“Would my bank manager know that I’m a Christian from looking at my statements?”

Many Christians have had less than straightforward journeys when it comes to their faith and their posture towards giving. 

When people share their testimonies, they commonly tell of a significant life event that resulted in an ‘aha’ moment that changed their way of thinking and behaving. 

For some Christians, however, the path can be characterised by a steady deepening and maturation of their faith and understanding of God’s Word. This has been Tim’s experience.

He grew up in Nottingham and went on to study pharmacy in Manchester. After graduating, he worked as an industrial pharmacist until his retirement five years ago. Raised in a Christian family, he committed his life to Jesus at the age of 16 and was actively involved in the Christian Union during university.

Throughout several moves around the UK, he and his family have mainly attended independent evangelical churches. Giving has been a natural and consistent part of his Christian journey since his early involvement in Young Life, a national network of Christian youth groups.

The giving journey

For Tim, growth in giving has come through consistent teaching and disciplined practice. John Stott and Chris Wright’s book The Grace of Giving has been especially influential. One core principle he holds to is maintaining a baseline of around 10% of income – following the Old Testament tithe – while giving additional amounts as needs and opportunities arise.

Over the years Tim has served as a church treasurer and given many “giving talks.” His favourite passages to teach from are Malachi 3 (“bring the full tithe into the storehouse”) and 2 Corinthians 8 (on the grace of giving). Regarding the often-quoted Matthew 6:3 (“don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing”), Tim takes a balanced view: “If you’re supporting a missionary or Christian worker, sometimes it’s encouraging and helpful for them to know of your support. But generally, it’s better to give anonymously, in line with Jesus’ teaching. It helps us guard against seeking credit or slipping into the self-righteousness Jesus warned us about.”

For Tim, the heart of giving is joy, fuelled by right motives and a right attitude. His advice is simple: be wise and give anonymously where it’s appropriate.

But he is realistic too. Giving when money is tight can be difficult. “What do you cut back on – family needs or the Lord’s money?” he reflects. At such times, it can be a struggle to keep giving joyfully rather than dutifully, and it’s easy to justify giving less rather than joyfully returning to God what is His.

How does he decide what to give to?

Another challenge is choosing who to support. Tim and his wife prioritise their charitable giving to Christian mission: firstly, to their local church, then to Christian workers or missions with whom they have personal connections or are actively involved with.

The giving has changed over the years. During his working life, Tim supported charities he was personally involved with, such as a Christian hospital in Cairo and a mission supporting a church network in Bosnia. 

After retiring and relocating to Edinburgh to be closer to family, he and his wife looked for charities active in Scotland. Today, along with their local church, they support several national missions connected to their church, all with a strong focus on spreading God’s Word locally and overseas.

Why Stewardship?

His giving is largely planned and regular, which is something he appreciates about Stewardship: the ability to set aside the ‘first fruits’ of his income in a very organised way. He is grateful for the administrative simplicity of everything and the fact that he can wisely apply anonymous giving wherever appropriate.

“And,” he adds, “my accountant loves it. The administration is so easy, there’s no need to look up the charity number of each recipient and we don’t need to worry about the due diligence. Stewardship is on top of things and you’re keeping my giving legal and above board. You’re one of the easiest organisations to work with from a service point of view.”

Final words

For Tim, the key thing to remember is that God has done so much for us. “We must not rob God (like Malachi 3 talks about). It’s so tempting for us to not give Him back what he’s ‘due’.”

Also, giving is an expression of God’s grace to us. “God’s been so good to each of us and will be good to us in the future. We can only return a small amount, but it’s still an expression of grace.” And finally, it’s also about the Christian witness we leave: “Would my bank manager know that I’m a Christian from looking at my bank statements?”

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