Giving & Funding (25)

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap… And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Matthew 6:1-4 & Galatians 6:7-10

When we think about giving, we can easily stop at the sort of systematic giving St Paul described in 1 Corinthians 16 because society has come to see that acts of charity, to some extent at least, are outside the routine of normal behaviour.

At first glance, the first of the above passages, which is from the Sermon on the Mount, may seem to be about charity: acts of undeserved kindness, like gifts of money or food, done outside the parameters of normal human relationships. Activity contrary to the usual flow of money and possessions. As a result, acts of charity can, even with the very best of intentions, generate false and unhelpful perceptions.

Charity can create an aura of superiority around the givers and damn the receivers as feckless, as if they are unwilling to look after themselves properly. That can, sometimes, make charity very unwelcome! ‘I don’t need your charity!’ can say a lot about the person being offered help. Or of their perception of the person offering help. Or about the attitude of the person offering help, perhaps their condescending and unconstrained view of the person in need.

A passage familiar at wedding ceremonies is St Paul’s famous passage on love from his first letter to the church at Corinth. ‘Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude’ he wrote. ‘It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.’ This, however, is more than the recipe for a good marriage, more too than the justification for isolated acts of selflessness, but a way of life that is not so impossible as we might think.

Moreover, if we live this way with the sort of discretion that Jesus advocates, so that we are careful not to do it 'in order to be seen', then the sorts of problems described above will be minimised.

***** 
If you are in central London on Sunday 9 June, or near Richmond in South London on Wednesday 12 June, you are welcome to attend a short personal finance course called 'Sharper Living'.

On 9 June the course is from 3:00pm to 5:00pm at All Souls Clubhouse. Follow this link for directions: http://www.clubhousew1.org/how-to-find-us/ .

On 12 June, the course is from 8:00pm to 9:00pm at Duke Street Church. Follow this link for directions: www.dukestreetchurch.com/about-us/find-us/ .

‘Sharper Living’ is an introduction to basic personal finance skills, covering essential tools and tips to help maximise money, like budgeting, banking and borrowing. The course, course notes and light refreshments are free; there will not be any literature or merchandise on sale.

_____________________________________________

You have been sent this e-mail because you subscribed to Reflections on God & Money. Copyright © All Souls Clubhouse Community Centre & Church and Philip Evans 2013.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.  

Handling money and dealing with debt can be complicated and neither the author nor anyone else involved in the production of these Reflections is responsible for any action you take, or fail to take, based on what is written here. You are invited to put a link on your website to these Reflections. You are welcome to copy these Reflections for personal study or for circulation to family and friends on a non-profit basis. For any other purpose, whether or not for profit, you will require written permission in advance from the author before copying, reproducing or transmitting extracts in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or using any information storage and retrieval system.