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The Theology of Giving

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The first and over-riding principle of Christian stewardship is that we give proportionally, that is, a percentage of our income. We yield back to God according to the degree that we have been blessed; the more He has given us, the more we should return, in gratitude and love. We give to God not merely a portion of what we receive, but a proportion.
We are all familiar with the [[Old Testament]] [[tithe]]. From the very beginning, the tithe establishes that giving a percentage of our income is the norm. Proportional giving is not just an [[Old Testament]] idea, however. Our [[Lord]] also speaks of it. In His [[parable ]] of the talents ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 25:14-30; [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 19: 11-27), the Master commends the first two servants because they bring Him an increase in proportion to the amount they received from Him. In another place Christ extols the meager donation of a poor woman far more than the exorbitant
contributions of the well-to-do ([[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] 12:41-44; [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 21:1-4). Why does he do this? The rich had given far greater amounts, had they not? The Lord Himself tells us why her gift was more valuable: "They all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all the living that she had." In other words, she had given a far greater proportion of her possessions than had her wealthier neighbors. Finally, as if to rebuke us for not understanding the examples He has given, our Lord turns to us and says plainly, "Everyone to whom much is given, of him will much be required" ([[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 12:48). This applies to every aspect of our Christian life - to our spiritual gifts, to our talents and skills, and to our material possessions.
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