Christ-Centered Stewardship in a Consumer-Driven Culture: Part 2
The following interview with Randy Alcorn, conducted by Joshua Becker, was excerpted from the Eternal Perspective Ministries website.
Joshua Becker: We live in a consumer-driven culture where the American Dream is often defined in pursuit of material possessions. Conspicuous consumption has become the norm. Given the culture we live in, what practical steps should we take to counter the pull of our materialistic culture and keep a healthy view of money, possessions, and eternity?
Randy Alcorn: I believe the only way to break the power of materialism is first, to see ourselves as stewards that God has entrusted these money and possessions to, and second, to give. Jesus says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). As long as I still have something, I believe I own it. But when I give it away, I relinquish the control, power, and prestige that come with wealth. At the moment of release, the light turns on. The magic spell is broken. My mind clears, and I recognize God as owner, myself as servant, and other people as intended beneficiaries of what God has entrusted to me.
The New Testament offers guidelines for giving that can help us fight the pull of materialism:
Give. Giving affirms Christ’s lordship. It dethrones me and exalts Him. It breaks the chains of mammon that would enslave me and transfers my center of gravity to Heaven.
Give generously. How much is generous? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. If you’ve never tithed, start there—then begin to stretch your generosity.
Give regularly. Stewardship is not a once-a-year consideration, but a week-to-week, month-to-month commitment requiring discipline and consistency.
Give deliberately. Giving is at its best when it’s a conscious effort that’s repeatedly made.
Give voluntarily. When we catch a vision of God’s grace, we will give beyond our duty.
Give sacrificially. We don’t like risky faith. We like to have our safety net below us. But we miss the adventure of seeing God provide when we’ve really stretched ourselves in giving.
Give excellently. Paul says, “See that you also excel in this grace of giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7).
Give cheerfully. If we’re not cheerful, the problem is our heart, and the solution is redirecting our heart, not withholding our giving.
Give worshipfully. Our giving is a reflexive response to God’s grace. It doesn’t come out of our altruism—it comes out of the transforming work of Christ in us.
Give more as you make more. Remember: God prospers us not to raise our standard of living, but to raise our standard of giving.
Give quietly. Showiness in giving is always inappropriate. (But sometimes our acts of righteousness will be seen by men and even should be.)
Joshua Becker: Shifting gears, can you help us wrestle with the Biblical teaching on the tithe? I’m sure you could devote entire chapters to the topic, but in just a few sentences, can you help us understand why giving 10% to our local church is such an important discipline to begin right away?
Randy Alcorn: I have mixed feelings on this issue. I detest legalism. I certainly don’t want to try to pour new wine into old wineskins, imposing superseded First Covenant restrictions on Christians. But at the same time, every New Testament example of giving goes far beyond the tithe. However, none falls short of it.
There’s a timeless truth behind the concept of giving God our first fruits. Whether or not the tithe is still the minimal measure of those first fruits, I ask myself, “Does God expect His New Covenant children to give less or more?” Jesus raised the spiritual bar; He never lowered it.
The tithe is God’s historical method to get us on the path of giving. In that sense, it can serve as a gateway to the joy of grace giving. It’s unhealthy to view tithing as a place to stop, but it can still be a good place to start. Even under the First Covenant, it wasn’t a stopping place. The Old Testament is full of freewill offerings; Malachi 3 talks about robbing God not only by withholding tithes, but offerings. So even if the tithe isn’t required for Christians, we can rob God by withholding offerings.
Tithing isn’t the ceiling of giving; it’s the floor. It’s not the finish line of giving; it’s just the starting blocks. Tithes can be the training wheels to launch us into the mindset, skills, and habits of grace giving. (If you’re interested, I explore this subject more in-depth here.)
Faith & Finance Perspective
The issue of tithing has been confusing for some Christ followers—especially those who are working on establishing their household budgets and balancing the demands of limited income and rising expenses, while earnestly wanting to integrate their faith and their finances.
Orchard Alliance recently conducted a straw poll among Alliance church leaders, posing the following question:
Question: How is tithing viewed in your church?
A. A 10 percent tithe is the biblical standard by which all devoted disciples should base their giving.
B. We embrace 2 Corinthians 9:7. The Spirit may lead some to tithe 10 percent and others to give as He leads.
C. Tithing was a practice for the nation of Israel under the “Old Covenant” and doesn’t apply to the church today.
Results: 83% of the respondents chose A, while 17% chose B. None chose C.
Prayerfully wrestle through some of the points Randy Alcorn raises above or in the more in-depth article linked in the last sentence. Ask God how he would have you respond. As Alcorn suggests, giving should never be driven by legalism, but more out of direction from the Holy Spirit as we pursue Him on this and other issues of stewardship and generosity.
Let’s also keep in mind that we live in a consumer-driven culture and will always be bombarded with the allure of material comforts and pleasures. As many have found, the most effective antivenom for the bite of materialism is giving. The lasting joy and peace God grants us when we support the things close to His heart far outweigh the fleeting, momentary satisfaction of temporal trappings.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
- 1 John 2:15-17