The Story
About ten years ago, I travelled to hundreds of North American cities every year to tell stories at Wycliffe Associates fund-raising banquets.
One morning my travel manager and I pulled into a Starbucks parking lot for our usual morning coffees before starting a long drive. “I’ll have a venti Café Mocha this time,” he said.
A few minutes later, I slid into my seat, handed Max his Mocha and sipped my Cappuccino while holding a Mocha Frappe in my free hand.
“Remember the waitress at our breakfast place who told us how to get to Starbucks? She said she loved Mocha Frappes. So, I bought one to bring to her as we drove by.”
“Right, good idea.”
After pleasantly surprising the waitress with her favourite coffee, she rewarded me with a smiling Thank you. As we drove down the freeway, I thought about how easy it had been for me to spend those extra dollars to make someone feel appreciated. What made it so easy was that I had not paid with my own money but with the Starbucks card provided by Wycliffe Associates.
The Application
Isn’t it easy to be generous with someone else’s money? Who wouldn’t vote for faster snow removal in our community when we don’t personally have to pay for it? It got me thinking about money and giving, especially appropriate now, at Christmas time.
The Bible has a lot to say about money, “All creation and its bounty are mine” Psalm 50:12 (MSG). God gave us the strength to produce all this wealth” Deuteronomy 8:18 (MSG). This means that all the money in the world belongs to God.
Although we are not owners of the money in our bank accounts, God has made us His money managers, and He will hold us accountable for how we spend His money.
Regrettably, some Christians give 10% of their income to God’s work and then act as if the 90% is their own, which they can spend however they want. Not so.
And speaking of tithing, someone once told me, “We are Christians and are living under Grace, not under the Law of Moses. So, tithing does not apply to us.”
“True,” I said, “But I, and many other believers, give 10% as a token amount to remind us that 100% of what we have belongs to God.” So, we act as Abraham who practiced tithing hundreds of years before Moses’ Law was given.
Jesus: Our Investment Advisor
Jesus gave us smart investor advice, “Store up treasures for yourselves, not on earth, but in heaven. (Mat. 6:20). If we give the tithe and beyond to meet the needs of the poor and to build His kingdom, we will receive one-hundred times as much in eternity. Mat. 19:29. (No Investment advisor can beat 10,000%!)
Jesus also reminds us that although we cannot take our treasures with us, we can send them ahead by giving them away to those who cannot pay us back. Lk. 14:12-14.
He said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be.” (Mat 6:21.) Our thoughts focus on our treasure. I want to take my thoughts out of the bank and into heaven, which is my forever-Home! 
The Gift of Giving
Romans 12 lists seven gifts God supplies to His people to build His Church: prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, leading, showing mercy, and giving. In my experience, churches tend to strongly encourage congregants to be involved in the first six activities.
But the seventh: giving, seems to get less attention. It is true that statistics show that evangelicals per person give more to charity than any other social group. But statistics from Barna Research also show that, on average, evangelicals in North America give only 2% of their income. One report stated that one in three born-again adults said they tithed their income, but their actual giving and income showed that only one in eight did so.
Yet, financing missions makes the Church grow worldwide. It goes against the grain of our greed to pray, “Thank you for helping me to earn all this money. Now guide me to make wise decisions and give generously to those in need and to build your Church.”
Making it Easy
We need to spend our money, keeping in mind that our money is not ours but God’s. When that fact becomes a daily reality, we’ll respond to His inner voice to meet the needs of others by giving away God’s money. It will be easy and satisfying. Just as easy as it was for me to use the Wycliffe card to buy a Mocha Frappe for a waitress and be rewarded with a big smile.