Giving as Worship

On Sunday morning, I preached on the taboo topic in church:  Money.  Though stewardship involves all of our life as worship, money tells who really is the object of our worship.  We can cloak it in any form we want and try to justify our lifestyle, but our bank account knows whether we truly worship God as our first priority.  The wallet never lies.  Does God get the first 10% or do we give Him the leftovers?  Have we become fixated on 10% or do we give above that amount?  Do we systematically give or just shuffle through the wallet on Sunday mornings?  Do we have a budget with God at the top or live by whatever is in the bank account?  Tough questions, but good questions to ask.  With the economic downturn we have experienced, Christians should be the least impacted of everyone.  We shouldn't get caught up in debt by buying things of credit we cannot afford.  We should never look at the monthly payment, but whether this is God's will for us.

I say all of that to let you know how God works in the lives of humble givers.  After the sermon, we collected the offering as a way to express our worship to God.  I don't know who gave what, but the counters left a note on my desk which had been placed in the offering plate.  A dollar was folded into a note which read:  "I'm sorry I have 0 income".  Wow!  This was not done to justify nor was it given for show.  It was given by someone who wanted to worship God with his/her offering, but had little to give.  So if someone had dropped $1 million in the plate, which would have been more valuable to God?  If both were given as worship, they would both be of the same value.  However, when we give with nothing left, we are truly trusting God for His provision.  I was humbled to read that note and touched deeply.  I am fortunate to have a job and to choose whether I will honor God with a minimum of a tenth.  This person doesn't even have that option.  The greatest sermon on Sunday was not preached by me but by this generous giver.  May we all have that kind of an attitude.

As you begin this week and this new month of work, will you seek to honor God first?  Will you choose to worship Him with that which is most precious....our money?  May you joyously choose to honor the God who loves you and gave His only son for you.