(October, 1995)

Few Christians realise what a poor testimony it is when they 'plead poverty'.

Pleading poverty takes many forms, but the goal is much the same in each case: You want to gain sympathy by telling how difficult your life is.

Big-time fund-raisers do it when they say they will have to close down or take some other backward step if you don't send them a donation right away. And individual Christians do it when they try to explain late payments on debts or their unwillingness to give to help others. It may even be used as an excuse for not offering hospitality. But in each case, the motive behind it is miserly greed.

There's nothing wrong with being poor, or even with asking for help. But asking becomes begging when we emotionally twist people's arms to get them to give. And people who are poor in spirit do not plead poverty to get sympathy, because they are content with what God has given them.

We insult God when we beg or whinge. No matter how much money any charity receives, it could always use more. So no matter how many people 'dig deep' to support the charity this week, if making money is their goal (and it usually is) they will be pleading for more next week. People should give to charities because it is the right thing to do and not because they have to bail the charity out of financial disaster. God doesn't expect any of us to solve all of the world's problems. If we each do what we can, that is all God expects. 'Begging' as such is not necessary.

It is understandable when someone is in serious physical danger that they should be vocal about asking for help. But most of the things we whinge about not having in the West today are relative luxuries, which we could well do without. And those who whinge about not having money to pay bills are broadcasting that they were too impatient to wait for God to give them whatever it was that they went into debt for in the first place.

We experience miserliness when we ask people for a couple of cents to help with the cost of printing our literature and they launch into a sad story about being pensioners, students, unemployed, or some other excuse for not parting with five cents.

A more common form of miserliness has to do with hospitality. We personally consider it a privilege to have guests drop in, and that is when we bring out our best dishes, best food, and best manners. This is still the practice in the poorer countries of the world.

But we notice a pathetic Western trend toward regarding guests as scavengers, out to rob us of our daily bread. Almost before hosts have answered the door they are dropping hints that guests have inconvenienced them, and that the visitors picked a bad time to come because funds and groceries are low.

The Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver. One translation of this is that God loves a hilarious giver. What a contrast to the penny-pinching generosity of your average Christian today. Obviously their 'god' has been very cruel to them and cannot be recommended to anyone else.

My God shall supply all your need, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)