How Much Should I Give?
Is Money Your Master or Your Servant? A Biblical Perspective on Giving
There's something uniquely uncomfortable about discussing money in church. Perhaps it's because money touches such a sensitive nerve in our lives—revealing our deepest priorities, fears, and values. Yet avoiding this conversation means missing out on one of the most transformative spiritual truths: our relationship with money reveals our relationship with God.
The Question We're All Asking
"How much should I give?" This question haunts many believers who genuinely want to honor God with their finances but feel overwhelmed by the specifics. Should we calculate based on gross income or net? What about benefits? Do we give before or after taxes? The questions multiply, and the anxiety builds.
But perhaps we're asking the wrong question entirely. Instead of "How much should I give?" maybe we should be asking, "How much should I keep?"
This shift in perspective changes everything because it addresses a fundamental truth we often forget: we don't actually own anything.
The Principle of Stewardship: You Own Nothing
Psalm 24:1 declares with stunning clarity: "The earth is the Lord's and all it contains, the world and all those who dwell in it." This isn't poetic exaggeration—it's literal truth. God owns everything. Every dollar in your bank account, every possession in your home, every asset to your name ultimately belongs to Him.
This makes you and me something quite specific: stewards, not owners.
A steward is someone entrusted with managing possessions that belong to another, with the understanding that accountability will come. Biblical stewardship involves the idea that we are given something to manage, operate, invest, and use—but eventually, we must give an account.
This concept isn't new. It appears right at creation's beginning when God placed Adam in the garden to cultivate and care for it. Joseph served as steward in Potiphar's house. Daniel stewarded resources in the Persian kingdom. Throughout Scripture, God's people have always been stewards, never owners.
As believers today, we have three primary stewardships:
1. The Gospel Message: We are entrusted with the good news of Jesus Christ and called to share it.
2. Our Spiritual Gifts: First Peter 4:10 reminds us that each person has received a special gift—whether musical, intellectual, athletic, or otherwise—and we're called to employ these gifts in service to others.
3. Our Possessions: Time, talent, and treasure all belong to God and are given to us for His purposes.
God is the owner of all things for at least two reasons: creation and redemption. He made you, and if you're born again, He bought you back through Christ's death on the cross. You've been purchased twice. Everything you have comes from His hand, which means giving isn't really giving at all—it's returning to God what was already His.
King David captured this beautifully in First Chronicles 29:14: "But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from you, and from your hand we have given you."
The Principle of Starting: You Must Begin Somewhere
Here's an uncomfortable truth: none of us are naturally generous. By nature, we're takers. We're covetous. We're selfish. Generosity is a learned behavior, and if you want to be a giver, you must actually give.
But where do we start?
The Old Testament provides clear guidance: the tithe, or ten percent. While some dismiss tithing as "Old Testament law," this practice actually predates the law. In Genesis 14, Abraham gave a tenth to Melchizedek before any law was given. The tithe represents a starting point, not a finish line.
In fact, biblical scholars estimate that the average Israelite gave somewhere between 30-40% of their income when you factor in tithes, votive gifts, love gifts, freewill offerings, and peace offerings. Ten percent was merely the foundation.
The New Testament raises the bar even higher, calling for bountiful and sacrificial giving—not just giving from our excess, but giving until it costs us something.
The Widow's Offering: When Less Is More
In Mark 12:41-44, Jesus sits opposite the temple treasury, watching people give. Many wealthy individuals deposit large sums. Then a poor widow approaches and drops in two small copper coins—worth about a cent.
Jesus calls His disciples over and makes a startling statement: "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of the contributors to the treasury. For they all put in out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty put in all she owned, all that she had to live on."
The wealthy gave from abundance. The widow gave from sacrifice. They gave what wouldn't be missed. She gave what she needed to survive.
Jesus was watching then, and He's watching now. He notices not the amount but the heart behind the gift.
The Principle of Sanctification: Your Checkbook Tells the Truth
Our giving serves as a litmus test of our spiritual health. How we spend money reveals who we truly are, what we genuinely love, and what we actually consider important. Show me your checkbook, and I'll show you your heart.
Luke's Gospel provides two contrasting examples. In Luke 19, Zacchaeus meets Jesus and immediately promises to repay those he's cheated four times over. His willingness to part with his wealth demonstrated the authenticity of his conversion.
One chapter earlier, in Luke 18, the rich young ruler asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. After claiming he's kept all the commandments, Jesus issues a challenge: "Sell what you have and give to the poor." The man walks away sad, unwilling to part with his wealth. His refusal revealed where his true allegiance lay—not with God, but with his riches.
How you spend your money indicates your spiritual well-being. It reveals whether money is your master or your servant.
Testing God with Your Wallet
Malachi 3 contains the only place in Scripture where God invites us to test Him—and it concerns our finances. God accuses His people of robbing Him in tithes and offerings, then challenges them to bring the full tithe and see if He won't "open the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows."
This is part of our sanctification process—becoming more like Christ by trusting God with everything, including our money.
The Ultimate Question
When you think about your resources and how you're spending them, whose kingdom are you building? God's or your own?
We are made in the image of a gracious and giving God. Second Corinthians 8:9 reminds us: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."
Jesus gave everything. He left heaven's riches to embrace earth's poverty so we could receive spiritual wealth. Our giving is simply a response to His overwhelming generosity.
God doesn't need your money—He owns everything already. But you need the reminder that your wealth isn't really yours. You need the spiritual discipline of releasing your grip on what you can't ultimately keep anyway. You need the freedom that comes from recognizing that money is meant to be your servant, not your master.
So perhaps the question isn't "How much should I give?" but rather "How much can I joyfully return to the One who gave me everything?"
May your Thanksgiving bring blessings in abundance!
There's something uniquely uncomfortable about discussing money in church. Perhaps it's because money touches such a sensitive nerve in our lives—revealing our deepest priorities, fears, and values. Yet avoiding this conversation means missing out on one of the most transformative spiritual truths: our relationship with money reveals our relationship with God.
The Question We're All Asking
"How much should I give?" This question haunts many believers who genuinely want to honor God with their finances but feel overwhelmed by the specifics. Should we calculate based on gross income or net? What about benefits? Do we give before or after taxes? The questions multiply, and the anxiety builds.
But perhaps we're asking the wrong question entirely. Instead of "How much should I give?" maybe we should be asking, "How much should I keep?"
This shift in perspective changes everything because it addresses a fundamental truth we often forget: we don't actually own anything.
The Principle of Stewardship: You Own Nothing
Psalm 24:1 declares with stunning clarity: "The earth is the Lord's and all it contains, the world and all those who dwell in it." This isn't poetic exaggeration—it's literal truth. God owns everything. Every dollar in your bank account, every possession in your home, every asset to your name ultimately belongs to Him.
This makes you and me something quite specific: stewards, not owners.
A steward is someone entrusted with managing possessions that belong to another, with the understanding that accountability will come. Biblical stewardship involves the idea that we are given something to manage, operate, invest, and use—but eventually, we must give an account.
This concept isn't new. It appears right at creation's beginning when God placed Adam in the garden to cultivate and care for it. Joseph served as steward in Potiphar's house. Daniel stewarded resources in the Persian kingdom. Throughout Scripture, God's people have always been stewards, never owners.
As believers today, we have three primary stewardships:
1. The Gospel Message: We are entrusted with the good news of Jesus Christ and called to share it.
2. Our Spiritual Gifts: First Peter 4:10 reminds us that each person has received a special gift—whether musical, intellectual, athletic, or otherwise—and we're called to employ these gifts in service to others.
3. Our Possessions: Time, talent, and treasure all belong to God and are given to us for His purposes.
God is the owner of all things for at least two reasons: creation and redemption. He made you, and if you're born again, He bought you back through Christ's death on the cross. You've been purchased twice. Everything you have comes from His hand, which means giving isn't really giving at all—it's returning to God what was already His.
King David captured this beautifully in First Chronicles 29:14: "But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from you, and from your hand we have given you."
The Principle of Starting: You Must Begin Somewhere
Here's an uncomfortable truth: none of us are naturally generous. By nature, we're takers. We're covetous. We're selfish. Generosity is a learned behavior, and if you want to be a giver, you must actually give.
But where do we start?
The Old Testament provides clear guidance: the tithe, or ten percent. While some dismiss tithing as "Old Testament law," this practice actually predates the law. In Genesis 14, Abraham gave a tenth to Melchizedek before any law was given. The tithe represents a starting point, not a finish line.
In fact, biblical scholars estimate that the average Israelite gave somewhere between 30-40% of their income when you factor in tithes, votive gifts, love gifts, freewill offerings, and peace offerings. Ten percent was merely the foundation.
The New Testament raises the bar even higher, calling for bountiful and sacrificial giving—not just giving from our excess, but giving until it costs us something.
The Widow's Offering: When Less Is More
In Mark 12:41-44, Jesus sits opposite the temple treasury, watching people give. Many wealthy individuals deposit large sums. Then a poor widow approaches and drops in two small copper coins—worth about a cent.
Jesus calls His disciples over and makes a startling statement: "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of the contributors to the treasury. For they all put in out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty put in all she owned, all that she had to live on."
The wealthy gave from abundance. The widow gave from sacrifice. They gave what wouldn't be missed. She gave what she needed to survive.
Jesus was watching then, and He's watching now. He notices not the amount but the heart behind the gift.
The Principle of Sanctification: Your Checkbook Tells the Truth
Our giving serves as a litmus test of our spiritual health. How we spend money reveals who we truly are, what we genuinely love, and what we actually consider important. Show me your checkbook, and I'll show you your heart.
Luke's Gospel provides two contrasting examples. In Luke 19, Zacchaeus meets Jesus and immediately promises to repay those he's cheated four times over. His willingness to part with his wealth demonstrated the authenticity of his conversion.
One chapter earlier, in Luke 18, the rich young ruler asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. After claiming he's kept all the commandments, Jesus issues a challenge: "Sell what you have and give to the poor." The man walks away sad, unwilling to part with his wealth. His refusal revealed where his true allegiance lay—not with God, but with his riches.
How you spend your money indicates your spiritual well-being. It reveals whether money is your master or your servant.
Testing God with Your Wallet
Malachi 3 contains the only place in Scripture where God invites us to test Him—and it concerns our finances. God accuses His people of robbing Him in tithes and offerings, then challenges them to bring the full tithe and see if He won't "open the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows."
This is part of our sanctification process—becoming more like Christ by trusting God with everything, including our money.
The Ultimate Question
When you think about your resources and how you're spending them, whose kingdom are you building? God's or your own?
We are made in the image of a gracious and giving God. Second Corinthians 8:9 reminds us: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."
Jesus gave everything. He left heaven's riches to embrace earth's poverty so we could receive spiritual wealth. Our giving is simply a response to His overwhelming generosity.
God doesn't need your money—He owns everything already. But you need the reminder that your wealth isn't really yours. You need the spiritual discipline of releasing your grip on what you can't ultimately keep anyway. You need the freedom that comes from recognizing that money is meant to be your servant, not your master.
So perhaps the question isn't "How much should I give?" but rather "How much can I joyfully return to the One who gave me everything?"
May your Thanksgiving bring blessings in abundance!
Pastor Kirk Flaa
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