I first learned the joy of giving from Sunday school as a child.
“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.”
—Proverbs 19:17
Good Cause
How many of us remember the challenge as a child of raising money for a good cause that would benefit others, maybe a local women’s and children’s shelter? It is likely that, as a child, you didn’t understand what the money would be used for. But, you knew that someone needed help, and your money would help them. That was a great feeling. Maybe, you did chores to earn the money. In my case, my neighbor paid me to take care of his hunting dogs. I earned a few dollars and I was proud.
Maybe, you sat with a parent on the side of the bed carefully counting coins. You picked out the shiniest ones to give to that women’s shelter. Perhaps, you didn’t even know that your parents were doubling whatever you contributed. Yes, there is joy in giving. We also learn another lesson. When we provide over and above what is expected, we learn about God’s grace for us. How he loves and blesses us even when we don’t deserve it. How he turns our shiniest coins into something wildly more than we could imagine.
Offering a Sacrifice
One time during the life of King David, a terrible disease fell on the land, causing 70,000 people to die. Just as the disease was about to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord felt sorry for all the suffering said, “That’s enough!” This happened at the threshing place that belonged to man named Araunah. Threshing is the process of loosening the edible part of grain from the straw to which it is attached. Because of God’s great mercy, King David wanted to build an alter to offering of thanksgiving to God at the threshing place. When Araunah heard of David’s plans, he said, “Take whatever you want and offer your sacrifice.” He even offer the oxen for the sacrifice and the wood for the fire. Araunah said, “They are yours! I hope the Lord will be pleased with you.
David answered, however, surely took him by surprise. “No! I have to pay you what they’re worth. I can’t offer the Lord my God a sacrifice that cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24).
David was the king. He could have taken the property, but he knew that doing so would jeopardize the favor he desired from God. An offering that cost you nothing, will rob us of the blessing we desire.
First and Best
By giving our shiniest coins, we are praising God with our first and best, not what is left over. In Bible times, the tithe was offering the best lamb to God. If we will offer our first and best to God, Malachi 3:10 promises, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
We learned from our Sunday school fundraising challenge that loving my neighbor means caring for those who need me the most. In providing this care, we become God’s hands and feet in our time in place.
Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear