In our continuing series on giving we hope to answer two questions: “What do we give?” and “How much to we give?”
Even though our emphasis on these lessons is the giving of our money that is not our main focus when it comes to what we give. What we give is not a matter of quantity but rather a giving of quality. When I climb with my whole upon the altar of sacrifice, I am giving my whole life to God. “God take all of me.” “Take my life, my family, my heart, my work, my house, my money, my land, and all that I possess I give to you.” God wants my whole life and nothing less and he wants all that I possess and nothing less. He wants all of me in worship, in living, and in trust of him. When comes to giving back to God he wants us to understand that we are actually giving to him what he has blessed and entrusted us with. We in essence are giving to God what he already possesses. It ought to motivate us to give him more when we understand it’s already his to begin with. When I give God my time in service to him I’m giving what is his already and so I give more of my time to him and not selfishly using it for myself. When I give my money I’m giving what is already his and that ought to delight my heart when I have the privilege of furthering his kingdom by my financial giving. It’s the story of the three servants and talents in Matt. 25:14-30. The last servant took no risks; he did not give back in the face of what he was given. Remember the warning to the third servant here, “But from the one who has not (given), even what he has will be taken away.” What do we give? We give it all!
How much do we give? Really the answer is the same as our answer to our previous question—we give God everything, we give God all of it. Now, of course, God has given everything so that we might live, have life, be responsible, and find blessing in this life. When we give, specifically, to the work of his church and the kingdom we want to learn generosity and we need to know that we are fulfilling God’s mission in the world. Therefore, in our giving back to him we give our best and we give our firsts. Because we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness the priority of what we give ought to be our firsts and our very best. Ten percent is what God required of the children of Israel and it was to be the first and best ten percent. That’s not bad. But God on this side of the covenant has not set a limit of how much we can give. It all comes down to our commitment to God as Lord in our lives and to know that we have abundant blessings in him. The Lord’s work ought never to go unfunded when his rich saints commit their lives to him.
