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A pastor
announced on Sunday that he had made a new offering box for the weekly
collection. He claimed that it was designed to encourage people to become
better stewards of their money. “This new box,” he explained, “has some
interesting features. When you drop in a check or paper money in large amounts,
the box makes no sound at all. Put a quarter in, and it tinkles like a bell. A
dimeblows a whistle, and a penny fires a shot. When you put in nothing, the box
takes your picture”.
I’m sure you
have all noticed that our offering box is nothing like the one described above.
Aren’t you glad? The box in which we place our offerings for the Lord is instead
a simple place for you to quietly express your love to Him.
Recently, an
esteemed brother in our Church, with much love for our Church family, and
somewhat grieved over the lingering Church deficit we have endured this year,
encouraged our leadership to consider passing an offering plate. Presently,
this is what our leadership is doing. We are asking the Lord to direct us. We
will change from the offering box to the offering plate, if we sense the Lord’s
leading.
For now though
let me just remind you that the offering box in the back of our sanctuary has
been our only means of collection throughout the nearly 25 years of our
Church’s history. During these years, our God has shown Himself to be entirely
trustworthy. He has been so good and faithful to us. Let us not be anxious.
Let us pray, trust, and give worshipfully and sacrificially from our “first
fruits”.
Several years
ago, I had a conversation with a brother who was concerned that people in our
Church may forget that our offerings to the Lord are an act of worship. His
concern was that if we don’t pass a plate during the worship service people may
simply drop their givings in our offering box without consciously considering
the spiritual nature of the gift.
Scripture
indicates that our financial giving is a worshipful response to the goodness of
God. The Bible teaches that giving to the Lord is to be a key feature of our
worship. See for example, Phil 4:18.
The
fact that we use an offering box does not necessarily mean that the act of
giving will not be worshipful. Certainly the widow who placed her offering in
the treasury chest located in the court of the temple was worshipping when she
gave. The Lord observes her giving, calls over His twelve disciples, grabs
their attention by highlighting the significance of her offering, and
emphatically commends her for giving out of her poverty (Mark 12:41-44; Luke
21:1-4). Worshipful giving is a matter of the heart not the particular mode
of collection.
On the one
hand, there are drawbacks to the offering box. With the plate, people give
during the actual worship service so it may be easier for them to connect giving
with the act of worship. Furthermore, when the plate is passed, this occasion
provides a natural opportunity for the pastor or worship leader to remind the
congregation that their giving is to be an expression of gratitude and faith
toward God.
On the other
hand, there are advantages to the offering box. It allows people to give more
privately. When the plate is passed, people may feel obliged to contribute
because everyone else seems to be doing so. Our giving must not be motivated by
people, but by God. Our offering box may put less pressure on a person to give,
and this can enhance worship.
It seems
however that with the use of the offering box, there is a great responsibility
for leadership to communicate with the church. We need faithfully to remind our
congregation, particularly the new believers, that when they place their
offerings in our church “treasury” they are to do so as a conscious act of
worship.
Ideally, we
should prayerfully consider how much to give before we even leave for church on
Sunday morning. The amount of our offering should be determined through prayer
in advance of the worship service. And the placement of the offering should be
an extension of that prayerful consideration whether our giving is placed in a
box or plate. We all need to be reminded, if not frequently, at least from time
to time, that our giving is an offering to the Lord.
Our leadership
has renewed its commitment to encourage you more frequently either at the outset
of the service, in connection with the worship prayer, or toward the end of the
service. The format will probably vary, but the intent will remain the same – to
encourage you to give to the Lord as a genuine expression of love, faith and
adoration.
Finally, let
me add how thankful I am for the faithful giving of many in our Church. Any
prompting you may receive in the future from the pulpit in this regard will
simply be to encourage you to excel still more. For those in our congregation
whose faith needs to be increased in this important area, our intent will only
be to prompt you to give cheerfully and sacrificially to support the ministry of
Community Church because of your love for her Bridegroom!
May our love offerings
continually please our good and faithful God. |
