- Let’s Give Generously, but Wisely

THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WASTED in religious work each year can never by accurately computed, but it must run into the millions of dollars in the United States alone. One of the liabilities of our free Protestant system is the absence of effective checks to prevent irresponsible people from launching into any religious venture they see fit and appealing to the Christian public to pay their bills. The result of this kind of freedom is that racketeering has long since invaded the field of religion and countless numbers of self-anointed prophets are living high at the expense of the saints.
I do not have in mind the huge amounts of money spend to propagate the many false cults that are flourishing like lush weeds in our rich American soil. I confine my considerations to that area of religious activity that passes for New Testament Christianity. The facts indicate that all is not well even there.
A number of factors have combined in recent years to encourage irregularities in the field of religious work to make it possible for disreputable persons to grow fat at the expense of the generous Christian public. First and foremost is the extraordinary financial prosperity that the nation now enjoys. Almost everyone these days has plenty of money to donate to religious and charitable purposes, and it is not human nature to permit such a rich bonanza to lie untouched, when it is so easy to latch onto large chunks of it by launching some religious enterprise and calling upon good people to support it.
Another factor is the amazing speed of transportation and communication that modern science has made available to all. The printing press, our rapid mail service, the radio, the movie and the now-popular religious drama have made it possible to reach the Christian with mass appeals for money with complete assurance that those appeals will bring in handsome amounts of the coveted green stuff. Many of these appeals are accompanied by bold claims of unusual faith. One gets the impression that these valiant warriors are ready to step into any arena to do battle with the enemies of the Lord with nothing to protect them but the shining shield of faith. The blunt fact is that most of the adventures are based upon nothing more spiritual that a shrewd knowledge of the proven generosity of God’s people.
It is to the everlasting credit of God’s children that they can be moved to sacrificial giving by a touching story or the sight of human suffering. It is only necessary to fly around the world and return with pictures of human misery, and God’s dear sheep will promptly go down on their hunkers and permit themselves to be sheared down to the skin by persons morally unworthy to clean out the sheep pen. The tender-hearted saints think with their feelings and pour out consecrated wealth indiscriminately on projects wholly unworthy of their support. Most Christians are hesitant to question the honesty of anyone who says complimentary things about the Lord and perspires when he preaches. To such they give vast amounts of money and never ask for nor expect an accounting. This speaks well for their hearts but does not say too much in favor of their spiritual discernment.
Knowing how sensitive we Americans are about our right to decide when and where we shall give and whom we shall support, I do not expect my readers to take this admonition lying down. I am prepared to be told that I am interfering in matters that do not concern me. My answer is that I personally know that there are scores of godly pastors who privately deplore the exploitation of God’s people by disreputable persons but who are too timid to say so publicly. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread, and if these angels will not speak up to protect the saints then someone less fearful (if less angelic) must do so.
Furthermore, we must all make an accounting to God for our disposal of the wealth we enjoy. Giving to further dishonest projects is wasting God’s money, and in the great day we will tell God why we did it. It will pay us to use prayerful caution before we make our gifts. Let us not give less, but let us give more wisely. Some day we’ll be glad we did.