“For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).  And, “The just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11).

Some fellow writing in to our local paper thought he was slamming Christians when he said, “Religious people do everything by faith; science deals with hard facts.”

Give them credit. When I wrote a response to that slanderous statement, the editors ran my letter.

The simple fact is everyone on the planet lives by faith.

LIFE is a faith thing. For everyone.

We wake up in the morning without a thought as to whether the air in the room will be breathable and the oxygen in the air will be sufficient for everyone on the planet.  Without a conscious effort and no hesitation or doubt, we inhale and begin to stir and head to the bathroom where we turn on the faucet.  We have never been to the water filtration plant and have no knowledge of all the steps unseen people there take to purify the water, making it safe for us to bathe in and even to drink. We use it by faith.

We open the pantry and refrigerator and take out foods for breakfast. The strawberries are from California, the blueberries from Chile, and the milk from a dairy in another state. The cereal was produced in Battle Creek, Michigan, and the coffee originated in South America.  Will you be poisoned today?  It has happened, you know.  You were not alongside the inspectors of those berries or the FDA people overseeing those plants or the agricultural people checking out the coffee beans at the port.  However, you give this no thought and open the newspaper and eat your cereal. By faith.

You live by faith.

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“For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Recently, Disciple Magazine reprinted something I wrote back in ’09 and which they had run then in their previous incarnation as “Pulpit Helps,” a print publication.  “Reasons Not to Give” was an attempt to teach principles of giving to the Lord’s work through the back door, so to speak.

Today, it occurs to me that this principle has much broader implications than what I had seen at first, and it needs expounding upon.

To do anything by faith means there are reasons pro and con. The person of faith goes with the evidence “for” and the unbeliever the evidence “anti.”

In the matter of giving to the Lord’s work, for instance, reasons to give generously and faithfully abound–including obedience to the Lord and to scripture, as an investment in the lives of others, to lay up treasure in heaven, to conquer my own materialistic urgings, and to fund the Lord’s missionary work at home and throughout the world.

However, this being a matter of faith means there are reasons not to give to the Lord’s work. These would include questions about where the money goes, the possibility of some of the money funding undesirable activities, the definite fact that we have good uses for that cash here in our own family, the large salaries some denominational people draw, and the difficulty in paying my own bills. Driving down any highway in America, one sees expensive church buildings on every side, all built with the offerings of sincere worshipers.  One does not have to be an unbeliever to ask whether some of that money could have been put to better use.

Not everyone who chooses not to bring an offering is an atheist.

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