Give How Much to Whom?
So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.2 Corinthians 9:7
Twitter etiquette says you follow back whomever follows you. Lately, for me, that has been some questionable characters. I get private messages saying, “Hi beautiful. How are you today? I’d like to get to know you.”
I unfollow them immediately.
When I do follow back I always check the profiles. Some reveal that they are foreign workers in orphanages or creating water supplies for areas lacking them.
Their private messages ask me for a donation to their cause. It is almost immediate so I am not sure if it is set up as an auto response. I find it just as offensive as those from the men. It screams “SCAM” to me.
As Christians are we to trust everyone on social media who says they have a ministry? After doing some reading about how there are many orphanages around the world collecting donations on social media for which the children see no benefit, I have become a skeptic.
Our money is from the Lord, as are all the things that we enjoy in this life (Psalm 24:1). He tells us to be generous and to help those in need (Proverbs 22:9). However, there seems to be a responsibility on our part to know the need, not just to hear about it.
Luke 6:30 says, “Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.” Does this negate our responsibility to know how the money will be used?
If a man we know (especially a brother in the Lord) is hungry and has family who need food and a roof over their heads and we trust this man not to run to a liquor store or a casino with it, help that person! But, if we know they are not trustworthy, that they have these ways that make them untrustworthy, should we not be good stewards with what God gives us? Perhaps we should take food directly to the family rather than hand over cash.
On a broader scale, though I know that there are starving children in Africa, am I to believe a man who gives me no more introduction to himself or his ministry than “Please send money?”
This does not mean that we should not give to foreign missions. It does mean that we should do our homework. If we cannot go, we should talk to someone who has been there – who has seen firsthand the work they are doing. Further, we should know that they are doing it for the Lord, that with the charity from the people who are receiving the cash they are also receiving the Gospel.
Our money needs to go to those who are truly needy, a need we can see if it is personal. If we send it to a ministry, we need to know that those who will decide how it gets spent are trustworthy ambassadors for Christ.
How much Christians give to whom is between the individual and God. By all means, be generous but also be wise.
I pray for God to give us wisdom and discernment in giving.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Melissa.
Beth, I so agree with your thoughts here. We need to do our homework. I get requests weekly and almost daily across several social media venues for money to cover needs and orphans and ministry. Still, not only do we need to carefully consider and research the ministry, we need to prayerfully ask the Lord what He says about it. Because in the end, I could not give to everyone who has a need…no way. And as a pastor’s wife, we both as a family and as a church family already support local and international ministries to the least of these.
Also, meant to speak to your intro about men and comments and even those who claim to be Christians. I had a bad experience with a guy on Twitter who was mentally ill and would send me warped messages about Jesus, the Bible, and me and him. Even after my husband tried to talk to him, it didn’t do any good. Finally, I think I’ve got him blocked everywhere and he stopped creating new Twitter accounts so he could follow me and publically talk to me in a tweet even if I wasn’t following him.
Oh Karen, Your Twitter experience sounds painful! It makes me think we need to be discerning about any private message communications with people we don’t know. And, you make a good point about praying before giving. That should definitely be a part of the decision making process about where to give our money. Thank you for the comments.
Wise words.
Ha, I can relate to your Twitter experience! I love reading some of the profiles on people who can also clearly relate, saying things like “happily married so no, I’m not looking for a date” or “no DMs please,” etc. Discernment is so important in today’s world. Here’s to clinging to God’s voice so we can make wise decisions.
Jessica, I envy those who thought to add that “No DMs!” I toy with the idea of adding it.
“Here’s to clinging to God’s voice so we can make wise decisions.” Agreed.
Thanks Ava!
This is a very powerful post, and I pray that God moves every individual to give in the right ways!
Thank you, Julie. All for the glory of our great God!
As someone who runs a charity that supports orphans in Myanmar and Nepal, I share your concerns and frustrations. So many times they are very unscrupulous in nature. But, then there are those of us who follow God’s call to James 1:27 to help the orphans and we suffer because of those bad individuals. We welcome anyone to come visit our works in each country. We must remember though, if God placed it on your heart to give and you have researched the organization, then you should give. Too many use this as an excuse not to give at all. The orphans and widows of the world need our help.
What a great call to stewardship in our giving. There are so many calling for our resources. We must follow God’s leading and pay our due diligence to ensure we are supporting causes that truly help. Not always easy. Always necessary. Thanks,, Beth.
Yvonne, I agree that we cannot use it as an excuse not to give, we will answer to God for how are finances are used. It is good you invite others to see the works you are doing far away. I am also willing to trust someone I know can be trusted who has seen it first hand. My greatest concern at this point is not to be taken in by someone who uses social media for nothing but fund raising for a place that may or may not exist.
May God bless the work you are doing and provide for you to help many!
So right, Nancy, “Not always easy. Always necessary.”
Great post. Yes, I do believe we are called to give but definitely need to check into it first.
Thanks S.A. Willingly, cheerfully, and wisely.
I was just discussing this with a friend- thanks for the point that our resources are limited and we need to give wisely.
Glad it was helpful Candice!