“So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”  (2 Corinthians 9:7)

The Holy Apostle Paul says that each one should give “as he purposes in his heart”.  This phrase reminds us that we should be prayerful in determining what our financial gift—our Stewardship—to God will be.  In addition, it’s essential to understand what the Lord and His Church teach on giving before determining our Stewardship because of its connection to our spiritual well-being and having a healthy relationship with God.  Towards this end, we encourage you to read the Stewardship teachings, principles and giving guidelines below and then to prayerfully consider your financial gift to God.

1.     Stewardship is essential for a healthy relationship with God        

In Money & Salvation: An Invitation to the Good Way, Andrew Geleris says, “The four Gospels record Jesus talking far more about finances than any other single topic except the kingdom of God.”  Why?  What the Lord is trying to teach us is that stewardship is essential for a healthy relationship with God and our spiritual well-being. 

Geleris goes on to say that Jesus’ teachings on giving was “focused on the significance of money for the souls of the people with whom He spoke…They were ultimately intended to lead us to salvation.  For example, when Jesus commanded the rich young ruler to give away all His money to the poor…He was trying to remove a significant obstacle to this man’s ability to inherit eternal life.”

2.     Giving our Very Best to God

Since Stewardship is an essential aspect of our relationship with God and our spiritual health, we are therefore called to give our very best back to God.  Here are some passages from Scriptures and the Divine Liturgy which emphasize the importance of giving our best gift.

A.     Where does our stewardship rank in our personal budget?

Our Lord taught, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21).

What our Lord is trying to teach us with this saying is that whatever we spend the most on reflects our priorities.  What we give the most to is what we value the most, and therefore, if we value God, if our relationship with God matters, then our financial gift to the Church, which is His Body (Colossians 1:18), will reflect that.

One way to determine if our gift is our best is if it compares to or exceeds contributions we make to our hobbies, memberships, season tickets, tv and streaming services, etc.  Could someone see how important God is to us based on our home budget?   

B.      Our first-fruits—Imitating Abel

We are called to imitate Abel, who gave his very best to God--his first-fruits--in contrast to his brother Cain who did not (Genesis 4:3-5).  Towards this end, we are encouraged to make our pledge in the beginning of the year, making God our priority, rather than waiting till then end and giving whatever we have remaining.

C.      It’s not about the amount, it’s what we hold back—Imitating the Poor Widow

The Lord praises a poor widow who threw in two mites into the treasury and says it was she who gave more than anyone else, even more than the rich who were present, because she gave everything she had.  (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4).

It’s not the amount alone that matters in God’s eyes as much as whether or not that amount is proportionally generous.  “According to the Fathers, the Lord accounts the value of a gift not by how much is given, but by how much is kept back. Thus, the poor widow is counted to have given a great gift, having kept nothing for herself. Those who give out of their abundance but keep plenty back for themselves are counted by God to have given very little.” (Orthodox Study Bible Commentary on Lk. 21:1-4).  From the perspective of society, the widow’s gift was financially insignificant but in God’s eyes, her gift was greater than the gifts of the wealthy who were with her. 

The Lord’s praising of the Widow is a reminder to our faithful that the primary goal of the Stewardship Committee is to inspire the faithful to give their best gift as the widow did.

D.    An expression of gratitude

“For every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from You, the Father of lights.” (From the Prayer Behind the Ambon from the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom)

Everything we have—such as our life, health, possessions, loved ones—is all from God.  To be sure, our work ethic and sacrifices are also essential, but to think that our efforts alone are responsible for what we have in life is mistaken.  The air we breathe, the circumstances that we were born into, the people we met along the way, the opportunities that we were given—these are some examples of how God has blessed us. 

We must never forget that God is our Creator; we must never forget that God became a human being, suffered for us on the Cross and rose from the dead on the third day to open the gates of Paradise for us.  Our God is a God of infinite love, who cherishes us, and is also compassionate and merciful even though we are sinners.  For all these reasons and more, we are called to show gratitude to God for all that He’s done for us and continues to do for us.

We can never possibly repay God for all He’s done for us and yet, we give our best gift as an expression of gratitude—if God gave us His whole life for us, we are called to give our best to Him.

E.     Frees us from the hold that possessions have over us

The Lord said “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal…No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (material wealth or possessions).” (Matthew 6:19-20; 24).

Our Lord was well aware of the dangers that come with wealth and possessions and seeks to free us from its hold and to free us from greed so that we can be “free in Christ” (Orthodox Bible Commentary on Matthew 6:19-21).  This freedom from the hold of possessions is one of the blessings of giving our best gift to God.

F.     God will provide

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows ^]bountifully will also reap bountifully And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.  (2 Cor. 9:6, 8)

Perhaps we might be hesitant to give our best gift to God because that would harm us financially.  While we may not be as wealthy or have all the possessions we want by giving our best gift to God, the Apostle Paul’s teaching above reminds us that if we are generous to God (“he who sows bountifully”), then that person’s basic needs will be met (“always having all sufficiency in all things”).

Additionally, our Lord instructs us that if we lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20) and serve Him rather than mammon (wealth) (Matthew 6:24), then our basic necessities will be taken care of (Matthew 6:25-34).

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33)

G.    We will be blessed

“And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35)

Indeed, when we give to God, we know that we are blessed with things money can’t buy—peace, fulfillment and the assurance that God will take care of our basic necessities.  We also find fulfillment knowing that our Stewardship is furthering the Lord’s mission here at St. Basil’s, knowing that without our Stewardship, we would be unable to offer the sacraments and ministries that sanctify us and our families and bring us closer to God.

H.    Moving towards the Tithe or Half-Tithe

The concept of tithing (giving 10% of one’s income) is found in various places in Scripture (ie: Genesis 14:20; Numbers 18:21; Malachi 3:7-10; Matthew 23:23). 

In accordance with the ancient biblical principle of the tithe, “Stewardship is recommended to be ten percent (10%) of one’s annual income as stated in Holy Scripture to help meet the financial obligations of the Parish, the Metropolis and the Archdiocese.”  (2025 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Regulations, Part 3, Article 18, Section 1, pg. 31). 

While tithing is the biblical ideal, some of us may not be at a place where we feel we can give 10% of our income.  In the past, the Stewardship Committee has also offered a goal of the half-tithe, or being in the range of 2-5%.   In light of all this, our goal is to have parishioners move towards the tithe, or at least the 2-5% range.  If you gave 1% of your income last year, give 2% ; if you gave 2% go to 3% and so forth.  Ultimately, there is no minimum or maximum Stewardship commitment, and we are grateful for any amount you are able to do and that makes you feel good inside your heart!

If we as parishioners gave 10%, or even 2-5%, we will as a parish surpass our budget goals by far and would get to a point where we would not need other revenue streams to assist in balancing the budget.

I.       Giving joyfully

 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.  (2 Cor. 9:7)

The other essential aspect of determining our stewardship is that the amount we offer is one we can do joyfully, “not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor. 9:7). 

In light of this passage, our Stewardship should not be done out of an obligation—we do not have dues. One’s stewardship must be freely and cheerfully given.  It is essential that one is not giving begrudgingly; instead, we must make sure that the amount we choose is one we can do joyfully.

J.      Frequency of giving

Giving frequently (weekly or monthly) is preferred for a few reasons:  1) it’s easier to give regularly rather than infrequently at larger amounts, or even one large sum at the end of the year; 2) it greatly helps the Church with its monthly expenses; and 3) if we end up blessed financially more than what we had anticipated, we can always adjust our gift. 

It’s also important to keep in mind that our pledged amount can be adjusted if we have an unanticipated hardship.  Again, the Church is not here to bring us harm, but rather to help us prioritize God in our life. 

Weekly or monthly auto-pay option -using one of the methods available to us here at St. Basil parish is encouraged to help keep things simple, and it helps the parish with cash flow and planning. 

K.    Support the Ministries and Mission of the Church

Along with all the reasons stated above for giving our best gift to God, another reason we give generously is in order to support the mission of the Church.  Our Stewardship supports our clergy, sacraments and ministries that sanctify us and bring us closer to God.  While yes, our Stewardship “pays the bills”, we may forget how “paying the bills” relates to the furthering the mission of the Church.  By “paying the bills” we at St. Basil’s are in fact continuing the mission of Jesus Christ, which is to unite all to God, so that all may experience peace, joy, fulfillment, strength, comfort, renewal, redemption and salvation. 

In order to offer the sacraments, pastoral care and ministries that St. Basil has, we have a Stewardship goal in 2026 of $600K.  We believe wholeheartedly that if every parishioner gives their very best according to the giving guidelines above, we can, with God’s grace, absolutely reach that goal.