so we can get out of debt. It isn’t even a hint. Our church family is taking care of all its responsibilities, and we are joyfully debt-free. It is a gentle reminder, however, that God calls us to be good stewards of all his gifts to us, including our finances. The love of money shipwrecks many faiths, and you do not have to have cash spilling out of your pockets to love it. It isn’t only wealthy people who hoard their treasures; it can be a temptation for all of us.

If your finances are problematic for you, I heartily recommend Randy Alcorn’s book The Treasure Principle. It is a classic that can be read in about an hour…short, biblical, and life changing. We have copies available in the LifePoint library. Our lives do not consist in the abundance of our possessions, friends, but the hoarding of our possessions can make our lives abundantly miserable (Luke 12:15).

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Grace and peace,

Pastor Jym