Why do people give gifts, and who decides the quality of the gift? What good is a gift if it’s not the giver’s best? What might be the giver’s motives for giving, and what might be his/her expectations for giving? In general, people give gifts as a way of expressing love, appreciation, friendship, and more. People give what they think is nice, usable, and acceptable, and they most likely expect a show of gratitude for their thoughtfulness.
God is Love,
and He demonstrates His love by giving: “For this is how God loved the world;
He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not
perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NLT). Everything He gives is fueled by
love, even when He reprimands us. If we, His children, have His nature (which
we should), we should also give out of love and responsibility. God gave us His
very best: His Son, Jesus Christ! Do we ever consider doing the same for Him?
Do we know what He likes? God is a God of beauty and elegance. Giving to Him
means giving to the work of the Church, other ministries, and, quite often,
meeting the needs of others in His name (see Matthew 25:40). Only the best is
good enough for God!
Child of
God, how has the quality of your giving been? King David was prevented from
building a temple for the Lord because he had fought too many wars. Instead,
God appointed Solomon, son of David, to build the temple. David could have just
given up and worked on other things, but instead, he started making preparations
for the project. He wasn’t trying to be the first temple-builder in Israel. He
wanted God’s temple to be jaw-dropping gorgeous, regardless of who built it; it
had to be the best he could dream of. In his own words, “The temple to be built
for the Lord must be a magnificent structure, famous and glorious throughout
the world” (1 Chronicles 22:5 NLT). Only the best is good enough for God!
Once, when
Jesus watched people put their offerings in the collection box in the Temple,
He noticed a poor widow put in all her savings, two small coins. The rich, of
course, put in more than the widow but Jesus was more impressed with the
widow’s offering than that of the rich men. Let’s take note, God is more
interested in the quality, and not the amount of our gifts (see Luke 21:1-4).
Do you give
God your leftovers, or what you have no need for? David once said, “I will not
present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing” (2 Samuel
24:24 NLT). God sees our hearts and our motives for giving. He blesses us as we
give willingly, joyfully, and generously. It is good to remember that
everything we have belongs to Him, and He’s able to take it all away at any
time. Our attitude towards giving to God should be indicative of our love and
reverence for Him. Like King David, let’s give God only our best because only
that is good enough for Him.
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