David Browder
General Presbyter Asia, Australia, Oceania
Randy Alcorn has stated, “Too often we assume that God has increased our income to increase our standard of living, when His stated purpose is to increase our standard of giving.” I have often thought about the social programs that the governments of this world struggle to finance. The truth is that these same social needs were met at one time by the church because of the calling that God had given for the church to be rich in good works (1 Timothy 6:18). The reason that governments took on the responsibility of these social programs is because the church lost their burden, compassion, and vision of doing good in this world. 1 Peter 3:8, 9 tells us that we are to have compassion, love, and pity for one another. We are to be courteous and bless others. In fact, this passage goes on to say that we are called to be a blessing.
I believe the Lord is calling us back to that goal of doing good. The church is a great channel through which we accomplish blessing others. In fact, it is time for the church to begin to take on the responsibility that God gave her and be a light in the world. This command to be a light in the world is the real commission of the church. Of course, there are many aspects of the work, but giving is one of those means of carrying out the work that Christ called the church to do. It is also a way for us to go about doing good and following the example that Christ set for us.
Stewardship was one of the first commands that God gave to mankind when He said that He was giving man dominion over all of the creation and giving the responsibility to name and care for the things that God had created. So, this calling involves the managing of everything that God has entrusted to us. In order to do this, we must remember that everything belongs to Him. We are simply caretakers of these wonderful things. How well are you caring for those things that He has given you?
The reality is, tithing and giving is a great part of our heritage. We have been handed a great heritage in this movement. Heritage is something that we should hold dear because it reminds us of where we came from and the route that our ancestors took to get us where we are today. When I think about the pioneers who began this work, I feel very honored to follow in their footsteps. I never take a trip to another country on behalf of the church without thinking about how long it took for many of them to travel to those same countries, the length of time it took for them to be able to communicate, and the hardships that they went through in order to make the way easier for us. So let’s celebrate our heritage by being good stewards of those wonderful things that have been passed on to us by those who went through so much to bring this movement to where we are today!