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Today, I would like to share with you about money, or more specifically, finances. In particular, I want to talk about the attitude of our hearts when we make offerings to God. Before that, I want to first talk about Christians’ view of material things in general.
When we believe in Jesus, when we begin to live our daily life, trusting in God, our thoughts and values in life will be renewed.(Romans 12:2) We will be transformed by the renewing of our minds and our outlook on life, especially when it comes to money and material things.
Psalm 24:1 says, “The Lord is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
And Romans 11:36 says, “For from him and through him and for him are all things.” In other words, God is the owner of everything in this world. This means that everything in the world belongs to God.
When we look at Leviticus 25:23, we can notice that the land belongs to God. The Bible says that silver and gold are God’s (Haggai 2:8), and the animals of the forest and the livestock of the mountains are God’s (Psalm 50:10).
The people in the world believe that everything in their hands belongs to them. And many believers mistakenly believe that 10% of what they have in their hands is God’s and the remaining 90% is theirs. The Bible teaches that everything, not 10% but 100%, belongs to God. Everything we have belongs to God… We are managers of God’s property and money. We must use what’s God’s for God. In other words, every time we spend money, we should ask God how to spend it.
God entrusts his property and money to some people in large amounts and to others in small amounts, and both those who have received much from God and those who have received little from God should be “faithful” stewards of what God has given them. Whether they have received five talents from God, two talents from God, or one talent from God, they are to be loyal stewards, regardless of the amount they have received. There is only one thing to ask from those in charge. What is it? It’s faithfulness or loyalty.
God tests us before giving us more blessings. Let us take a look at Luke 16:10… It says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” God does not give us big things from the beginning. First, He gives us small things to test whether we are faithful and take good care of them. If we pass the test, they will give us something bigger.
And the second test is… If we look at Luke 16:12… It says, “And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?”
In other words, God tests whether we faithfully manage what belongs to others. When we pass the test, God blesses our lives with more.
We tend to not value the small things and the things of others. We regard small things as trivial. We are indifferent to the things of others. God wants us to cherish the small things, and He wants us to value the things of others. In fact, God trains us in these areas.
So let’s get back to today’s passage and talk about the kind of heart we should have when we give to God.
In the temple, there was a place where women worshiped. And there was a special room in that place. That room was where the priests stored gold and silver to maintain the temple financially. Inside that room were 13 boxes, and people put their offerings to God into those 13 boxes. The money in six of the 13 boxes was for general purposes, and the money in the other seven boxes was for special purposes.
Jesus watched how people put money into the “offering box.” Many rich people put a lot of money into that offering box. But a poor widow put 2 leptons(or mites) into the offering box. The lepton was the smallest unit of coin used at the time. 1 denarius was the daily wage of a worker at the time, and 1 lepton was 1/128 denarius. If the current daily wage of a worker is 10,000 yen, 1 repon is equivalent to about 100 yen. Since this widow donated 2 leptons, she kind of donated about 200 yen.
Surprisingly, contrary to what people might think, Jesus acknowledged that the widow gave more than everyone else, because she gave all of her living expenses to God. This statement shouldn’t be viewed simply as a question of what percentage of our wealth we should donate. It’s a matter of what kind of the heart attitude we should have when we give to God. Now, I want to share with you six biblical principles for our heart attitude when we give to God.
Number one… When we make offerings to God, we should give to God with a joyful heart. Let us take a look at 2 Corinthians 9:7… It says, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
To make offerings is something we do with our hearts. It is because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.(Matthew 6:21) In fact, God looks at our heart. If we have decided a certain amount of money in our hearts to give, it means that we have made a promise to God, saying, “I have made up my mind.” If you make a promise to God, you must keep it. Once you have decided, it is better to stick to your original decision even if the current situations(your circumstances) have changed from the time you made your promise to God. When you give an offering to God, you should not be forced out of a sense of obligation. God is not pleased with forced offerings. Simply put, we should give generously to God, not stingily.
Number two… When we give, we give to God according to our ability. Let us take a look at Deuteronomy 16:17. It says, “Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.”
We must give to God according to our abilities. Those who have received more financial blessings from God must give more to God than those who have received less. People with limited financial means do not need to feel ashamed of giving less to God. God demands much from those who have been given much, and asks much from those who have been entrusted with much (Luke 12:48). He also demands from those who have been given little. He asks for less.
Number three… When we give offerings, we should give to God without expecting anything in return. Let us take a look at Matthew 10:8. It says, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.”
We are always accustomed to “give and take.” If we receive, we feel like we must give, and if we give, we feel like we must receive. We live in a society where it’s uncomfortable to get things for free and unthinkable to give without getting something in return. I think the same goes for our relationship with God.
We might think that since we have given offerings to the church, God should reward us accordingly… We might feel like God’s love is too much for us. His unlimited love is too burdensome for us. Why? Since nothing is free in the world, we might think that nothing is free in our relationship with God.
Please do not feel burdened when you receive from God. Just receive from God comfortably. And I pray that you will become a “channel of grace” that freely lets go of what you received for free. In particular, when you make an offering, I hope that you do it with the heart of giving back to God what is His, rather than hoping for something from God.
Number four… When we give, we give to God with a pure heart.
Number five… Especially, when we give to the needy, we need to give to them in secret. Let us take a look at Matthew 6:3-4. It says, “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
It is right that we should give to the poor. However, our attitude and our methods are important. The attitude should be a genuine care for poor people. In addition, the method should be as private as possible. God our Father notices all that we do in secret. He sees what we give in secret.
Lastly… When we make offerings, we give to God on a regular basis. Let us take a look at 1 Corinthians 16:2… It says, “On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.”
It is best to prepare offerings in advance and make them regularly. Don’t do it spontaneously, don’t do it only when your financial situation is good…
Let us pray…
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