How can we apply the principle of equal giving in our church today? Setting the Scene at Sinai • Exodus 30:15 lays it out plainly: “The rich are not to give more than a half shekel, nor are the poor to give less when you present this offering to the LORD to make atonement for your lives.” • Every Israelite male twenty years and older brought the very same amount—no sliding scale, no exemptions. • The offering was strictly for atonement, underscoring that every soul costs the same in God’s sight. Timeless Truths Under the Surface • Equal amount revealed equal worth. No one could boast, “I paid more for my standing before God.” • Shared sacrifice knit the community together; everyone had literal skin in the game. • God—not wealth—set the terms. The half-shekel fixed their focus on Him, not on personal means. Echoes in the New Testament • 2 Corinthians 8:13-15 presses the same heartbeat: “that there should be equality.” Paul even quotes the manna story to highlight balanced provision. • Acts 4:34-35 shows the early church living it out—resources pooled so “there were no needy among them.” • James 2:1-4 warns against honoring the rich above the poor in worship gatherings. • Mark 12:41-44 spotlights the widow’s two mites, proving God measures obedience, not the size of the coin. Applying Equal Giving in the Local Church 1. Equal Participation, Not Equal Dollar Amount in Every Offering – Establish special projects (e.g., missions, benevolence) where every member is invited to give the same baseline gift—symbolic of our equal share in Christ’s atonement. – Follow with free-will, proportionate offerings (1 Corinthians 16:2) so the more prosperous can still abound in generosity. 2. Membership Commitments – For routine ministry expenses, set a common “family share” that every household pledges first, before bringing additional tithes or offerings. This mirrors the half-shekel’s leveling effect. 3. Annual Atonement Reminder – Choose one Sunday a year to highlight Exodus 30:15. Provide identical envelopes—or online giving links—marked “Atonement Offering.” The equal amount keeps the gospel front-and-center: we all needed the same Savior. 4. Transparent Accounting – Publish how many equal gifts were received and how the total was spent. Open books foster unity and guard against the favoritism James condemned. 5. Teaching Moments for Children & Youth – Hand every child the same small coin during a lesson on Exodus 30. Let them place it in the offering box together, impressing early that no believer is a second-class citizen in Christ’s family. Guardrails to Keep Us on Track • Never let the equal-gift project replace proportionate, Spirit-led generosity elsewhere (2 Corinthians 9:7). • Keep the amount modest so no one is genuinely unable to participate. • Reinforce that Christ has already provided the true atonement; our equal gifts simply celebrate that finished work. Why It Still Matters • Equal giving preaches the gospel in deed: rich and poor meet on level ground at the cross. • It cultivates humility in the affluent and dignity in the struggling. • It puts unity on display before a watching world—one body, one Lord, one shared offering of gratitude. |
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