Where does your money go when you contribute to your place of worship? Does it simply vanish into the pastor’s salary? What about all the time and effort you give? Is it wasted time and energy?
Of course, the answer is that anything you give to God is not wasted. The money you contribute works to maintain the church and all of its ministries. Your money is converted into salaries, yes, but it is also used to keep the building functioning as well as outreach to help the needy. The efforts you put into your place of worship also help to spread the love of God to all the world.
In our modern society we do not always recognize the results of contributing our first-fruits. Continuing in Deuteronomy 26 with God’s commands about giving to the temple we see where these offerings go. What should the faithful giver say and do? Who is involved in the celebration of honoring God?
As with the gift in ancient Israel, which was a tangible and visible gift, the receiving of the gift was just as apparent. The person presenting the offering of first-fruits was to declare that the gift was intended to honor and thank God for all that the Lord had provided. The giver was to bow down before the Lord.
But the act of giving didn’t end there. The gift was given directly to the Levite (priest) and also to the alien, the foreigner and needy widows and families. The implication is that the person giving the gift was able to witness the benefit of the offering and also, perhaps, join in on the feasting and the celebration.
Although we do not always have such a direct contact with the benefits of our giving we must trust that what is offered to honor and thank and praise God is being used to demonstrate God’s love. Our gifts become expressions of the Lord’s care and grace. The gifts we offer go out in many different ways to build up the kingdom of God.
Rather than give with hesitation and reluctance we should resist the temptation to keep all that we have for ourselves and instead give sacrificially with the knowledge that we are part of God’s love and compassion to the world.
DAILY CHALLENGE: Can you see where your gifts benefit others?
