WHAT A SHAME...

"May [the Lord] take notice of your offerings; may he accept your burnt sacrifice! (Psalms 20:3, New English Translation).

The other day, I was ministering on this Scripture in a church where I was invited to teach on finances from a biblical perspective. I remember asking the people to consider what they think could happen if

God should give attention to the kind of offerings they normally give in services. We all concluded that it would be better and safer for us if God would not remember our offerings.

The Bible encourages us to honour the Lord with our offerings. But for the average person in today's church, his offering is more of an insult to the Lord, both in terms of quantity and quality. I have seen it time and time again: people giving miserable offerings to the Lord as though He were a beggar. I think it is not okay when the amount of money you spend on a single airtime to recharge your mobile phone beats your total weekly offerings to God. I feel you are not doing right when the cost of your snacks is more than your offering to God who gave you life and made it possible for you to eat the snacks. Some even spend more on their dogs than they ever do in the house of God.

Shall we not be correct to say that they value the dog more than God?

What about the quality and decency of the money we give God as offering? Those in the ushering department see it all - the tattered and mutilated currency notes, the dirty and filthy bills that have been rejected in commercial transactions. These are brought to the house of worship and given as offering to the Most High God. And we do

it with some dancing to celebrate the dishonour we bring to the Lord.

What a shame! It reminds me of those who were accused of bringing sick and disabled animals for sacrifices to the Lord. God rejected them, challenging them to first offer those sick animals to their governor, whether he would accept them. I continue to marvel at how possible it is for us to comfortably offer to God what we would never accept as man.

We need to change our attitude when it comes to giving to the Lord. To begin with, all that we have come from God. Why should it be difficult for us to generously give back to Him quality offerings in appreciation of His goodness? And if you think, as many do, that the offering you give in church on Sunday goes to man and not to God, you are missing it big time. Yes, it is a man like you who will receive and administer the money on God’s behalf. But don't forget that it is God who commanded that it should be given and it is that same God who will reward the giver.

So my beloved, when next you go to church, give offering as one giving to the Lord and not man. Stop giving what is available, learn to give God the best. God taught me many years ago that I should not allow my

revenue to dictate my offering; rather, I am to give according to the revelation of God that I have. That is the only way we can give to please the Lord.