I was once a boarding school pupil for a year. I was only eight and that season came with a lot of experiences, but one stands out:
My daddy would, in addition to my allowance, give me money separately for offering at my school fellowship. I was little, but it sowed in my heart the importance of giving to God — honourably, because Daddy didn’t just give me money but newly printed Naira notes.
I learnt to give God my best, not crumbs.
Honour the Lord with thy substance.
Proverbs 3:9a (KJV)
As believers in Jesus Christ, we are not just to give to God because a need was announced in church or a call for tithes and offerings was made. We are not to carelessly pick any currency from our pockets or purses and dump it at God’s feet.
Whenever we have an opportunity to give to God, it is a privilege to worship and honour Him with our substance—no matter how little or great—and we must do so honourably with godly reverence and fear.
This is not to say giving spontaneously is wrong, but as true children of God who, long before our conception He made great plans for us, shouldn’t we also commit to honour Him with utmost intentionality?
Why wait till a call to give is made before we plan or decide to honour God with our substance?
Make giving to God honourably your lifestyle. When you budget your income, incorporate in it your plans to give God daily/weekly/monthly.
Before a service or fellowship where you very well know a call to give will be made, plan ahead a befitting portion of your substance for God.
It is not about the amount, but becoming intentional, giving God your best always with utmost care, love, honour, and gratitude more than you would any earthly father, leader or king.
[41] Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much.
[42] Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.
[43] So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury;
[44] for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”
Mark 12:41-44 (NKJV)
Notwithstanding, giving honourably to God also includes giving God as much as He blesses you. While He won’t reject your ‘widow’s mite’ when you have little, He will likewise not accept your crumbs when He has lifted you from the metaphorical dunghill.
As God blesses you, with the same joy with which you received His blessings, also increase your commitment to honouring Him with your substance from tens to hundreds, millions, billions and much more.
God is worthy to be honoured not just with your best, but your all. So, when next you are giving to God, do so with honour and love.
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