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Why do Christians give to the church or to charities? 

It’s a question to ponder thoughtfully ahead of the upcoming wave of posts and advertisements about Giving Tuesday. We invite you to explore with us: why do we give? And how can our community do so thoughtfully and prayerfully, as people who want to share Jesus’ love with those among us, around us, and beyond us? 

There are many ways to answer this question - here are a few that come to mind for us: 

1. We give because of what our holy Scripture shows us.

The Bible has a lot to say about tithing [to pay or give a tenth part of, especially for the support of a religious establishment or organization] as worship, and tithing as community care. 

Arguably, the idea of tithing can be traced back to the beginning of the Bible in the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4). These brothers both gave an offering to God, and Abel’s offering was favoured by God for being the best of his work. 

Later, in Mark 12, Jesus observes a woman giving two pennies to the temple offering box and remarks “The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all.” 

Regardless of what we have, scripture shows us that honouring God with the best of us is an important part of following Jesus, and an important part of being in community together.  

A side note on the origins of the word “Tithe” for the Bible-nerds in the crowd: this word comes from the Hebrew in Deuteronomy 14: “Make an offering of ten percent, a tithe, of all the produce which grows in your fields year after year…In this way you will learn to live in deep reverence before God, your God, as long as you live.” These verses are the origin of the historical concept of tithing 10% to the Church. Though tithing 10% is still a common practice, based on the story above from Mark 12, we can see that tithing can look different for every household. 

The important thing to take away from Scripture is that while giving can look different for each person, the key this: just like we offer our best to those we love most, so we also offer our best to God. 

2. We give to participate in the long history of our faith.

There is a deep history of tithing in the Christian Church tradition. Because of the importance we place on scripture, Christians believe that a portion of what we are given should be returned to God as an act of worship. For many, this looks like tithing at church, though in the modern era this has expanded to include other organizations that care for our community in ways that align with Jesus’ love. 

We know that in the history of the church, tithes have not always been honoured well. It’s no secret that wealth claimed from tithes has been abused among clergy and the institution of the church worldwide. A thoughtful approach to Giving Tuesday in light of this might be to consider the church or organization carefully: how do they spend the money they are given? Can we see evident in them the fruit of the Spirit? Is there love, joy, peace? Patience, kindness, and goodness? Are we engaged in the community of this church, and do we believe in what we are accomplishing together? 

At Victoria Alliance Church, honoured saints both past and present have participated in this tradition since 1939. Our community, which began in a woman’s living room, has gone through many changes but one thing has remained constant: for 85 years people have participated in giving to this church as a communal effort to share the love of Christ to those among us, around us, and beyond us. When you give to Victoria Alliance Church, you join with all those who have gone before in faith and love. As a staff, we do not take this lightly, and hold each gift with honour and deep respect. 

3. We give because of the values instilled in us by Jesus to care for one another.

Our faith matters to us, and heavily influences our values - and our values shape how we choose to spend our money, our time, and our gifts. 

Jesus instills in his followers a deep desire to care for those with less, and Paul expands on this idea in his second letter to the Corinthians: “The goal is equality, as it is written: ‘The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.’” 

Paul spent much of his time and effort traveling to various churches, collecting money, and redistributing it so that all would have what they need. If we spent some time digging into this, we would surely find some challenging words and ideas for our society today, and these ideas are a part of why our Barnabas Fund is an important part of our financial structure. 

4. We give as a way of imagining the Kingdom of Heaven on earth - Jesus’ love, healing and joy for everyone - today and right now!

While we anticipate a day where there is no pain, no tears, and no hunger, we have a sacred privilege to participate in bringing Heaven to Earth every day, here and now. This might mean giving to your local church or an organization that does this well, picking up a sword and turning it into a garden plow, or by lending a hand to a neighbour or a friend. 

These are just a few thoughts we had when approaching the “why” of Giving Tuesday. What is your why? Consider your faith and the deep scriptural and historical roots it represents. How do you see Jesus at work around you? Where do you see a need for Heaven on Earth? And how do you want to participate in it? 

If you’d like information on the current status of VAC's General Fund, click here. 

If you’d like information on how to give to Victoria Alliance Church, click here.