"Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let
him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." 2
Corinthians 9:7
Which is more important, the gift you give to God or the
attitude in which you give it? It has been said that the way you give it is
more important. Actually, it is both. What you give and the way you give it
are both equally important.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life." (John 3:16) God gave out of love, and He gave the best
(His Son) for us. By example He showed us that the gift and the way in which it
is given are both important.
In the very beginning Abel
and Cain both offered gifts to God. Abel's gift was accepted, Cain's was not.
Neither Cain's gift nor his attitude in giving it was pleasing to God. There
was a widow who gave two mites. Her gift wasn't big, it was very small, but
Jesus made sure to point it out to His disciples. Her gift and her attitude in
giving it to God were both accepted. In the Old Testament the people brought
their sacrifices to the priest. The priest then inspected the sacrifice
(gift) to see if it was acceptable as an offering to the Lord. We also read in
the scriptures where God Himself told Israel that He would not accept their
offerings or even take notice of them. He rejected their gifts and the attitude
in which they gave them.
So when we talk about giving
our gifts and offerings to the Lord, it is important that we give them with the
right motive, the right heart and the right attitude because God loves for us to
give cheerfully and not grudgingly. But what we give to God is as equally
important. He deserves our best, our finest, the first fruits and not just
anything we choose to give Him just for the sake of saying we gave.
So what are you
giving to God? And how are you giving it?
The gift He wants most is
you. Our lives are to be living sacrifices. Is that what you are giving Him--
yourself? And how are you giving Him yourself? With reservation? Willingly or
unwillingly? Gratefully or begrudgingly?
Have a great day. The gift
we give to God is as equally important as the attitude in which we give it.
For further
reading:
Luke
21:2-4
Amos 5:22
Genesis
4:1-7
Romans
12:1
<>< <>< <>< <>< <><
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
<><
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine
Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to
call (601) 833-5278 or
Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net
Email: mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net
Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org
You are welcomed to make copies and
distribute them free of charge.
You may also forward them via e-mail or post them to your website -
leaving the whole message in tact unless permission is granted to do otherwise.
Please remember to give credit to About the Master's Business Ministry.
No comments:
Post a Comment