We’re doing a sermon series called
“Give It Up!”, talking about giving. We’ve talked about why God wants us
to give and how we determine how much we’re supposed to give. But there’s
something else we need to talk about, and that’s our attitude toward giving.
Sometimes,
people give out of a feeling of duty or obligation. We know we’re
supposed to give to God, we know we’re supposed to give to the church, and so
we do. Now, that’s not wrong, exactly. It’s not a sin or anything
if we do that. But it’s not the best attitude, either. It’s not
really an attitude that honors God. God wants us to give lovingly, not
grudgingly. And that’s true whether we’re talking about giving money,
giving time, giving talent, or giving anything else that we may give.
Our Bible
reading for today included a line many of you have heard before. “God
loves a cheerful giver.” Now, don’t take that the wrong way. God
loves us know matter what. But God does appreciate it when we give
cheerfully, out of love, rather than reluctantly, out of duty or fear or for
some other reason.
I’ll show
you what I mean. Suppose Wanda wants me to do something. And
suppose I really don’t feel like doing it. Hard to believe, I know, but
that does happen once in a while. So suppose Wanda asks me to do
something, and I really don’t feel like doing it. So, first, I put it off
for a while. And Wanda has to keep after me about it. And she does.
And eventually, I know I’m going to have to do this thing, so I do.
I do it. I do it, but I also make clear to Wanda that I really
don’t want to do it. I sigh. I get up slowly. I grumble about
it. I don’t even try to do it well, I’m just trying to get it over with.
And when it’s done I say something like, “Well, there, I did it.
Are you happy now?”
Well, of
course, the answer to that question is no. Wanda’s not going to be happy
at all. But why not? I did what she wanted me to do. Why is
she not happy about it?
But
suppose something different. Suppose Wanda wants me to do something, and
I got up right away and said, “Sure. No problem. Happy to do it.”
And I do it, and I do it as well as I can. And when I’m done, I say
something like, “As long as I’m up, is there anything else I can do for you?”
Which way
do you think Wanda’s going to be happier, the first way or the second way?
Well, it’s obvious, right? She’s going to be much happier if I show
that I’m happy to do things for her than she is if I show that I really don’t
want to do them. But why? Either way, the thing gets done, right?
What difference does my attitude about it make?
The
answer is that it makes all the difference in the world. If I’m do
something for Wanda cheerfully and happily, Wanda feels loved. She feels
honored and respected. She feels good about herself. She feels good
about our marriage. Depending on what it is I’ve done, that good feeling
might help carry her through the whole day. But if I do something for
Wanda grumpily and grudgingly, Wanda does not feel that way at all. She
does not feel loved. She does not feel respected. She does not feel
good about herself and she does not feel good about our marriage. And
those feelings might stay with her the whole day, too.
Now,
Wanda is not God. Sorry, dear, I don’t mean that as an insult or
anything, but, you know, you’re not. God has more understanding than we
humans do, and God is probably not as easily hurt as we human beings are.
But still, we’re told that we’re created in God’s image. And God
created us with emotions. So it makes sense that God would have a lot of
the same emotions that we have.
And in
fact, the Bible tells us that. It tells us that some things please God
and others do not. It tells us that God feels anger and jealousy.
It also tells us that God feels joy and love. It tells us that God
feels grief and compassion and a variety of other things.
I’m not
saying that God reacts to things in the same way that we human beings do.
But God does have emotions. And I have to think that God reacts to
our attitudes toward giving in a way that’s somewhat similar to the way Wanda
does and the way you and I do. When we do things for God cheerfully and
happily, God feels our love. God is honored and respected. When we
do things for God reluctantly and grudgingly, just because we think we have to,
we are not showing God our love, because we’re not doing it out of love.
God is not honored and respected when we do things just because we think
we have to.
Now,
again, either way, God still loves us. I’m not saying it’s necessarily a
sin if we do things reluctantly, just because we think we have to. But
you know, just like the fact that something is legal does not make it right,
the fact that something may not be a sin does not mean it’s a good thing to do.
God asks more of us than just that we not actively sin. God asks
that we love God and that we love others. God asks that we serve God and
serve others as much as we can. God asks that we not just meet the
minimum requirement of not actively sinning. God asks that we be the best
people we can be. Not that we be perfect--God knows better than to think
we’re capable of being perfect. But God asks us to do the best we can to
be the loving, caring, giving people God created us to be.
I want to
go back to what I said about Wanda and me. When I do something for Wanda
with the right attitude, when she feels loved and honored and respected, what’s
likely to happen? She’s likely to want to do something for me, too.
Not because she has to, not because she’s paying me back for anything,
but because she wants to. It’s not that Wanda will stop loving me if I do
things grudgingly instead of lovingly. It’s just that the more love I
show to Wanda, the more love Wanda’s likely to want to show to me. That’s
just the way a relationship works.
And it’s
the somewhat the way our relationship with God works, too. That’s what
our reading meant when it said God would bless us when we give cheerfully.
If we show love and honor and respect to God, God is likely to want to
help us. Not because God has to. We’re not making a deal with God
that if we do things for God, God has to do things for us. God does not
have to do anything. And it’s not that God will stop loving us if we do
things grudgingly instead of lovingly. We’re told that there’s nothing
that can ever separate us from God’s love. But if we do things that are
pleasing to God, if we show love and honor and respect to God, we are likely to
receive blessings from God.
And
there’s one more thing. It’s no great credit to me when I do things for
Wanda cheerfully and happily. That’s what I should do. Wanda
deserves that. Wanda deserves to get love and honor and respect from me.
I am not doing something great when I do something that gives her that
love and honor and respect. I’m just giving Wanda what she deserves.
And in
the same way, it’s no great credit to us when we do things for God cheerfully
and happily. That’s what we should do. God deserves that. God
deserves to get love and honor and respect from us. We’re not doing
something great when we show God that love and honor and respect. We’re
just giving God what God deserves.
But
still, just like Wanda appreciates it, so does God. And God will bless us
for doing it. Those blessings may or may not come in the way expected.
They may or may not come in the way we hoped. Just like we said
last week about tithing, this is not some way to get God to make us rich.
But there are a lot of ways God can bless us, and a lot of the really
good ones have nothing to do with money or possessions.
So the next time we think about giving to God, whether
we’re thinking about giving money or time or talent or whatever it is we’re
thinking about giving, let’s think about what God deserves. And let’s
give to God cheerfully and happily. Let’s give to God in a way that shows
God love and honor and respect. God will appreciate it. And God
deserves it.
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