“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you” (1 Chronicles 29:14, 16-18 ESV).
My friend lost her job and filed for unemployment. She then received an email reminding her that she can pay rent online. She related the story in our group chat so her friends could comment on how ridiculous and uncaring the landlord seemed to be. A few days later, my co-worker suggested we send out an announcement for the church I work for reminding people of how they can give online. While I was typing that email, I had this nagging feeling that we were doing exactly the same thing. We were asking people, who have potentially lost their jobs, to continue to support the church. Why? Because like the landlord, the church still has bills to pay… including salaries!
The church has always survived and in the future (barring the return of our Lord) it may be without buildings, or staff, or pastors, or even without printed Bibles. The church has survived in times of few followers, in caves, prisons, famines, as well as in times of plenty. So what about our church? I’ve felt compelled to remind you of our missionaries. They are staying true to their posts and need our support more than ever. I’m also concerned about how our pastor and those helping us with administration will be paid if less tithe is given. Additionally, we are mailing out children’s Sabbath School materials and doing lessons over the internet. Things might be changing as we move forward, but bills are still rolling in to support our continued ministries.
The Lord has blessed our small church. I remember a few years ago the budget I worked up exceeded how much money we brought in the previous year because we wanted to increase our missionary giving. Someone asked me how I thought we would stay out of the red that year. I replied that “the Lord would provide.” At the end of the year, I felt like Peter saying yes the Lord pays the temple tax and wondered if I had spoken out of turn. Our church did not meet the financial goal we had set. And then I looked at the money that had not just come in but gone out. To my surprise, we did not spend all of the money we had planned to which kept us from going into the red. The Lord still provided just not in the way I had expected.
In good conscious, I cannot ask you to remember your tithe and offerings during this difficult time. I do not know your financial situation or what the future holds. God has promised to take care of us but it may not always be in the way we might think. What I do know is that the Lord has asked His people to only give willingly “offering freely and joyously” to Him. Whatever is given with love will be a blessing both to His mission and to you!