Truth of the Spirit episode “Church Scandals about Money” discusses how offering money to the Church can be sinful. Scriptural examples involve St. Peter. In discerning when offering money to the Church is a good thing, Host Patti Brunner shares how she learned to test the Lord per Malachi 3:10 and how the Lord responded with blessings and an abundant life. Learning to trust God through tithing shows the Lord’s command in Luke Chapter 6:38. To listen or watch this episode or to read the script please continue reading.
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If we cheat on our taxes by understating our income or sales as we file a tax report we can be prosecuted on fraud charges and be put in prison. We cheat not just the government; we cheat our fellow taxpayers who report their income honestly. Sometimes the government uses these rules to imprison notorious criminals who are difficult to convict on more dastardly crimes. What was the cause of the Church scandal involving collusion between husband and wife to understate their income that ultimately caused their death? And what happened when a magician tried to buy the rights to the supernatural?
Welcome to Truth of the Spirit and TOS229 Church Scandals about Money. I am your host Patti Brunner. Our episode today discusses when offering money to the Church can be sinful. It can affect daily life and eternal life!
The Apostle Judas, chosen by Jesus to lead the people to the Kingdom of God, betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Instead of asking forgiveness he judged himself, committed suicide and thus provided the first scandal in the Catholic Church involving money. In the Acts of the Apostle Chapter 8 we hear thatPhilip the Apostle “went down to [the] city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. 6 With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured.”
Simon the Magician[i] had a lucrative business there. According to “Acts 8:9-13 He “used to practice magic in the city and astounded the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 10All of them, from the least to the greatest, paid attention to him, saying, “This man is the ‘Power of God’ that is called ‘Great.’” 11They paid attention to him because he had astounded them by his magic for a long time, 12but once they began to believe Philip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, men and women alike were baptized. 13Even Simon [the Magician] himself believed and, after being baptized, became devoted to Philip; and when he saw the signs and mighty deeds that were occurring, he was astounded. 14Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, 16for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then they laid hands on them and they received the holy Spirit. 18 When Simon [the Magician] saw that the Spirit was conferred by the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19and said, “Give me this power too, so that anyone upon whom I lay my hands may receive the holy Spirit.” 20But Peter said to him, “May your money perish with you, because you thought that you could buy the gift of God with money. 21You have no share or lot in this matter, for your heart is not upright before God. 22Repent of this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord that, if possible, your intention may be forgiven. 23For I see that you are filled with bitter gall and are in the bonds of iniquity.” 24Simon [the Magician] said in reply, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” A commentary footnote in the New American Bible suggests, “[8:9–13, 18–24] Sorcerers were well known in the ancient world. [And that] probably the incident involving Simon and his altercation with Peter is introduced to show that the miraculous charisms possessed by members of the Christian community (Acts 8:6–7) were not to be confused with the magic of sorcerers.” As we look at it, the scandalous desire of Simon to purchase charisms could have been a misunderstanding or the ignorance of a new believer. Or Simon might have been trying to absorb the competition in Samaria and profit from the power of the Holy Spirit. Or it could have been the influence of demonic spirits trying to cause irreparable harm to the Church. The Church frequently used the supernatural power of the charisms of the Holy Spirit in the time of the Apostles and the power of the Holy Spirit continues to manifest today. Charisms are still active! Charisms are still not for sale! The Holy Spirit gives them for free!
In our series on Peter we introduced the scandal in the Church[ii] when Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, tried to ‘pull the wool over Peter’s eyes” by deceiving the Church in their generosity. They sold some property to give to the Church. They wanted to witness their “all in” attitude to other followers of Christ. But they weren’t ready to trust God, it seems. Desiring to have their cake and eat it too, they falsified the amount the property sold for so as to give a lesser amount, and keep the difference. Wanting the approval and the public recognition given to others who were surrendering all their wealth as they joined the Christian community, they made a big ‘to do’ of their generosity. They got caught by the Holy Spirit and their immediate punishment was death. Sounds pretty harsh, doesn’t it! Why was this so serious? Were they trying to purchase eternal life? They blasphemed by trying to deceive the Holy Spirit.
When you look at the names of elementary schools in small towns they are usually named after leaders who generously served their community. If you walk around on any large university campus you will find buildings named after big donors to the school. Sometimes even church fundraisers offer ‘naming rights’ to large donors as a means of enticing larger donations. Jesus teaches us in Matthew Chapter 6, ““Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. 2 When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” NAB
Sounds like Ananias and Sapphira not only tooted their own horn, they made up lies about their deeds that were destructive rather than a blessing. So what are we to do? Not give at all? How does that show that we are surrendering our attachment to the world?
Jesus told us in the Gospel of Luke Chapter 6, (v38): “Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure packed together, shaken down and overflowing, will be poured into your lap”. The amount of recompense is poured out pressed down, overflowing. Are we tempted to give so we can gain more back?
The truth is: the Lord allows us to test Him with tithing, read Malachi 3:10[iii], as we test the Lord in our tithing we learn to trust Him. We test ourselves. The Lord wants to get us ready to receive his Kingdom, but first we must learn to be good stewards. He doesn’t need the 10%. He provides for all our needs. But by obeying his command, we learn to steward and to take care of the church and others. And thus we are prepared to receive his kingdom. No matter how much we give, the Lord continues to outdo us in generosity. In our spiritual immaturity we possibly think more about the recompense than acting out of love. We think of the reward of heaven, the answers to prayer, and the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.
When the disciples, other than Ananias and Sapphira, laid their proceeds of selling their houses at the feet of the Apostles it was because “the fruit of Christianity is a desire to take care of the needs of others… Often this opens hearts to receive the real treasure, the true bread come down from heaven and the fullness of an abundant life.”[iv] Jesus showed us the Way to be generous by sharing with us the tremendous gifts of the Spirit. He gave healing to all who asked, He gave miracles, and the greatest gift of all: He laid down his life, for us, Jesus the first born Son of God. God also gives us gifts as prime examples of the kingdom principles of seed-time and harvest. We are not always aware of all that God has given us. What is sown in the dark is revealed when the day dawns. Too many think they gain riches by gathering and holding close the fruit of their labor. When you look at the lives of the saints, you find those who shared in the Name of the Lord. There are many worthwhile needs in the world, yet this world shall pass away. The most important needs are those which affect eternal decisions.
There is a blessing that comes forth when those who seek the Face of God share what they have been given. How do you give things to God? Surrendering (them) to God’s will is one way. Another important way is by sharing them with others. We can share our money and we can share our witness our testimony. The sharing does not stop with money or witness. We can share the gifts He gives including His gifts of sanctification, gifts of motivation, and extraordinary gifts of manifestation. We can share our time and talent; we can share our faith—all these open the abundant life for others.
Don’t wait to start giving. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8:12-14 NAB to be generous and eager to give it now. “12 For if the eagerness is there, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have; 13 not that others should have relief while you are burdened, but that as a matter of equality 14 your surplus at the present time should supply their needs, so that their surplus may also supply your needs, that there may be equality.”
I don’t remember hearing much about tithing in my Catholic education. Yet, my mother tithed! In the Old Testament, at least seven of the books talk about tithing–giving 10% of crops, money, animals. In the early Christian Church shown to us in the New Testament, nothing is held back to provide for the community. In other words, as a Christian everything I have is the Lord’s and can be used for the kingdom of God as He sees fit. In Chapter 4 of Acts (31-35 SS) we read: “They were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God’s word with confidence. The community of believers was of one heart and one mind. None of them ever claimed anything as his own; rather, everything was held in common. With power, the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great respect was paid to them all, nor was there anyone needy among them, for all who owned property or houses sold them and donated the proceeds. They used to lay them at the feet of the apostles to be distributed to everyone according to his need.”
In our world today it is hard to find many Catholics that even obey the Old Testament 10% much less share of everything they have. In this world it doesn’t make “sense” but in the kingdom all are eager to share everything they have with others. Those in the kingdom understand the Father has provided all and when all is given it is replenished. By giving you receive. The more you give, the more you have room to receive, and not just material things or wealth but spiritual things also.”
Let me repeat what Jesus told us in the Gospel of Luke chapter 6, (v38): “Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure packed together, shaken down and overflowing, will be poured into your lap”.
We can only share what we have. The more you give, the more you have room to receive. I believe one reason for the command of tithing and good stewardship is to teach us to take care of the gifts God has given us. Once we can learn to trust Him in the material things He gives us, to the point of trusting Him enough to give back the first fruits of our harvest and be good stewards, He gives more. Then when we have behaved responsibly in these small things, He will give us an abundance of spiritual gifts. Jesus tells us in John 10:10 “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” By learning to trust God, we can choose to accept everything He offers to us. Jesus tells us in the gospel of Luke Chapter 16, “10 The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones”. Material wealth is a small matter. Spiritual wealth is a great one.
To comment on those who cheat on their income taxes, remember the Gospel of Mark Chapter 12:17, Jesus said to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. A Christian will eventually realize that everything is God’s!
My husband and I started out our marriage financially poor. But we always gave a little portion to the church, about 3% or less. Over the years we had always been frugal but also comfortable in our lifestyle. I was fully grown with three children of my own before I discovered that blessings and benefits are available to those who demonstrate their trust in God and obey Him. Jesus commands us to “Give and it will be given to you.” [Luke 6:38] The Old Testament law calls it tithing. 10% of the crops and the first born of all the animals were given back to God through the Levitical priests. I spent a great deal of my young adult life unaware of the blessings of seeking God’s face and sharing what I had been given with others.
We made a decision to test tithing. I measured how much we had been giving and made a schedule of our income and our net assets. This was easy for me because I was an accountant. Then I discussed it with my husband. We decided to “bump up” our giving a per cent at a time until we reached 10%. Amazingly, we began to get raises and our investment in a local stock kept doubling like yeast in bread. Each increase we got we increased our giving to the church. Quickly we topped the 10% tithe goal and then went beyond. Eventually we regularly tithed 20% on our take home income, giving to our church and other Christian charities. The Lord even prospered our relatives so that we received inheritances. We made a point to tithe any cash flow or profit we received. We were soon able to pay off all our loans and to forgive debt that was owed to us. Many times our net worth jumped more than our entire income for the whole year. It is true “you can’t out give God!” Why did the Lord allow us this blessing?
When we first began tithing the promise of prosperity sounded good. I admit it; there was a small touch of curiosity, and maybe desire for prosperity, in my heart that wanted to see how the Lord would respond. I am amazed and thankful for the results. Besides the financial prosperity, spiritual blessings began to change my husband and me. We began to understood the joy of giving for the benefit of others. Tithing helped us loose our “attachment” to money. Money is representative of other attachments that can keep us from God’s fullness.
When the Lord sent us people who were in need of a financial boost, we quietly arranged to provide extra funds. At first there was a touch of pride in our hearts as we saw others helped from the sweat of our brow. But as the grace helped us to grow toward being true Christians, that is, “having the mind of Christ”, we were helped to overcome any pride and we began to realize that God provides all. And, that all of our lives are for the benefit of all. Once we learned to trust Him in the material things He gave us, to the point of trusting Him enough to give back the “first fruits of our harvest” to be good stewards, He gave more. When we behaved responsibly in these small things, He gave us an abundance of his precious spiritual gifts. We are amazed at the blessings of the Lord in our lives. We are quick to share with others all that the Lord has given us. Even this podcast is a way of sharing our God-given spiritual gifts with you.
Have there been scandals in the Church about money? Yes. We know of two Arkansas parishes whose parish managers stole large amounts of parish funds. Over the history of the Church there have been many more. Yet the Church survives scandal. Do some people give money to the Church for power or recognition? Probably so. Yet, God continues to teach us to have a generous heart and pocketbook. For how can the Lord return to you ten-fold if nothing is given? Trust in the Lord.
You’ve been listening to Truth of the Spirit, I’m Patti Brunner. This is Church Scandals about Money. For more information or to read this script, go to PatriarchMinistries.com/229. We invite you to subscribe, click like, and come back again because there’s more. With the Holy Spirit there is always more! Amen.
[i] Scriptures quoted are from New American Bible. Acts 8:9-13 Simon the Magician. NAB
[ii] TOS228 Peter the Rock https://PatriarchMinistries.com/228
[iii] Malachi Chapter 3:10 “10 e Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse,* That there may be food in my house. Put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, And see if I do not open the floodgates of heaven for you, and pour down upon you blessing without measure!
[iv] Quote from Truth of the Spirit episode, “Walk Among the Needy”, https://PatriarchMinistries.com/69
