Giving

What should the motive be for giving money to God be? Guilt? Obedience? Joy?

I was talking to a friend this morning who is going to talk about giving before the church. The speech was good (as contribution speeches go), pointing out the need to support the local body of Christ and the need to be obedient to God in our stewardship. But I came away with guilt...I'm not giving enough, you should appreciate what the Lord has done for you by giving back...So I challenged the speech.

We already know that 10% of the membership gives 90% of the contribution and the speech isn't for those who are already giving. But how do we motivate the 90% non-givers to actually give? Will guilt help? Doubtful. So what will?

Vivien Hibbert once said to me that any church with strong praise and worship rarely has difficulty with finances. That got me to thinking: Why not pass the plate with strong praise music? Could the presence of God motivate them to give more? I think so.

So I rewrote the speech. Here is what I would do:
"Jesus is Lord. I would like for you to ask repeat after me...Jesus is Lord....Jesus is Lord...Now I want you to do this: Ask God what he wants you to give, then listen and obey...Jesus is Lord...Father, what do you want me to give right now, today.... Now listen for an answer..." Then sit down. Next, start a strong praise song (like Revelation Song by Kari Jobe) and halfway through the song, hand out the collection plates.

The idea is to get into the presence of God before giving to Him...Get God Himself to motivate the non-givers. No guilt, no shame, no begging or cajoling. Allow the Holy Spirit to begin His work in people's hearts, allow Him to admonish and encourage people to give. Do this for a month and see if people's attitude changes about giving so they can finally experience the joy of giving generously.

How would you get the 90% to give more and give generously?