Giving: The Evidence of our Obedience
“Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple.” (1Chr 29:3)
Generosity is a great virtue. We need to be reminded and challenged to keep faithful in this noble discipline, because there is an inherent tendency to relax and give in to selfishness or indifference. Growth and progress in personal and institutional life are partly indicated and made visible by long-term assets. In the case of David’s Kingdom of Israel, they needed a temple for their God. Today we also have worked hard to build and beautify physical structures where we worship corporately, with relevant extensions to cover children, teens, and offices; we have also provided for facilities such as music, media and public address system equipment. Nonetheless, there still remains a lot of work to do, and this reminds us that our giving is still necessary.
When a mixer was stolen from the Teens Chapel recently, it was unfortunate, and the teens and vernacular services are now in need of a public address system. However, further analysis revealed that this mixer was over 15 years old, dilapidated and hardly repairable. It should have been replaced years ago; the thief has helped to awaken us to a need in that worship space, and we must address it. There are other needs to develop ministry facilities, but we need to focus on the motivation of our giving – and that is more important.
King David led a successful and complete fundraising for the Temple works (1Chr 29), and further made a personal commitment: “in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver…” (v.3) Giving is truly the evidence of his devotion and obedience to God. His love and devotion drive him to intimacy, and he calls Him “my God”. God is more precious to David than silver, more costly than gold, more beautiful than diamonds. Until your love and devotion drive you to give sacrificially, it is not yet mature. Obedience to God also means submission – making Him Lord over your life and all you possess. We need to be reminded from time to time to be faithful to our obligations of tithes, free will offerings, thanksgiving, contributions to development and other causes, and to be generous to people around us. This is an indispensable part of our worship.
Not only David, but many other people of various positions and ranks gave willingly (v.6); and the result was not pain in loss, but great rejoicing. Through this act of worship and devotion, God fills us with the joy and deep satisfaction which our hearts long for. May God give you the grace to be ever faithful in this noble discipline.
God bless you!