American Giving Trends

"According to the Charities Aid Foundation, the United States is ranked first in regards to giving and Canada is ranked as the sixth.  They also noted that both countries peaked in 2014 and have been on a steady decline since."

You know the old saying - "There's good news and there's bad news."  In this case, the good news is that America is the most generous country on the planet.  Not only does our government provide generous assistance to many other countries, but Americans make private contributions to charitable causes.

The bad news is that American generosity peaked in 2014 and is now on a steady decline.  That's in spite of an economy that has made significant gains in the last few years.  I think it means that Americans are both wealthier and stingier.

What about American Christians?  Believers give to a number of charitable causes, but we need to carefully consider how much they give to the local church.  On average, Christians give 2.5% of their income to local churches.

Is that number good or bad?  Let's consider history - during the Great Depression (this country's worst financial catastrophe) Americans gave an average of 3.3% of their income to local churches - almost 1% more than the average believer gives now.

What's the problem?  Is it that we don't have enough resources to set aside for the work of the Lord?  Hardly - average household income in the US is about $65,000 per house.  In the Great Depression, the average American family made about $1,500/year.

Granted, the cost of living has gone up exponentially in the last 100 years, but so have wages.  We have just as much income to work with, but we've committed our money to large debts and unnecessary spending as we tend to live beyond our means.  

Because we commit so many of our resources to other things, we're tempted to think that there's not enough "left over" to give to the Lord's work or to someone else that the Holy Spirit might prompt us to bless.

Most of us are familiar with the Bible's teaching on giving.  Over and over we are encouraged to give generously and sacrificially.  As it comes to the Lord's work, God has set forth clear standards about tithes and offerings.

Generally speaking, our problem is not a lack of money or a lack of understanding - our problem is a lack of generosity.  We have a hard time seeing beyond ourselves, so we tend to put the need of others on the back-burner while we spend all our resources on ourselves.

Stop and pray about the way you give.  Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you.  And please remember these words of Jesus - "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).