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Cash Values

Friday, 16 August, 2002

It seems that money and giving is currently a very hot topic. We recently started doing Cash Values, a topical study on money, in our church Bible study group. What really surprised me was that everyone in the group was really keen to talk about money and the issues they were having with what to do with it, how much to give, how much to spend, how much to save, etc. There is a real need out there to think through the issues and to be wise about what to do when it comes down to putting what we know into action. This week we looked at the subject of prudence and the wisdom of the book of Proverbs—particularly how the poor are viewed and how the Bible says they ought to be treated. We had the usual discussion about what should be done when we encounter people begging in the street. Someone made the point that we were in a totally different situation from the writers of the Bible; they lived in smaller communities where everyone knew everyone else. Everyone knew who were the poorer people in their neighbourhood. But for us, living in one of Australia's capital cities, we don't always know everyone else and wouldn't know if a person who approaches us for cash is really in need or just out looking to scam people for money. That made us think about what we could do to be generous to those in our community whom we really knew were in need. Next week we will be looking at the subject of giving. (May I once again draw your attention to Andrew Hingston's excellent article on how to be financially adventurous with your giving.) Spud raised some interesting questions on his blog regarding why a pastor tithes and what his tithe should be used for. In response to the “why” part, I would say that a pastor tithes to set a good example for his congregation. Tony Payne (author of Cash Values) told me an interesting story about a pastor who was thinking of ways to encourage his church to give. He decided to tell his entire congregation what he gave and where he gave it to—in actual $ figures! The following week the offertory went up quite significantly. In response to the “what” part, I would agree with him; it's a little futile for the pastor to be putting parts of his own salary back into the offertory. Surely it would be better if he gave his money to other worthwhile causes.

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