One of the common phrases heard in Christian philanthropy is “investing in God’s Kingdom”.
Last week we looked briefly at Leviticus 27, where God makes it clear that giving is an act of worship and a gift given to God. The whole idea of “redemption” that we looked at last week, makes that clear.
Committing a gift to God is serious. God takes it seriously and we should also. The entire redemption teaching makes that clear.
Children understand this idea of redemption. Several years ago, one of my colleagues was teaching a Sunday school class at her Hungarian Baptist Church in Romania. The topic was giving to God, and she reminded the children that when we give to God that which is precious to us, we are telling God that we love Him and are thankful for Him.
After the lesson a little boy—about six years old—asked if he could give his tiny metal car to God as an offering. It was his favorite toy. Deeply touched by his understanding and his willingness to act, the teacher accepted the car, and they prayed together.
The next week the boy arrived early to Sunday school and pulled my colleague aside. He asked her if God still had the car. My colleague said that indeed He did. Then the boy asked, “Would it be OK if I borrowed the car from God to play with today?”
And that is redeeming a gift… child-style.
A Lesson for Today
Leviticus 27 concludes with the reminder that a tithe is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord (v. 30 NASB). (The Law had already addressed this matter.)
If, however, people needed to redeem the tithe—or a firstfruits offering—they would add a 20 percent penalty to the amount they had given. So what does this have to do with today?
The point we can take away from this passage is that God deals graciously with people who make a commitment and then need or even want to change it. He has set forth strict guidelines for redemption, and He almost always requires payment of a penalty.
You might be thinking that God drives a hard bargain, but this is exactly the road well traveled in traditional fundraising. In that paradigm, the giving is about a transaction and an investment of resources in God’s kingdom work.
The church or ministry is counting on our keeping our commitment, and if we back out, the church budget won’t get met, and the ministry project will be delayed. Hey, when you enter into a contract and then break it, there are fees and penalties!
On the road less traveled, however, making the vow and giving the offering is an act of worship to the holy and true God of the universe.
God takes our commitments seriously, and He treats our gifts as holy and set apart for His glory and use. When we make a vow or a commitment to God, He takes us at our word, and He highly values our gifts. Like any act of worship, our giving should be carefully considered, intentional, and understood to be a heart commitment.
So let’s avoid placing our gift in the offering plate if we aren’t remembering that we are giving to God. Let’s not fill out a pledge card without thinking about the seriousness of the action or without as much prayerful consideration as we see in Leviticus 27.
Let’s not set up our online giving and then not give our offering much thought until tax season. And, finally, when a building campaign is launched, let’s remember that our commitment is not to the church leaders, much less to the construction company or contractors, but rather to God Himself.
Our giving is to be an act of joyful worship that glorifies and pleases God. He isn’t lacking funds: He doesn’t need our money.
And He doesn’t penalize us for breaking a financial contract with Him. He does, however, want us to know how seriously He takes our commitments, and He asks that we do so as well.
The Road Well Traveled: Make sure that people follow through on their pledges or commitments. Our ministry plans depend on their giving what they said they would give.
The Road Less Traveled: Help people be careful about making commitments to give. After all, they stand before God as they pray about the amount and then as they make that commitment to God Himself. Then help people follow through on the commitments they make.