GIVING IS AN ACT OF WORSHIP

 

            In my reading, I’ve been working through Giving to God: The Bible’s Good News about Living a Generous Live by Mark Allan Powell. In the very first chapter, he talks about giving being an act of worship.

            I know that, originally, giving in churches wasn’t a monetary gift because churches were supported by the government. But as that changed, then the offering time became a time to offer monetary gifts.

            The author talks about how, in the Bible, when people made their offerings or sacrifices (grain, birds, animal, food, etc.), those gifts were actually burned at the altar. Can you image if on Sunday morning, after the ushers went around and collected the offering, that the plates were carried forward to the altar, and the pastor dropped them all in a little burn barrel and lit them on fire? Wow! How do you think the congregation would react?

            Most of us figure that the reason we have the offering during the service is because the church needs to pay its bills and to allow the church to do good things with the money. Of course, both of those things are true, but it’s not WHY we have an offering during the service.

            The offering is an act of worship. We are invited to give up something that we value—our money—as a sacrifice to God. The author has this to say (which I loved). “It is the high point of the liturgy. We come to church to worship God and at no other point in the service are we provided with so pure an opportunity for worship as this.”[1]

            So is this is such an important part of the worship liturgy, why do we act embarrassed when the time to receive an offering comes?

            I know I’ve been part of stewardship programs that talk about the needs of the church, how much the bills are, and even what the mission and ministries are that the church is doing. But that actually misses the whole point of giving. We give because we want and need to give it. We give because we can do nothing else when we decide to follow Jesus and become a disciple.

            Think about it. Why are we giving? Are we giving to the church? Or to God?

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[1]Giving to God: The Bible’s Good News about Living a Generous Life, by Mark Allan Powell (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006), page 11

 

                            CHOOSING GRATITUDE

 

            I am continuing my reading of A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion from Horizons Stewardship, where it has a bit of scripture for each day, as well as a story.

            The title of one of the days was Choosing Gratitude. The scripture for the day was from 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18: Make sure no one repays a wrong with a wrong, but always pursue the good for each other and everyone else. Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

            This struck me, because I had just been thinking, as I drove to the store, that people just don’t know how to drive! I wished a police car were nearby and would stop them! I was just so frustrated. I’d like to think that it’s not just me. But what if, instead of hoping for punishment or someone to put them in their place, I thought:

            Maybe they’re having a bad day.

            Maybe their child is sick and they’re rushing to the doctor

            Maybe I should pray for them instead of hoping for a punishment

            What does it mean to not repay a wrong with a wrong, and express gratitude instead of fear? How do we embrace a lifestyle that includes an attitude of kindness and generosity even in the face of unfairness?

            We have to align our words and actions so that we can say (AND mean) living a Christian life. We are told to love our neighbor, and that means the people that cut us off on the highway; those that are rude in the store, and even those we disagree with in church meetings.

            The author, Aimee A Cole-Laramore said this: “how different would our world be if we reflected on the intentionality of scripture to remind us to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all situations? In a complex world where bullying, meanness, selfishness, and greed exist, we must choose to respond from a place of gratitude and actively pursue good for everyone.”

            Think about how to express gratitude in your current circumstances!

           

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.

 

                                         SCARCITY TO ABUNDANCE

 

            In my last blog, I quoted a little bit from an article by the Lewis Cetner for church Leadership. One of the things it talked about was stewardship being an instrument of God’s abundance.

            I’ve been focused on stewardship, as it is that time of the year after all! Many churches are in that time when they focus on their financial campaigns, and, hopefully, stewardship. I’ve been spending some time reading A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion from Horizons Stewardship. It has a bit of scripture for each day, as well as a story.

            One of the recent days I was reading talking about scarcity and abundance. I have talked about this when I’ve taught or spoken or preached about changing our viewpoint. The devotion talked about buying a bag of candy for their child and adding a few extra pieces that they (the parent) could have. Unfortunately, when they put out their hand for a piece, the child closed up the bag and pulled it away.

            It sounds terrible, but don’t we do that a lot to. We focus on our scarcity. We don’t want to give any away because we might need it. And it’s not just money, but time, ideas and energy as well. I think we live in a mindset, in a life, of scarcity.

            Do you go to bed at night, worried about what you didn’t get done?

            Do you wake up in the morning, lamenting that you didn’t get enough sleep?

            And how many times in between do you think: “if only I had more…..?”

            The devotion quote author Lynne Twist when she said that the opposite of scarcity isn’t abundance! What? That’s what I’ve always said. She says it’s the striving for abundance that keeps us focused on scarcity. To the author, the opposite of scarcity is Sufficiency. God gives us enough…enough money….enough time…enough talent…enough manna…enough grace…enough blessings…enough of everything so we can share the abundance.

            It’s when we forget that God provides enough of everything that we get stuck in the scarcity mindset. And that’s hurtful. To those who should be receiving, but also to us. Take a moment and clench one of your fists tight. Just hold that fist. If you hold it tight enough, long enough, it will start to hurt, doesn’t it? Opening our fists into an open hand releases that pain.

            Opening our scarcity, realizing that God has provided us with more than enough, then we’re sharing everything that God gave us with others.

            Think about how to get out of the mindset of scarcity!

           

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.