Offerings of a True Heart
Tithes and Offering
Last Sunday we had Missionaries to Africa visit our church. If you’ve ever attended a church service in which Missionaries are present, then you know about the offering basket that comes around at the end of the service in which the congregation is asked to help the missionaries monetarily for their expenses when out in the field taking the Gospel to those who have not yet been reached.
After this particular service my brother-in-law, over dinner with the family, hilariously recounted the scene in which my sister, having forgotten her purse, tried to nonchalantly ignore the offering basket as it was passed around.
Apparently, my sister was so enamored in the literature the missionaries had passed out previously, that she completely “missed” the offering basket. My brother-in-law went as far as setting the stage for us and stepping into the role of lead actor enthusiastically pretending to read a paper while side-eyeing a pretend offering basket approaching nearer and nearer. He had me rolling in my seat as I could clearly imagine my sister doing exactly what he was acting out. My sister playfully shoved him and again reminded him she had indeed, genuinely forgotten her purse.
I know without a shadow of doubt my sister is a very generous person and had she remembered her purse she would have given freely and sincerely and does so every day by giving her time to the church youth, by helping her family (especially me), in mentoring co-workers and countless other ways including monetarily.
We’ve all been there; when help is being asked, and we are caught unawares and unprepared. This is just a silly and humorous example that my sister will probably be mortified that I shared, but it has reminded me of my own short fallings when it comes to tithes and offerings.
In our church, and most churches that follow Biblical teachings, tithing is an obedience to God to support the church and its mission to spread the Gospel. Malachi 3:10 NIV states, “ ‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.’”
To me, tithing means acknowledging that everything you have and earn comes from God. Giving a tenth back to Him to use for the ministry is putting your full trust into believing that He will provide for you abundantly, so that the original tenth you tithed won’t at all seem like a lack of support needed to survive.
Offering is quite different from tithing, and this is where I struggle from time to time.
One of our pastors gave a good definition of the term offering by explaining that it meant deliberately contributing either your time, money, or talents above and beyond your tithes. Giving freely of a set amount of what you have with no expectations of gains or returns. The way I see it is a tithe is obedience, and an offering is prideless selflessness. 2 Corinthians 9:7 NIV says it best, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”.
The thing about this verse that stands out the most to me is that God knows what your heart has decided to give, and it reminds me of the story in Acts chapter 5 about Ananias and Sapphira.
If you don’t know the story or it’s been a while since you’re read this story, I’ll share a quick rundown. Basically, at this point of the New Testament the early church has just started. Jesus has already been resurrected and has ascended to heaven and has tasked the original 12 disciples, now apostles, to spread the Gospel so that everyone hears the news about forgiveness and everlasting life through Jesus.
The early church is amazing, and the people are helping and giving and preaching and learning abundantly well and the Gospel is spreading and reaching so many new people. People are even selling their property and giving the proceeds to the church to help fund the ministry needs. These needs include feeding the needy, helping the widows, not lining anyone’s pockets, not being used for corruption. The proceeds are being used as Jesus would approve.
Then along comes Ananias and Sapphira. They were a married couple and members of the early church. Before their story, we read about another man selling his property and giving all the proceeds to the church. What a generous giver, his name is even mentioned in the Bible, he must have been someone who others would have admired for his generosity.
I believe Ananias and Sapphira thought this too, and being prideful humans that we all can be, and probably being encouraged by the enemy, this couple decided that they too wanted to be recognized for their generosity and sold some of their property to give the proceeds to the church. However, they decided to hold some of the funds they had received from the sale back for themselves and were dishonest about the truthful amount.
Instead of just being honest and telling the apostles that they wanted to give a certain amount of money from the sale to the church, they instead made it seem like they were giving all the money from the sale to the church. It was what we would call a white lie. Not necessarily that big of a deal. But to God it was a big deal.
Peter the apostle, probably through the Holy Spirit gift of knowledge, finds out that Ananias and Sapphira are guilty of lying about their offering. He calls them out and asks why they felt the need to lie? This money was theirs to begin with, they can do with it whatever they want, so why lie to make everyone think they were giving it all when they weren’t? Peter explains to them that they not only lied to the church, but to God.
The story ends pretty harshly with both of them dying abruptly before Peter’s eyes.
Now, I believe this story was included in the Bible not to make anyone think they might die abruptly for telling a lie, but to reveal the seriousness of our attitude when making an offering to God.
In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he tells us, “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made…All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one” Matthew 5:33-37 NIV.
When we decide to make an offering, we need to be truthful to ourselves and to God about the amount or extent we are willing to go. We need to say what we mean and do what we say. Just as Paul said to the Corinthian church, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give…” 2 Corinthians 9:7 NIV. God knows what is in our hearts, He knows what we are truly willing to offer.
I have to remind myself of the lesson of Ananias and Sapphira often. Sometimes I can let pride sneak into my offering. Sometimes I say I will offer more than I’m actually willing to offer. Sometimes I fail completely at offering, whether it be my time, my money, or my talents. Sometimes I offer the lazy version of all of those things and I’m not being honest about what I’m giving because I could be giving so much more if I would only put some effort in.
But I can ask for forgiveness, and, thanks to God’s precious grace, He forgives me, and I can try again. No one is perfect apart from God, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to give our best because He gave his best to us.
Offer up to God what is true in your heart. It doesn’t have to be huge amounts of money. It can be simple like giving your time to help others. It can be praying for those out in the mission fields. It can be taking someone out to lunch. Do these things in love because God loved you first and God loves a cheerful giver.
When we make an offering and cheerfully give of ourselves to others, God sees the genuine love in our hearts, and it pleases Him to know we are following the teaching of Jesus.
Let’s commit to offer God our true hearts and best efforts.
“So the last will be first, and the first last.” Matthew 20:16 ESV
Yes I am mortified…. haha thanks for highlighting an area that I need to work on. 🙂
Ivorey, you are a very giving person and anyone who knows you took this story as a reminder that we ALL, including myself have gone into church and did not have an offering on us. I love the explaintion of tithing vs offering and need to carry cash on me so I will have offering from now on. (I hardly ever have cash on me, I use my debt card for everthing – I even tithe online) Thanks for taking the bullet for all us. XOXO