CHEERFULLY CELEBRATING OPPORTUNITY TO CONTRIBUTE

May 18, 2022

At the king’s command a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the house of the LORD. And a proclamation was issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they were to bring to the LORD the tax imposed by Moses the servant of God on Israel in the wilderness. All the officers and all the people rejoicedH8055 and brought their contributions, and they dropped them in the chest until it was full.

2 Chronicles 24:8-10

Joash who became King of Judah when he was only seven years old, ruled wisely and rightly under the guidance of Jehoiada the priest. When he was a little older, he decided to repair the temple and replace the sacred objects that Athaliah’s sons had used in the worship of the Baals. He told the Levites to go out and collect the temple taxes from all the people as prescribed in the Law given to Moses. However, it appears that the Levites were lazy as his command was not carried out. Therefore, he placed a chest outside the Temple gate and issued a proclamation for the people of Judah and Jerusalem to bring their temple taxes and place them in the chest. The Levites had failed to go to the people to collect the tax, but the people willingly traveled to Jerusalem to pay it. In fact, they rejoiced at the opportunity to contribute to restoring the Temple of the Lord. People kept bringing their contributions until the chest was filled numerous times.

Do we rejoice to give to our local church? We are not charged a tax that is collected and enforced. Our offerings are of our own free will as the Lord has impressed upon us what to give. Some of us believe in tithing—giving a tenth of our income—each time we are paid. If so, do we do this grudgingly or with joy? Many times, our local congregation is asked to pray about giving above what we normally do in order to repair our building, buy new items used in our worship service, etc. Do we grumble about this, or do we earnestly seek the Lord in deciding an amount to donate? Do we celebrate that God includes us in supporting the ministry of our local church? Are we remembering that first principle of giving, the fact that it all belongs to God?

Father, we rejoice that You have enabled us to tithe and often to give offerings beyond our tithe. We thank You for supplying all our needs and showing us creative ways to give to our local church and other ministries. Help us to always take joy in giving back to You!