20 avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us—21 providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
8:20
avoiding this:
Precautions are necessary for handling God’s money.
that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us—
Paul was careful that no one should find fault with the collection and delivery of offerings to Jerusalem.
8:21
providing honorable things,
The apostle’s choice of several men protected both Paul and Titus against any charge of wrongdoing with the offering (2 Co 12:17-18).
not only in the sight of the Lord,
Paul’s concern was that the Lord would view the handling of this collection with integrity. The Lord can see everything, but people cannot.
but also in the sight of men.
It is necessary not only that God would view the collection as honorable but that men would see its integrity. Men need to see that money in ministry is handled well. Only reliable people should manage funds for a ministry.
PRINCIPLE:
It is essential to avoid the appearance of evil in handling God’s finances.
APPLICATION:
In handling money in Christian ministry, it is vital to avoid any disrepute of its management. The handling of funds in ministry is to be above reproach. The offering should be appropriately administered for God’s glory and with human precautions.
A ministry should never trust the goodwill of its people when handling money. This is true both in the integrity of the individual/s and for the glory of God. It is crucial to anticipate any question of the administration of money. All handling of funds in a ministry should be honest, carefully administered, and above board.
How a ministry handles money is always an opportunity for criticism. Christian leaders are particularly vulnerable to criticism in this area. Accusations in this area have destroyed ministries. It is not enough to handle finances property; it is also necessary to appear right in doing so. There should be no appearance of mismanagement.
Therefore, ministry funds must be appropriately administered by reliable people, and there must be more than one person with congregational approval. The financial books should be open for anyone to examine and audited every year. A ministry should have all these procedures in place so that the administration of money is honest before God and man.
