Matthew 6
6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Okay I was wrestling with this text the other day after reading a quote that says “Christians give more than non-Christians”! My first question is how is this known? So anyway I started to look at plant churches, missionaries and many organizations and each of them gives this disclaimer “All contributions are tax deductible”. So here are the questions.
1. Would you give less if there were no tax benefit?
2. Are we ignoring Jesus’ commands by ensuring that we provide this disclaimer?
3. Do you believe we would rather give to an organization that has tax benefits than give to the needy directly?
4. Would you plant a church without this status and trust God to provide anyway?
5. Are we writing the Holy Spirit out of the equation?
6. What do you think is going to happen when the government starts regulating what we can and can’t say and effect our tax status based off of these regulations (I promise it is coming)?
7. How did the first-third century Church survive without these exemptions while still paying taxes?
8. Are we to give to our churches and let them start programs? Is the “chruch” the new storehouse?
The reason I ask is because it is much easier for me to give to an organization with a tax exemption status versus a needy person. I would much rather lower my taxable income versus give to a neighbor or some needy person God has put in my path! Why? Well I don’t want to pay taxes (I would rather break even or even get a return) and I would like a small refund. But I believe that there are many needs that go ignored due to this.
Lionel,
In the last year or so, our family has completely changed the way we give. First, our church has very little overhead – mostly rent for our weekly meeting. So, we still give some every month to help pay for these congregational expenses.
However, beyond this, we usually give directly to people who are in need. We do not keep track of it, and we do not try to write it off of our taxes. Taxes and deductions are never an issue when we give. If God reveals a need to us, and if we have the means to help, then we do so.
-Alan
Bro. Lionel,
I believe I was embarrassed out of this practice of making sure my donations were tax deductable. Me and my wife sat down with the person at H&R Block and pulled out all of our receipts, about $11,000 worth. We just knew that we had done something big that year. Well, the lady got to punching numbers and we all discovered that the “Standard Deduction” was even higher than our donations. So in fact, all those receipts became null and void immediately. My wife and I immediately looked at one another and said “We did all that searching for paperwork for nothing!” That’s right. We were forced to wonder if we also had done the giving for nothing. In other words, were our hearts pure in our giving. NOPE! So you’re right on the money with this one. 501c3 considerations will be the demise of the public church. Christians should seek to give just to give and glorify God with it.
As someone who has left the organized church to start a house church where 100% of the offering could be given directly to the poor, and who has not sought a non-profit status (and will not) for our church, let me say that this is one spot-on post.
Keep the Faith.
Peace,
Keith Giles
Thanks Kieth,
Why did you make that choice?
Hey BLD,
The time is coming my friend. Lets hope this multi-million dollar churches are ready.
Hello,
Would you mind if I used your image of the hands holding the coins for a project I am doing to teach my kids about giving to the needy (just for home use)?
Thanks!
Julie