“…Remember the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
-Acts 20:35
As we just celebrated Thanksgiving here in the United States, I am reminded that “Giving thanks” is what this holiday is supposed to be all about. After all, the story of Thanksgiving says that it originated when pilgrim settlers celebrated their first harvest together with the Native Americans that helped them survive in the New World. They gave thanks to Our Lord for the blessing they were provided. Thanksgiving Day, itself, was not made an official national holiday until President Abraham Lincoln, in 1863, proclaimed the fourth Thursday of November to be a national day of “Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.” Giving thanks to God for all our blessings is important but it is equally as important to extend that thanksgiving to give back.
When it comes to giving, the Bible provides not only guidance but an invitation to experience the joy of generosity. For instance, in 2 Corinthians 9:7, we are reminded,
"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
Here, we see that giving is not just about fulfilling an obligation but about embracing a spirit of joy and freedom in our offerings. As Christ followers, we are called to reflect God's own generosity, understanding that our giving is an act of faith and love, connecting us more deeply to His purposes. In this post, we'll explore the beauty and depth of Biblical giving, discovering how generosity transforms both the giver and the receiver in God's kingdom. We will also cover ways that you can effectively give so that it is not only a spiritual benefit to you but can be a financial one as well.
“If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
-1 Corinthians 13:1-3
The first step in biblical giving is to have the right attitude. God evaluates our actions based on our attitude. His words reveal his attitude towards giving. John 3:16 tells us “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son.” He GAVE because he loved. We should not give because it will benefit us financially (that can be a by-product but should not be the main motivator). We also should not give because we feel pressured by others or because of our pride in wanting to be seen as generous. The core reason we give should be because we love. Jesus emphasized this in Matthew 23:23:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law-justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former.”
Here, Jesus is stating that the Pharisees are following the letter of the law by tithing on not just their crops, but on the herbs and spices they grow BUT they are not following the spirit of the law, to do this giving out of love and showing that love for others with justice, mercy, and faithfulness. They should have both.
So how can we have the right attitude? Consider the early churches of Macedonia:
“…we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.”
-2 Corinthians 8:1-2
The Macedonians were in terrible circumstances and extreme poverty. That is usually not the circumstance where you can expect someone to give generously. How they did this is answered in verse 5: “They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.” The key to giving with love and doing it cheerfully is to first give ourselves to Jesus and ask Him to direct our giving and give us the right heart.
The second step in giving is determining the amount. I teach a bible study at my church on managing finances according to God's word and a common question that comes up is "do I really need to give 10% of my income to the church?" The answer I like to give is "No, you can do much more than 10%."
The concept of tithing has been around for millenia and actually started with the father of the Jewish faith, Abraham. The first tithe that we see in God's word is in Genesis 14:19-20. Here, Abram (later renamed Abraham by God) gives one-tenth of his possessions to Melchizedek, a priest and king of Salem. He does this willingly after he is blessed by Melchizedek, with an attitude of gratitude. Throughout the remainder of the Old Testament, we see tithing occuring regularly and it is part of the Mosaic Law in the books of Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers.
As Christians, we are not subject to the Mosaic Law; however, Jesus specifically said that He did not come to invalidate the law. There is no New Testament passage that rescinds tithing. In fact, Jeus upholds the principle when he denounces the self-righteousness of the Pharisees as we saw above in Matthew 23:23.
Jesus calls us to practice sacrificial giving, just as He gave sacrificially of Himself for us. This means giving beyond the tithe. How much beyond the tithe? That is something each individual would need to prayerfully determine; God will place it on our hearts.
Finally, there are various methods you can employ in your giving. One of the benefits of our tax code is that our government will allow a deduction in the taxes we pay by giving to qualified charities. A qualified charity is one that is tax-exempt under IRS code 501c-3. Most religious institutions or organizations qualify, but you will want to check with the organization to see if they qualify if you want to claim your giving as a tax deduction.
You can, of course, give directly from your income. Tithing is defined as giving 10% of the increase you have been blessed with which would include income. If you are giving straight from your income, you can qualify to deduct up to 50% of your Adjusted Gross Income for tax purposes. So, you are not limited to 10%.
You can also give appreciated securities or other assets, such as vehicles. One of the benefits of gifting appreciated securities is that the qualified charity is tax-exempt so when they sell the asset, they will not have to pay capital gains tax. If you decide to gift appreciated securities such as stocks or mutual funds, it is important to remember that you can only deduct up to 30% of your Adjusted Gross Income on your tax return for the gifts and these assets must have been held by you for more than a year. You will also want to transfer these securities directly to the charity, rather than selling them and donating the cash, as that will result in a tax to you. It is important to speak with your tax advisor before implementing this strategy.
Another valuable tool in giving is a Donor-Advised Fund. This is a charitable investment account that allows you to contribute cash, stocks, or other assets to support charities. Some even allow you to donate a business interest or real estate. The value of the contribution you make into the account qualifies as an immediate tax deduction. You can then “divvy out” funds from the account to charities when you wish. The funds within the account can also be invested to grow tax-free so that your giving can go even further.
Qualified Charitable Distributions are another tax-efficient way to give directly from your IRA if you are over the age of 70 ½ . Many clients may not qualify to get the tax deduction for charitable contributions because they take the standard deduction and do not itemize. This is a way to give and get the tax benefit because you are gifting it directly from your IRA to the charity. It is important that the distribution never goes to you first; it must go directly to the charity. Many IRA custodians will send a check to the charity on your behalf or can provide you with a checkbook you can use to write checks from your IRA directly to the charity. You will want to speak with your advisor about this.
I also strongly recommend speaking with your CPA or other tax advisor before implementing any of the strategies I covered here since they know your tax situation best.
Even though we get tax benefits from giving to a tax-exempt organization, that should not be the extent or purpose of our giving. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus tells us about the Last Judgement when He will separate the goats from the sheep, those who truly followed Him from those that did not. The sheep were true followers because they ministered to the oppressed by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and imprisoned. There are many tax-exempt organizations that do this, including the churches we belong to, and it is easy to write a check or give online to these causes. However, what do we do when we see a need with our own eyes? Do we feed the hungry person we see at a red light, or avoid eye contact? Do we visit those that are sick and bring them a meal? What about those in prison? Or the single mother in our church working 2 jobs just to barely make ends meet? We do not get a tax benefit from giving directly to these individuals, but the spiritual benefit is much more rewarding. The joy we receive from loving on others is indescribable. Jesus knew that joy. He lived his life as a sacrifice for others and then made the ultimate sacrifice of love on the cross. That is why Jesus said it is so much better to give than to receive. He knows what is truly best for us.
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