However, the foundation of our house of giving should be built on planning. The Jewish Law told the men to come to Jerusalem with a gift. That took planning. The entire system of tithing required the tither to plan his offering. The great festivals were not financed by passing the hat, but planned giving. Planned giving was foundational in the worship of Israel.
Long before Jesus came as their Messiah, the Jews had learned to take the first 10% of their increase and set it aside at the Temple for God. In this way, the income at the Temple rose and fell with the fortunes of Israel. And God blessed them with financial gain. Listen to his promise:
The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.That same principle of planned giving to God was a part of the life of the church at Jerusalem and other congregations of the first century. This bias toward planning carefully to give can be seen in the Scriptures where Paul says,
Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.While this is discussing a special gift and not routine giving, the idea of planning ahead can even be seen here.
We may not like the idea of a budget even the hearing the word may disturb us. But we need to take God's portion off the top of our income and set it aside for our offering to him. Write a check, use an envelope or whatever system we like. But we must plan our giving and not just give when our hearts have been touched.
Spontaneous giving has its place. God wants us to meet needs that come our way just as Jesus healed those in his path. But getting a plan for giving and keeping with it is God's way of financing his work on earth.