Is the giving of Christians somehow different from that of non-Christians?  After the January earthquake in Haiti large numbers of individuals, both Christians and non-Christians alike, gave generously for the relief effort.  Was the giving of Christians a tithe or offering, a gift to God, or was it essentially a personal gift emanating from human empathy just as the giving of non-Christians was?  What distinguishes a tithe or offering from a personal gift?   At one level, that to which I am giving might hold a clue.   What I give to my church or to a Christian ministry is probably Christian giving, whereas I would say my gift to the local symphony or to cancer research is a personal gift, not a tithe or offering.

Recently, this question of what constitutes Christian giving has become important to me in the context of my own giving.  My wife and I are supporting several children from Christian families through school.  God blessed me richly by providing the resources for me to get a good education, and out of thanksgiving to Him and out of a realization that everything I have is from Him I am passing that gift on to others within the family of Christ.  To me that is clearly Christian giving.  But what about my financial support for the education of the children of a Muslim family?  This also is a good and generous thing to do, it is assistance to the poor and the oppressed and it will give those children opportunities that otherwise would not be theirs.  But is this also Christian giving or is it simply a personal gift from me?  

This question is particularly relevant for Christians who give to humanitarian causes such as safe water, orphan care or micro-finance.  Isaiah 58 and Matthew 25 are very clear in their emphasis on feeding the hungry and clothing the naked as Christian responsibilities, and the Church has a long history of ministry to the poor, the sick and the downtrodden.  But there are also many secular organizations that do exemplary humanitarian work, and many Christians and non-Christians alike donate generously to these.   If as a Christian I give to a secular humanitarian effort is that Christian giving or is it instead a personal gift, indistinguishable from the gift of a non-Christian?

I am sure there are many ways to approach this question, beginning with our conscience as well as relying on God’s leading, but John Stott’s last point in his sermon titled “10 Principles of Christian Giving” provides a simple test.  Speaking from 2 Corinthians 9:11-15 Stott states that Christian giving promotes thanksgiving to God.  It overflows in many expressions of thanksgiving and is a crucial test of whether our giving is authentically Christian or not.  Truly Christian giving leads people to thank God for His Grace.


This test, although probably not comprehensive, greatly simplifies the question: 
"Does my giving result in thanksgiving to me, or does it result in thanksgiving to the God we love and serve?"

In Brian Fikkert’s recent book “When Helping Hurts” he uses a framework based on four areas of relationship to explore the underlying causes of poverty.  I have known for a long time that addressing the symptoms of poverty rarely provides lasting solutions to the problems of underdevelopment, and Fikkert’s analysis through the lenses of relationship with God, with self, with community and with creation has helped me simplify what I had often described in overly complex terms.

The failure of many safe water interventions is a case in point.  It is common for organizations raising money for the provision of safe water to state that it costs on average only about $7 per person to provide it in perpetuity (or at least 20 years) to a rural community.  This type of estimate assumes that the community will operate, maintain and repair the water system after it is first installed.  Their frequent failure to do so results in a high percentage of water systems, 40% to 60% in many cases, soon falling into disrepair.  So in fact, the $7 often only covers the cost of water for a year or two, or maybe even only a few months.  It is easy to blame these communities and to conclude that nothing will be accomplished among them without someone from the outside doing it.  In my view, though, the failure of these water interventions results from a failure to address the core issue which usually stems from broken or underdeveloped community relationships.  And this failure stems from the implementing organization not taking the time to invest in its own relationship with the community.  Development is all about relationships.

Relationships take time.  It takes someone’s time and energy to operate and maintain water pumps, pipes and taps, and it costs money to repair them. It is naive to think a community will automatically be able to undertake these functions if it hasn’t done so in the past.  Deciding who is responsible for these functions, who will pay for water and how much, who will collect the money, who will use it responsibly and what will be done by whom if the designated individuals don’t live up to expectations require relationships of trust within the community that can’t be created and developed in a jiffy.  It takes considerable effort to establish functional relationships within a community and working out the kinks in the processes a community decides upon takes time.  Not only that, but the process is unpredictable.  It happens more quickly in some communities and takes longer in others.  You may even have to walk away from some communities.  Political division, ethnic strife and personal enmity within a community are often the very reasons the community is poor, which is why, in my experience, the time it takes to establish functioning community relationships is often proportional to the material poverty of the community.

And this is why it is a whole lot easier to just swan in with the drilling equipment, install the water system, take the pretty pictures of the villagers rejoicing during the dedication ceremony and move on to the next location.  But this doesn’t do anyone much good.  It is short lived, very expensive and reinforces the perception on both sides of the ocean that the solutions lie with outsiders.  In my view, this is exactly the kind of helping that hurts.  Wouldn’t it be so much better to invest in developing the relationships within the community that empower them to operate, maintain and repair the water system even if it costs $14 or $21 per person?  After all, these are the same relationships necessary for them to work together for a school, a clinic, a bridge, a road or whatever else they believe will improve their lives.

Indeed, these relationships are the building blocks for the steps out of poverty