Giving Expense

The Lord loves a giver. I believe that I’m most like God when I give. I also believe that giving does something deep inside my heart. I have learned that giving is expensive, but oh so worth it.

I was taught growing up that I should give. I remember my Dad writing a check from his checkbook each week to give at church. I learned by taking money that my parents gave me to Sunday School and putting it in the offering bucket. As I grew older, I learned the value of earning money by working for others. One of my first jobs was in the hayfield loading hay to take it to the barn. I don’t remember how much I got paid, but I remember my parents teaching me to give a tithe (10%) on the money I earned.

King David had just done something pretty stupid and offensive to God. I’m not sure why this was so wrong, but evidently everyone knew it was wrong. It appears that David wanted to count the number of people in Israel and the number of fighting men. There is a part of me that thinks this was actually logical. The Lord called him out regarding this and David repented. The Lord gave David three options for punishment: 3 years of famine in the lane, 3 months of being swept away by your enemies or 3 days of plague upon the land. David surrendered himself to God because he knew of God’s mercy. The Lord punished Israel for David’s sin, but the Lord did relent. Check this out…

18 Then the angel of the Lord ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 19 So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the Lord.

20 While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. 21 Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.

22 David said to him, “Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price.”

23 Araunah said to David, “Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this.”

24 But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.” (1 Chronicles 21:18-24 NIV)

A couple of important principles jumped out at me as I read this passage. First David went in obedience to build an altar before God. I don’t think David questioned the command one bit. The other thing that jumped out at me when the owner of the threshing floor offer to give David the property, the wood, the sacrifices – everything for the offering free of charge. David made a very insightful statement that sticks with me. I should give to the Lord something that cost me nothing – that’s not really my gift.

I want to learn more and more about giving. The giving I’m already involved in is really fun. I want to become more like God – He is such a GIVER. Giving is expensive, but for sure worth it. I think it’s way more expensive to be selfish than to be a giver.

Pressing On!

Dwayne