Do Christians need tax breaks to give more? The headline in Christianity Today is: Christians Urge Congress to Incentivize Charitable Giving. I wonder, how many times did Jesus appeal to the Roman government to lower taxes for any reason, let alone to allow people to give more. What about the early church leaders? Did they appeal to the Romans?
I want to start by separating out non-profits from church activities, at least to some extent. we give to the church, but also to non-profits – some faith based, some not. But when we look to the Bible, we have to consider churches in a different light. The message from the early Christian church was clearly that people were giving both to support the church, but also to support the poor and needy. Most likely, far more for the poor and needy than for the church.
The idea of having huge mortgages, incredibly expensive buildings, large staff funding, Etc. wasn’t even considered in Biblical times. They met in people’s houses. People like Paul traveled from location to location, training people. And many of them worked other jobs to earn a living. For instance, Paul was a tent maker. Size and bureaucracy come with many price tags. Money is only one. But it’s a big one.
The other issue here is that giving to the needy back then was part of giving to the church. For some churches, that’s still true today. But with the law the way they are today, faith-based organizations are sometimes limited in what they can do. Go giving to the needy might still be giving to the church. But it could also be giving to non-profits, faith-based or not.
So we’ll just look at giving, no matter whether it’s church, faith-based non-profit, or other non-profits.
Let’s start with something Jesus said about giving.
Giving to the Needy
Mt 6:1 “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Mt 6:2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing
Could that possibly mean don’t let your tax man influence what you give to the church?
The phrase let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth means that one’s giving of finances to the work of the Lord should be done so freely and spontaneously that his right hand cannot keep up with his left hand. He literally empties his pockets as fast as he can! Such giving is to be so spontaneous as to be unplanned at times. Notice that this passage does not state that it is wrong to give systematically, nor through church envelopes, nor receiving a tax-deductible receipt. What it does teach is that one should not give by those means only. There are ample examples of systematic giving in Scripture in order to build the Temple, to provide for the needs and welfare of the underprivileged, etc. Planned giving is certainly biblical and encouraged; but all of our giving should not be limited to our predetermined plan or system. 1Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (pp. 1893–1894). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Yes – do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing can definitely mean don’t let your tax man influence what you give. So when we give, we really shouldn’t be considering the tax impact when deciding how much to give. At least, that’s true for Christians.
Otherwise, what’s the meaning of what Paul wrote in the passage below:
Sowing Generously
2Co 9:6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written:
“He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
2Co 9:12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
So tell me – when it says, God loves a cheerful giver – does that mean we’re cheerful because we got a bigger tax deduction? I don’t think so.
You see, it also says, He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever. And under the New Covenant, there’s this thing called the Great Commission. We – today’s Christians, are God’s representatives here on earth. It’s us who have the honor of cheerfully scattering around the things He so generously gave us, so that through us, others can also receive.
Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay
Footnotes
- 1Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (pp. 1893–1894). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.