Day 4

Bruce Miller, author

This week, we are reprinting Chapter 2 of  Bruce Miller’s book, Giving: Three Questions. We’re answering the question, “To whom should you give?” Today we’re considering the final biblical priorities for our giving.

To global missions (Propempo)

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for each one of us. It is the most important message. The Apostle Paul wrote,

 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3).

The gospel shares the way anyone is saved eternally.

Jesus said that his followers are to be witnesses to the entire world, to the ends of the earth. To do that, we must go and send people to bring the message. In the book of Romans, we read,

 For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:13–15).

When you give to global workers (missionaries), you invest in the gospel.

This is a biblical model. In the four gospels, you can see that people financially supported Jesus and his disciples. This model continues with the apostles. People in the churches sent out missionaries (global workers) with financial assistance.

One Greek word is used seven times in the New Testament with a specific focus on giving to missionaries. The word is propempō. It means to assist someone in making a journey, to send on one’s way with food and money. Propempō became an early Christian term that was used to exhort, compel and even command believers to send individuals or teams of gospel workers on their way with all the needed resources to make their journey a success.

In 3 John, John writes a personal letter to a believer named Gaius, who had recently funded a team of visiting missionaries. John encouraged him to continue his funding,   

Please send them on their way [propempo] in a manner that honors God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth (3 John 6b–8).

This giving to global workers is a biblical command to propempo, to financially assist those who are going to bring the gospel to the world. When you give to them, you become partners with them.

Other Giving Priorities

Given that these are God’s three priority recipients for our giving, how are we to consider other charitable opportunities such as to our university’s scholarship fund, the Red Cross, and the American Heart Association? What about giving to personal crises such as the little girl with cancer? Needs such as these fall under the broad biblical direction that we are to do good to all.  The Apostle Paul writes this advice to the believers in Galatia,

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (Galatians 6:10).

So on top of giving first to your local church, and then to those in need and to global missions, you should also take the opportunity to do good beyond that. Often this kind of giving aims at the second priority of giving to those in need.

My wife and I regularly give to the North Texas Food Bank, especially when they offer double or triple matching for our gifts. We have given to a GoFundMe account for a friend with cancer. These tend to be smaller gifts for us and not as regular.

The instruction to do good especially to those who belong to the family of believers encourages you to focus on personal relationships. Before giving to someone you do not know whether in your community or around the world, give to someone you know personally, especially if they are in your church.

What about giving to people in your own family who have fallen on hard times? Sometimes older parents have not saved enough to provide for their needs later in life. Also, sometimes young adults fail to launch well or make early costly mistakes. The Apostle Paul gave this instruction to his associate Timothy for the Christians in Ephesus,

But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God….  Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:4, 8).

However, this instruction does not mitigate your obligation to put priority on giving to your church, to those in need and to global missions. Taking care of your family is in a different category of financial stewardship. For instance, putting food on the table for your kids is not “giving” to them but carrying out part of your fundamental responsibility to provide for your family. In other words, it would be wrong to say to yourself, “I’m giving money to my mother-in-law to pay her rent, so I’m not going to give money to the church.”

Reflect

• Given the importance of the gospel message, how does this passage show us the priority of giving to global missions?
• How can you help support global workers?
• How does giving to good causes fit into your overall giving plan?
• How does financially helping people in your family fit in your overall stewardship of your finances?