I was walking to the train this morning and a gentleman asked me if I had any food to spare. I cooked and packed my bag with oatmeal, shrimp pasta, as well as an apple and orange for snack.
I looked in his hand and he had a sandwich and chips. Thinking about what food I had, I offered him my bag of oranges, three nice halos to be exact.
But once I got on the train I thought, was that really my best I could have done? I definitely could have given him the shrimp pasta and the Tupperware that I packed it in. Hasn’t God blessed me enough to go out and grab lunch and replace Tupperware?
What I realized was that I gave only what I was willing to do without. I didn’t give all that I could. God was displeased with Cane because he didn’t present Him his best offering. On the contrary, Paul praised the Macedonians because while they had little the scraped to give a large offering.
When we give whether to man or God we must ensure we are giving a wholehearted offering our best gifts with joy, that’s what pleases the heart of God. Not the offering that we are willing to spare but the offering that will make us stretch.
Hopefully when God presents the opportunity again I’ll be ready with my best gift.
“You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” ~2 Corinthians 9:7 NLT
I love this! Puts things into perspective.
Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you. It smacked me in the face pretty hard. Especially since I was asking God for financial freedom in my prayer time last night. It was that reminder that increase requires stewardship. If He can’t trust me to give and live selfless why would He increase me. So many thoughts on this one experience.