I mentioned “sacrificial giving” to someone recently and they looked back at me blankly. Initially, they didn’t know what “sacrificial giving” meant, and then they assumed it was someone who was giving extraordinarily large amounts to others. This started me down a path, wondering and talking to people about what they know about sacrificial giving, what it means, what it looks like, and finally – how many of us are actually giving sacrificially.
In the Old Testament, we saw God requiring the Jews to tithe. Tithe, or “tenth,” meant the faithful were expected to give ten percent to God. In Proverbs 3:9 we read “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your produce.” This didn’t necessarily only mean their produce (grains or fruits), but whatever they made through their harvest, flock, and/or goods -the first ten percent was to be given back to God showing that they trusted Him with their lives and livelihoods.
In today’s Catholic Church, we are no longer required to “tithe,” especially as it relates to any percentage of income. In fact, we are not even required to give financially. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “The faithful have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his abilities” (CCC #2034). For some, providing for the Church may be through their gifts of time and/or talent. However, for most of us – we can afford to give financially, and we can also afford to give more than we do.
So, what is “sacrificial giving?”
The reason for tithing in the Old Testament was to make a sacrifice to God. Giving ten percent of your harvest, flock, or goods was going to be felt, it wasn’t going to be easy. That is as true today as it was 3,000 years ago. The important piece here is the idea of “sacrifice.”
Sacrifice has many definition, but in this case – sacrifice means giving something you want to keep or you value, for the sake of something else that you regard as more important or more worthy. As Catholics, what could be mean more than God and our Church? But, sacrifice does mean that you are giving or offering something that may be more comfortable to keep, that will stretch you a little, or that may even hurt.
The biggest shift to “sacrificial giving” is the ability to say you are giving to God from the start versus from what is left over. For years, I thought I was being generous… until I realized how and when I was giving. I started by taking care of all my “essentials” (which, let’s be honest, really included extras and non-essentials), then I would give according to what was left. But, recalling Proverbs 3:9, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your produce,” our gifts to God and the Church should be the first things that we contribute to, from all that we have, rather than waiting and giving from what is “left over.”
The next decision is how much do we (or should we) give of those “first fruits.” The Catholic Church encourages you to give according to your abilities. The goal is not to give so much that you cannot afford your rent or house payments, that you aren’t able to pay for groceries or go to the doctor when you need to. However, giving sacrificially may mean that you give up a steak dinner so you can give weekly at Church or purchase food for the hungry. Maybe rather than buying a pair of designer jeans, you buy a coat for the homeless.
Finally, we should strive to remember 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” It is so easy to think about what we will miss out on or what we might lose if we give more. I challenge you to instead look at what you may be missing out on spiritually if you don’t give sacrificially.
Since making the change in how I give, I have started to experience special joys that could only come with sacrificial giving. My faith is strengthened, and my rewards multiplied! My gifts may not be the same as yours, we know that we cannot all give equally. However, we can all give sacrificially.
Please help us continue
