An Eastern Orthodox
Perspective ...By Father James Worth
Relationship of Money to the Church
When addressing the question of the relationship of
money to the Church one immediately comes to the realization that, although
the Church does not exist to make money, the Church -- as an institution
living in the world -- needs money to exist. In saying this one does
not diminish the importance of the presence of God for the existence and the
continuation of the life of the Church; indeed, even if we had all of the
money in the world but lacked the abiding presence of Christ who dwells
among us in and through the Holy Spirit, there would not, nor could not, be
the church.
At first glance it may appear that money and the
Church have very little to do with one another except for the fact that
money is used to "pay the bills" of the Church. While
it is true that God and not money is the true content of our faith, we must
seek to understand the theological vision of giving to the Church that is
presented to us within the Tradition of the Church.
By taking flesh from the Virgin Mary, Our Lord
Jesus accepted to enter into the fullness of the material world.
In the action, Jesus united heaven and earth and once and for all abolished
the dichotomy between the "spiritual"
and the "material." The myth that there is still a dichotomy between
the spiritual and material realms of life is no more than a denial of the
true implications of the Incarnation.
In Christ heaven and earth are united. By entering the material world, our
Savior has sanctified matter. Therefore, matter -- even money -- can be used
for the glory of God and the upbuilding of the Church.
Offering our First Fruits...
When we give money to the church, we are offering back
to the Lord something of ourselves. All things ultimately are from God, and
we have been given the task of being faithful stewards throughout all of
God's creation.
As a way of giving thanks to all that God has given
us, we are called to set aside our
"first fruits" for God: "Honor the Lord with
your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your
barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine
(Proverbs 03: 09-10).
We are called by Scripture to offer back to the
Lord something of what the Lord has allowed us to earn.
Notice that the Scripture emphasizes the first fruits of our
labor. Many times we present our offering unto the Lord only after
everything else is taken care of ... necessities, vacations, entertainment,
liquor, cigarettes. To offer our first fruits,
however, is precisely to look to God and give thanks to Him first of
all. The first fruits of our labor are not the leftovers.
Selfishness: A Common Temptation
"All mortal things are vanity and exist not
after death. Riches endure not, neither doth glory accompany on the way:
for when death cometh, all things vanish utterly ..."
These words, taken from the Orthodox Burial
Service, remind us that we are not able to claim anything "just for
ourselves" in a completely selfish way precisely because we are mortal
beings. When we die, riches, wealth, property, and even poverty mean nothing
to us.
When the "horizon of our life" arrives, all
is left behind. Christianity reveals that selfishness is a sin because
Christianity has revealed to us that selfishness is a lie about our ability
to possess anything for eternity. As Orthodox Christians we will be wise not
to extend excessive devotion and reverse to our material properties
(idolatry), nor to yield to the temptation of selfishness.
To do so is to enslave ourselves to the life of the
Devil and separate ourselves from the Christian version of life, property
and death. The point here is that Christians should not refuse to give to
the Church because of selfishness. Such an attitude is contrary to the
spirit of Christianity and contrary to the vision of life as revealed by
Christ.
How Much Should I Give?
The Church does not exist to collect and make money. Rather the Church
exists to reveal and witness to the Kingdom of God which has been
inaugurated in Jesus Christ and which will come in it fullness at the
consummation of time.
To ask "How much should I give to the Church so
that Her essential mission may continue?" is perhaps
