Issue of the week #2

I'd like to read other perspectives on the following topic. If possible please reference scripture, in context, to back up your belief.

Topic #2 the gift of giving:
Should we tell others how much we give? I haven't come to a firm conclusion on this topic as it has recently been introduced to me in a new light. It's been recently brought to my attention that sharing stories of giving to God can encourage others to do the same. During this same time it was also brought up that the church has been misrepresenting the truth about this by teaching that Christians should keep their giving between themselves and God.

1. How does this look?
A. If Christians should share stories of giving with others then when do we share? When don't we?
B. An increase in the awareness of personal wickedness needs to be addressed. The self/flesh always desires to promote itself and boast of it's importance and greatness. If we are to share, then accountability, as well as self-examination, becomes even more crucial.

2. Would sharing testimonies of sharing really encourage others to share? I've tried this a few times since hearing this new teaching. I felt as though I was boasting, even though I believe my intent was to encourage giving. My conclusion is that as long as Christ was glorified and those I shared with were more encourage to give, then this was good. However, if those who listened to me only thought I was boasting, or even worse, thought more highly of me, then I did more harm then good.

The following verses, in Matthew, this new teaching (new to me) purports as misinterpreted in most current church teachings:

Matthew 6:1-4
Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

An example of Paul sharing his giving:
1 Corinthians 9:1-18
Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don't we have the right to food and drink? Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas? Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn't the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. Don't you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast. Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.

More boasting, with a purpose, from Paul:
2 Corinthians 11:7-12
Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about.

Though these two examples from Paul don't concern him actually giving money, they do represent him not taking support he deserves, giving of himself and taking support from other churches. The question is, as Christians, can we apply this boasting to encourage other believers towards good deeds? If yes then the application needs to be considered and thought out. Personally, I feel there are opportunities when it is appropriate to share testimonies of giving, but most of the time, at least in America, these opportunities will most likely be few and far between. Most of the time this sharing would most likely be boasting.