It’s Sunday Again: Giving That Which Costs Me Nothing

Bonus Sunday was postponed from last week.  I will preach once more on the subject of giving–three consecutive Sundays. I wish we had a better word. Stewardship doesn’t help. Some speak of the contribution or the offering. Others speak of the tithe. It ultimately boils down to giving. The Bible uses the verb give (obviously in many contexts other than the Sunday collection) more than five times as often as the verb love. The Christian life is ultimately self-giving and other-serving.

In 2 Samuel 24, David wishes to make a sacrifice to God. He refuses to offer to God that which costs him nothing. An important standard of giving is sacrifice. What do we give up in order to give? What sacrifice do we make? Too often, the answer is “little or none”. We spend more going out to eat on Sunday than we gave to the Lord. Sacrificial giving begins with sacrificial living. We do not need much of what we think we need. We live in the lap of luxury. We are extravagant livers but not extravagant givers.

The text suggests the following principles: keep your heart tender, admit your situation (including your sins), listen to God, be concerned about others, begin now.