Online Giving is For Losers

Does your church do online giving?

It's great! You can give the Big Guy his cut without even thinking! You feel good about it throughout the week. Which is good, since God likes a cheerful giver.

That is until Sunday morning!

Sunday morning online givers feel worse than....well, sinners at church.

Here's why:

I remember my first Sunday that I gave online. When the Campus Pastor told us to "Prepare your hearts for this week's offering," I noticed everyone scrambling to get their checks. Parents were breaking out in cold sweats as they wrangled ink pens out of their children hands who were engrossed in intense matches of tic-tac-toe.  The entire time I'm thinking, "Suckers, you should have given online!"

But pride cometh before the fall.

The ushers began to run their routes. I'm still relaxing. Thinking what a great person I am. And then an usher gets to me. He hands me the offering plate. I give him the bro nod. He gives me judging eyes. OMG he thinks I'm not tithing. A cold sweat breaks out over my forehead. When I pass the plate over to the parents who beat up their kid for a ink pen, the mom rolls her eyes at me and the kid throws the wrinkled up paper of tic-tac-toe at my nose. The worship pastor gives another talk about why we should give while eye balling me.

Online givers should get stickers or something.

Now I know to whisper to the usher, "Online giver here." Get someone else to say it for you like your three year old with the speech problem and you're safe. Warning though--the usher doesn't appreciate the online giver since they think you're trying to ship their job overseas. They fear if they aren't needed as an usher that they might get stuck teaching the middle school Sunday School class.

So to break the tension I always try to think up a fancy way to pass the plate. You know around the back, under the legs, balance it on my head for a few seconds, pass it to the next person using an ink pen, or pass it like a Frisbee down the aisle. Next week I might even try to pull a bunny rabbit out of it. The entertainment seems to distract everyone from what's really going on.

Of course no one in my church remotely treated me that way and the story was totally made up. But it feels like that. Which unfortunately makes me uncomfortable because it reveals a heart issue.

Why do I give? For show?
Or out of obedience, gratitude for his sacrifice, thankfulness, and love for his kingdom?
Am I like the self-righteous people that Jesus talk about making a show of their giving?
Or like the widow who put her last little coin in?

Christian, there's a reason that Jesus said you can't serve two masters. You can't serve both God and money. You have to choose. This goes for generous people also. I love being generous. But when generosity is displayed for noticeability (so not a word), there's a problem. It's a heart issue! It's called pride that begs for people to look how at how great I am.

Question:
What do you think about online giving?