"Freely Give"
"And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for his holy Temple. And for the other gold and silver work to be done by the craftsmen. Now then, who will follow my example and give offerings to the Lord today?"
The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord, and King David was filled with joy. (1 Chronicles 29:3, 5, 9 NLT)
You can tell this wasn't a baptist church. Ok, it wasn't a church at all. But seriously, what an amazing scene. David is preparing the temple of the Lord to be built & has gathered so much material. But this is not enough. He sets the example in giving by taking from his own treasury. The people follow his example and the Bible says they gave freely & wholehearted to the Lord.
How many sermons on tithing have we heard from this passage? I can't recall a single one. Here is another great reason for walking through the Bible chronologically. Who knew such a powerful truth for how we should approach giving was hidden in 1 Chronicles 29?
A couple of truths stand out. We should always give out of our personal finances from what the Lord has given us. It's not enough to just have the church give & we fall under "the church." God calls us to give out of what he has given us.
Also, leaders should do just that, lead. The leadership should be the most eager to give & should set an example in giving. It's even appropriate at times to say the exact amount. What if more leaders said, "I'm giving $500 this year to our missions fund, who wants to join me?" What impact would that have on missions in our churches? Now that's leadership worth following.
Finally, I'm longing for the type of celebration the people have post-giving. "The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord." What is that? They regretted what they gave because it wasn't spent on them? They regretted not buying a boat or a newer vehicle with that money? No! They celebrated! They threw a party because they were able to give. They rejoiced. They were excited to give. They saw giving as an opportunity not as a curse. It was a joy not an obligation. It was a privilege not just a command. Wow, if only my giving was characterized by such things. If only I gave as freely & wholeheartedly. What could God do with that kind of people? Why don't we find out!?
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