There are many in the church today that push for tithing, or giving financially to the church, and, as blessed as we are in this country, monetary donations are an easy way for us to contribute to the church. I’d like to examine what we give a little more closely, though. We know that we are commanded to give in the New Testament from 1 Corinthians 16:2:
2 On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.
We also see several other examples in the New Testament where giving is deemed to be something Christians should do. Matthew 6:2-4:
2 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.
I find the most compelling story of giving, though, comes from Mark. In this instance, Jesus is observing the treasury in Jerusalem and the people who are giving. Mark 12:41-44:
41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”
This story strikes me close to home. I am not a man of substantial means. I make do, and am able to provide for my family, but not much more than that. To see the trust this woman had in God, that she gave everything she had, makes me question my own dedication sometimes.
I am reminded, at times, of the story of David and the threshing floor that he bought for the purpose of building an altar to God. 2 Samuel 24:18-25:
18 So Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 David went up according to the word of Gad, just as the Lord had commanded. 20 Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; and Araunah went out and bowed his face to the ground before the king. 21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be held back from the people.” 22 Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight. Look, the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23 Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.” 24 However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Thus the Lord was moved by prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.
David was not willing to give something to God that did not involve any personal sacrifice on his part. He acknowledged the fact that he had to have skin in the game.
In fact, we see in the story of Saul and the Amalekites that God will always prefer obedience over offerings. Saul was commanded to utterly destroy the Amalekites and everything they owned, yet he returned to Samuel with the king of Amalek and the choice pick of his herds and flocks in order to sacrifice them to God. Samuel rebuked Saul, telling him “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…”
In conclusion, the question turns back to this: What do we give when we have nothing to give? The simple answer: We give ourselves. There is a song, made famous by the group Third Day, entitled Offerings. The words of that song do a much better job of getting this point across than I ever could…
Magnificent, Holy Father
I stand in awe of all I see
Of all the things you have created,
But still You choose to think of me.
Who am I that You should suffer
Your very life to set me free?
The only thing that I can give you
Is this life you gave to me.
This is my offering, Dear Lord.
This is my offering to you God.
I will give you my life, for it’s all I have to give
Because you gave your life for me.
I stand before you at this altar.
So many have given you more.
I may not have much I can offer,
But what I have is truly yours.
This is my offering, Dear Lord.
This is my offering to you God.
I will give you my life, for it’s all I have to give,
Because you gave your life for me…
Are you still writing, or have they shut you down?