‘Tis the season for giving, and for Christians, that giving goes far beyond just giving at Christmas time.
According to the American Bible Society’s annual report on the spiritual state of the American Christian, the ABS has once again found that generosity is strongly correlated to the Christian faith.
In the ABS study titled “State of the Bible: USA 2023,” practicing Christians are more likely to give to charity (95%) than either non-practicing Christians (68%) or non-Christians (51%).
The study defined a practicing Christian as one who identifies as a Christian, attends church at least once a month, and considers faith as very important in his or her life.
A non-practicing Christian was someone who identified as Christian but missed one of the two remaining criteria. Non-Christians did not identify as Christian.
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According to the study’s criteria, only about one in five Americans qualified as a practicing Christian.
Not only were Christians nearly twice as likely to give to charity, they were much more likely to give in greater amounts.
As the study found: “When people practice a meaningful Christian faith, they give, and they give more.”
The average donations given for the three categories were reflective of the likelihood to give in the first place. The average donations were $5,350 for Christians, $3,806 for non-practicing Christians and $3,168 for non-Christians.
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The ABS study also found a high correlation between volunteer work and charity giving. When asking people about their volunteer work, those who volunteered at church were more than twice as likely to donate at the highest level (more than $1,800) than those who didn’t.
The generosity connection to volunteer work also extended to community volunteers, who were 60 percent more likely to give at the highest level than non-volunteers.
The study stated succinctly, “The Bible urges believers to give … Clearly one’s relationship with the Bible is associated with financial generosity.”
The study referenced specific scriptures supporting the link between Christian faith and generous giving:
“We have examples of Joanna, Susanna, Mary, and others who supported Jesus’s ministry ‘out of their out means’ (Luke 8:1–3). Barnabas sold the property to fund the early church (Acts 4:36–37). Paul commended the Macedonian churches for their ‘rich generosity’ (2 Corinthians 8:1–5).”
As Christians are led by the holy scriptures in their generosity, the Word also instructs the state of the heart in service to our Lord: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Col. 3:17).
As we enjoy this Christmas season, let Christians remember that we shine a light through our works and giving, not only to one another in hope and love, but to the world as a witness.
As C.S. Lewis once said, “The great thing is to be found at one’s post as a child of God, living each day as though it were our last, but planning as though our world might last a hundred years.”
