The church needs you but not just you, the church needs your money too.
One of the most controversial subjects in the church today is money.
We often expect the church to be the one giving—to the poor, supporting families, helping members, funding missions and meeting needs. But have we ever paused to ask: How does the church do all these things without money?
The truth is simple: the work of God requires resources.
When God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle, He gave him very specific instructions about what was needed. Then He told Moses to ask the Israelites to bring the required materials.
“Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD.” — Exodus 35:5
And something remarkable happened. The people kept bringing their offerings until there was more than enough.
“The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done.” — Exodus 36:5
Eventually, Moses had to tell them to stop giving because they had supplied more than was needed.
Imagine that happening in our churches today.
Imagine a church announcing a project and people responding so generously that the leaders eventually had to say, “Please, we have enough. You can stop bringing your offerings.”
Wouldn’t that be beautiful?
Giving is not a modern invention
Giving to support the work of God is not a 21st-century idea, nor is it something the church invented to take advantage of people. Throughout Scripture, God’s people gave their resources to support His work.
Paul also taught the early church to intentionally set aside money for God’s work:
“On the first day of every week, each of you should put something aside and save whatever you earn.” — 1 Corinthians 16:2
Notice the intentionality. Giving was not supposed to be something people only did when they were pressured or persuaded. It was something they planned for.
And this is where I believe we need a shift in our thinking.
We budget for food.
We budget for transportation.
We budget for entertainment.
We budget for our homes.
We budget for our children’s needs.
Can we also budget for the work of God?
The church has bills too.
There is electricity to pay for. Buildings need maintenance. Workers need to be supported. Ministry activities require resources. Outreach, missions, charity, discipleship, children’s ministry, evangelism and countless other activities all require money.
When you sit in a comfortable church building, when the lights are on, when the sound system works, when the place is clean, when someone has prepared a sermon, when a ministry is reaching people in need—resources have gone into making those things possible.
This doesn’t mean that every financial request made by a church is automatically right. It doesn’t mean we should ignore financial abuse, manipulation or irresponsible stewardship. The church must be accountable for how God’s resources are handled.
But the failures of some should not make us conclude that giving itself is wrong.
Give—but give willingly
One of the most important things about the Israelites’ giving was that they were not forced.
“Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit was willing came and brought the LORD’s offering.” — Exodus 35:21
The New Testament carries the same principle:
“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.” — 2 Corinthians 9:7
God is not looking for money that has been squeezed out of us through fear, manipulation or pressure.
He wants willing hearts.
And perhaps if Christians became more intentional about giving, churches would have less reason to constantly devise ways to raise money.
Perhaps we shouldn’t wait until we are persuaded, pressured or repeatedly reminded.
Perhaps we should simply say:
“This is God’s work. I will intentionally set something aside to support it.”
The church needs you—and your resources
We cannot say that we love the work of God while consistently withholding our resources from it.
Jesus said:
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” — Matthew 6:21
Our money reveals something about what we value.
We readily spend on the things we love and consider important. So perhaps it is time to ask ourselves honestly:
Do I make room in my budget for the things of God?
Giving isn’t about making the church rich. It is about participating in the work God is doing through His people with your money.
