Worship is Giving

Worship is giving. It is our response to the goodness and greatness of God. Deuteronomy 16:16-17 tells us, “They shall not appear before the Lord empty handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.” Giving to God is a privilege, and we are to give according to the blessings He has given to us

In Malachi 3, the Lord tells His people that they have not kept His statutes. They have robbed Him in tithes and offerings. He tells them to return to Him by bringing the whole tithe into His storehouse with the promise to bless them when they do.

“For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. “Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts. “All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts. (vv 6-12)

Worship comes from the heart, and then it should extend to the different aspects of our lives – including our finances. By giving, we allow three things to happen to us:

Worship by giving allows for God’s protection. Why does God focus on money? It is because materialism and greed, which are like idolatry, are a real problem. We have the tendency to love money more than we love God, and to trust in money instead of trusting in God. God knows that the cure for this is giving. 1 Timothy 6:10 tells us, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by
longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Money in itself is not evil; it is the love of money that is evil. If we love money, we will compromise our principles and our relationships to have it. When we give, we allow God to protect us from the love of money.

Worship by giving is being in partnership with the Lord. When we give, we are acknowledging that God owns everything, and that we are His “industrial” partners. Our business, bank accounts, capital, profits and even our ability to make money comes from Him. Although He owns 100%, He only requires us to give 10% back to Him. Even then, oftentimes we don’t give because of fear of financial instability in times of emergencies. By giving, we invite God to be involved in our financial life, and trust in Him to take care of our needs.

Worship by giving allows for God’s prosperity. Malachi 3:10 says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. “Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts. Giving is an act of faith. He challenges us to test him by giving. God’s math is different from ours. When we give, He promises to abundantly supply all our needs, and to bless us with more to give. It doesn’t mean you will be rich, but it means He will meet all your needs. We can trust God to do as He promises because He does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. This is a promise all of us can hold on to. We can never out give God.

We cannot worship God without giving. When we worship God by giving, we allow God to be involved in our financial life: to protect us, to be in partnership with us, and to prosper us. When we invite Him into our hearts as our Lord and Savior, He changes us and this change should impact our wallets as well. Let us not be guilty of robbing God. Give, and see how God will bless you!

Thank you and God bless you this week!