Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops. – Proverbs 3:9
In the Old Testament, believers did not come to the temple to worship without an offering to give God. Indeed, their offerings were integral, or essential, to their worship of God. While we do not worship in the temple and are no longer required to offer sheep, doves, or grain, we should still regard giving as a wonderful way to worship God.
When I think of all that God has given me, I find that giving back to Him is my blessed obligation. Not only did God breathe life into me and give me a beautiful place in which to live, He also gave His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. And by believing in Christ, God also gave His Holy Spirit to teach me, guide me, and comfort me. With all God has given me, how could I not give back to Him. As I write in my song “If I Gave You Everything”: “If I gave you everything / It would never be enough / But I’ll give it anyway / To thank you for Your love.”
One of the ways we can give back to God is through our finances. Giving money to support God’s work is a joyous opportunity to participate in God’s work. We can honor God through contributions to our church, missionary organizations, and various other ministries.
We can also give back to God through our time. By donating our time to God’s work, we proclaim Him worthy of our love. Spending time reading His Word, praying, telling others about Him, and gathering together with other believers is essential, but we should also consider spending time in activities such as visiting the elderly, tutoring young children to read, or helping to build homes for low-income families. God wants us to take the love He has given us and give it to others.
Are you worshiping God through your giving?
I totally agree. I look at giving to the church as my way to contribute to getting others saved. I do other things too, but I don’t mind giving of my finances when I know its going to the building of God’s Kingdom. He has blessed me in so many ways and I just want others to share in that.
Amen. I like the way you put that.
Jason,
Right on! I totally agree with giving as part of our worship. Actually whatever we do can be done in worship, i.e., showing God we know and appreciate His worth! It’s such a blessing to see how He can provide for all we need… Keep up the good posts!
Love & blessings,
AgapeLady (from twitter)
Amen, I must say I am blessed by this post and would want to share it in our fellowship this coming friday. So many Christians here in Riyadh are faithful in giving tithes and offerings to the Church and in giving their time as well. Glory to the one great God!
Thanks for this article on giving. Good point about how the OT believers didn’t come to God empty handed. What makes us think that we should do anything less.