SCRIPTURAL GIVING PT.2

GIVE ACCORDING TO CAPACITY

Several years ago, anti graft agency revealed that a man embezzled heavily from his office. When asked about the money, he said he sowed the money as seed in church. This man stole because he wanted to give beyond his capacity.

Another woman, a civil servant who stole heavily was caught. When the money she stole was traced, it was found in a church account. One thing I know is that her church didn't tell her to steal to give. However, she may have been influenced by extreme teachings on giving& sowing seed.

God doesn't demand for what you don't have. I stated this clearly because one of the common abuses around giving or sowing seed is when people are forced and manipulated to give beyond their capacity. How do you expect a man whose total annual income is not more than N3 million to sow a seed of N5million?

On this, speaking to the Corinthians, Paul said, "Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. GIVE IN PROPORTION TO WHAT YOU HAVE* (2 Corinthians 8:11 NLT).

I have heard or seen preachers who tell people to borrow to sow seed. This is wrong and unscriptural. From the scripture above, if a man has to borrow to sow seed, such giving is breaking the basic scriptural rule stated above. Your giving is acceptable based on what you have not based on what you don't have.

That you're to borrowing to sow shows you don't have and God doesn't demand what you don't have. The tenor of scriptures revealed that to us. In the early churvh, people willingly gave what they had. It was not recorded that Peter told them to borrow to sow seed. Even under the old covenant, it wasn't recorded that people borrowed to give.

I've heard of students who sowed their school fees as a seed because a preacher promised them miracle money and grades. Often, most of them become stranded in the middle of the session trying to find solution to their indiscretion. Hey! There's nothing like miracle money. I didn't see it anywhere in the bible where Jesus, Paul and other apostles preached or taught on miracle money.

The "Gospel of Mammon" is behind all the abuses surrounding money today. If you leave a meeting and you become restless because you want to give something bigger than what you have because of spurious promises made by the preacher, you've been infected with Mammon's virus.

Giving should be based on capacity and in proportion to what you have. God won't demand for what you don't have. Some persons even steal to give in church these days, it is wrong. The altar doesn't sanctify stolen money.