Ok, time for an opinion poll. Your thoughtful opinion.
Giving vs. paying. Scripture is more than clear that God’s people are to be marked by a liberal generosity. We should be the most generous givers on the planet. We have been given much, we should give much. And giving is a joy, when done God’s way.
So what about paying? My bottom line question is: Should church events have a cost? Should, for example, a Bible Study or class, that is offered by the church, have a cost?
I’ve always thought yes. Why? Of course there’s the obvious reason which is that stuff costs money and that’s how you pay for stuff, but more importantly because people tend to value what they’ve invested money into. There are no free lunches! Plus, the worker is worthy of his wages. Who’s going to pay for the worker if no one’s paying for the class?
But what of the difference between paying and giving? Is giving a voluntary and joyful overflow of a grateful heart? Is paying more of an obligatory (and at times begrudging) handing over of payment because that is what is required? Are we forced to resort to requiring payment because God’s people do not joyfully give? And, more importantly, is that the correct response?
But again, don’t we value what we’ve paid for ourselves? It’s certainly a necessary lesson for every young person to learn. They treat a car they’ve paid for and are responsible for a whole lot different than a car that Daddy insures and fills with gas. But should that same truth transfer to the church? Or should we operate differently? (I’m really asking this question so I hope you’re really ready to answer!). Or, should we use the gospel as our model? Romans 5 makes it crystal clear that salvation is a free gift. We do not pay for it, and those who thought they could buy it were sharply rebuked (Acts 8:18). God apparently didn’t think that we needed to pay for salvation in order to be invested in it. And yet, He requires, in exchange, the surrender of our life. This is not payment, it is the joyful response of one who has received a free gift. Giving, not payment. Giving is worship. Payment is debt.
So how far does this extend? Does this mean the church hands out the Bible Study books as a free gift, but encourages the recipients to generously give to the church in worshipful response? Can we let people go on free missions trips? Do we become in danger of mis-handling God’s money, and people’s sacred tithes?
What do you think? Please share…
2 thoughts on “Giving vs. Paying”
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I’m not sure you can have an all-inclusive answer on this one. I think that there’s times when “church events” (which can encompass so many different types of events) should have a cost associated, and other times when they shouldn’t. I think most people accept the fact that big events (concerts, retreats, fancy social events like golf tournaments or women’s tea parties) may have some cost associated with them. They’ll understand that someone has to pay for the overhead of putting that event together. But, I think if there’s a class or Bible study where the only overhead is the person’s time, maybe people might not be so keen on dropping cash for that. I guess if there was some sort of reading material (study guide or book), then they’d be okay with paying a small fee for that. Ultimately, I think that a lot of times people will attend an event if it’s free — after all, who doesn’t like free stuff? However, if they have to pay a fee for something, they are less likely to attend. It’s just the nature of people. And, since I would hope that the heart behind all church events is to expose as many people as possible to Jesus, there would be a great effort made to reduce the cost of any event as much as possible — even if it means making it completely free.
AS has some good points. In my opinion the greatest underlying issue is that a large majority of church attending and believing people don’t tithe.