I have heard people talk about sacrificial giving since I started going to church some 40 years ago. Lately I have begun to question the thought that is behind the term. What is sacrificial giving? Is it giving more than a tithe? Is it giving until it hurts? Is it always about money? Can it be about our talent or time?
Webster’s Dictionary defines sacrifice as, “The act of giving up something that you want to keep, especially in order to get or do something else.”
In Luke 21:1-4 we find Jesus with His disciples near the area where the Jewish people placed their offerings in the temple treasury. He saw rich people dropping in their offerings and then He saw a poor widow drop in two tiny coins. He said to His disciples, “I tell you the truth this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For all these people gave from their surplus, but she gave out of her poverty and put in all she had to live on.”
Is sacrificial giving about giving up something that you really want to keep as Webster stated? I guess that is my struggle with the idea of sacrificial giving. If everything we have comes from God, what do we have that is actually ours? If we believe He owns “the cattle on a thousand hills”, is what we have His or ours? Which is the narrow path or the wide path?
This makes me think of the Parable of the Talents found in multiple Gospels. The servants were given money by the landowner. They were stewards of that money. It was not theirs to possess; it was theirs to invest for the landowner. Some made wise investments; others did not. Some were told they were good and faithful servants; others were not. We often say we want to hear those words, “Good and faithful servant” from the Lord. Are we good and faithful stewards with the time, talent, and treasure He has given into our care?
I understand people like the poor widow that Jesus saw give more proportionally than others, but are they sacrificing or giving out of the joy of giving? Do they trust the Lord will supply their needs when their needs arise?
My struggle is twofold. First is a pride issue. Making the statement that a person is a sacrificial giver can drive them to be prideful, which can lead to sin. If people view the volume of giving as more important than the gift itself, aren’t we saying that those that give more are better than others?
My second concern is anyone thinking that the resources they have – time, talent, treasure – are theirs to do with as they please. This is a principle of the path. Do we believe those resources are 10% His and 90% ours, or are we stewards of all that God has given into our hands? As stewards is not it our responsibility to use it as He directs? If He directs us to do something, how can that be sacrificial?
If we apply God’s Word and allow His Spirit to lead, I believe He will show us what to do with His resources of time, talent, and treasure. As a steward we are just moving His resources around for His glory. Sometimes to support His work in the Body of Christ, sometimes to support our family and other times to support His children in other families. I find doing that a blessing, not a sacrifice.
Have you ever thought about how we spend an average day? If we see the 24 hours in a day as 24 gold coins, time begins to have more value. Like a coin, we can spend each one. Unlike a coin, we cannot save it. We can spend it anyway we want, but we can only spend it once. No matter what we do with it, we are spending God’s gift to us, our life and our time.
I like comparing spending time to spending money. Maybe it is just me, but money seems more tangible. You can see it and touch it. Time is more intangible; easier to waste. It feels like we will never run out of it…but we know we will. The comparison makes the spending of time more real to me.
I also like thinking about each hour in the day as a “gold coin” that is God’s gift to me. I know many of my “gold coins” have been spent poorly. I spent them, but they created little or no value. In fact, some have simply been wasted; never to be available to spend again.
So how do I spend my hours? Let’s look at my average day.
8 hours spent sleeping
1 hour grooming and dressing
10 hours working (at home and on the job)
1 hour eating (3 meals added together)
4 hours free time
Some of our “gold coins” are spent sleeping. We cannot be at our best without restful sleep. However, it is possible for us to not be rested by shortening our sleep hours or worrying so much our sleep becomes restless. We need to get our optimum sleep to reach our greatest potential for God. Are our sleeping hours “well spent” or are we restless, tossing and turning all night?
Think about the time we spend eating. Do we use that time to build our health by eating the right things? Do we spend that “coin” with family or friends having meaningful conversations? How do we get the best use of this time we will never see again?
Working is the area where we spend most of our “gold coins”; roughly 1/3 of all the “coins” we will ever spend. God has given us certain natural gifts and abilities. These are nurtured and become stronger as we mature. As Christians, later in life He has given us spiritual gifts to use as part of the body of Christ. These gifts and abilities are in harmony with who God made us to be. Are we spending the “coins” in this category in harmony with these gifts and abilities?
For example, if we enjoy time alone and do not have a great desire to work around people, we probably will not enjoy being a salesperson. However, we might really enjoy being a truck driver. My father-in-law was a good example of this. He was a long-haul truck driver and was happy having hours alone to pray and sing worship songs to his Heavenly Father. He also was given a passion for evangelism and had many opportunities to share his faith with other truck drivers at truck stops and rest stops during his long trips. His natural gifts and spiritual gifts were both “spent” well.
Solomon in Ecclesiastes summed up the purpose of man by saying a man should, “accept his lot and be happy in his work; this is a gift of God” (Ecc 5:19). Are we happy in our work? Is it fulfilling the types of things we were created to do? For example, I am very structured. In my working life I have been happy when allowed to create structure to relieve chaos. I have had jobs where chaos ruled. I did not enjoy them and quickly moved on. If we are not using the gifts God has given us in the area we are currently working, we should consider a change to an area where we spend our “gold coins” in a work situation using what God has given us. We will be happier and more productive in the Kingdom.
Obviously the most flexible hours are our free time. One of our granddaughters, now in her 30’s, made a statement when she was in her early teens that has echoed in my mind since then. She was commenting on how much time people spend watching TV and she said, “Why do people spend so much of their life watching other people live lives that are not even real?” That was definitely an “out of the mouth of babes” statement. TV, computers, phones, and video games can be a major consumer of our coins and a waste of time if we let it. Are we spending our free time wisely?
We can spend our time in such a way as to do our part in the Kingdom or we can waste it. The detail is different for each of us and changes throughout our life. A young mother’s time is spent molding her children for their entry into the Kingdom. A businessperson is living out Christian principals in a fallen world. Both examples are “Salt and Light” to others around them. Whatever the situation is at the time, I believe we can clearly see if ours is a life well spent.
If you are over 25 you have spent about 30% of your expected “coins”. I you are over 40 you have spent more than 50%. I am probably spending my last 10%. Is our remaining time being invested well? Is there something we could change to help our “gold coins” have a better return on investment? Personally, I love that challenging thought.
Take a little time to think through how you spend your 24 hours each day; once they are spent you will never get them back again. My prayer is that our “gold coins” are spent wisely, thoughtfully…investing them rather than letting them slip away carelessly. A life invested in worthy purposes is a life well spent versus one where the “gold coins” are squandered and wasted…treasure lost with no hope of return.
What is your “normal” day like? I challenge you to write it down and see for yourself. Ask yourself how many of your “gold coins” were spent well. It might surprise you. It did me.
I have come to realize that every choice we make in every area of life comes down to choosing what principles will lead our path choices. If we are God’s children, His Word is the never changing source of knowledge and direction for those choices. The more we study His Word and apply His truth to our decisions in life, the more of the “abundant life” He promised will be ours to enjoy.
Before a person becomes a Christian, Satan does everything he can to discredit God’s Word trying to convince unbelievers it is not true. After a person comes to faith in Jesus and makes Him Lord of their life, one of Satan’s major tools is distraction. If he can just keep my focus on the things of this world, I will not be fruitful in the Kingdom of God.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 says-
23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
Recently I have become very aware of how easy it is to spend time on meaningless things. For example, I am very good at an on-line card game, Free Cell. I have won nearly 3000 games without losing one. Recognizing it as a distraction, I have cut way back on playing, but a few days ago I sat down at my computer with the thought of reviewing a blog I was working on and suddenly the enemy “whispers” maybe I should play a game or two of Free Cell …a distraction. Because this is now top of my mind, I choose to work on the blog, which I enjoy just as much, but has Kingdom value. I don’t think there will be Free Cell tournaments in Heaven😊
I am not saying we don’t need an occasional break from our very busy schedules. I don’t even think a game of Free Cell is a bad thing. I have just come to realize relaxation can turn into a distraction from the things that have Kingdom value. So how do I determine what has Kingdom value? Recognizing only God and people will be in His Kingdom helps me answer that question.
I find that having a list of things available that I could do helps me not get distracted. However, Satan is extremely good at subtle distraction. Today social media and cable TV give us plenty of opportunities to be distracted by “things that are not bad”. For years I was a Star Trek and a Star Wars junkie. We have every episode of Star Trek, all six of the original Star Wars movies and some newer movies. I have probably seen all of them a dozen times. They were my “go to” when I “just needed to rest” or I was sick and laying on the couch.
I am now aware time is one of the big three areas of life (time, talent, treasure) we can choose to spend in the Kingdom or in the world. I have come to understand they all fit into the definitions of the four soils Jesus gave to His Disciples when clarifying the Parable of the Sower, Matthew 13:18-23. They are the “hard path” where the seed can’t penetrate, the “rocky soil” producing shallow roots, the “weeds” stealing the nutrition and keeping the seed from growing and the “good soil” ready to produce fruit.
I believe I am called to create the “good soil” in my life through surrendering myself with unconditional faith in our Father, studying His Word and a prayer life that is seeking His will, not mine. With this “soil” in place, the Holy Spirit can produce the Fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I cannot produce that fruit myself. I can only be willing to be “good soil” ready to be used by the Gardener.
Therefore, my job is to discern the “voice” talking to me. Is it my Lord’s “voice” asking me to take part in an activity for His Kingdom or is it the “voice” of distraction from the master deceiver?
1 John 4:1 says,
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
There are lots of things vying for my attention. The more I concentrate on loving others, the more likely I will be “good soil” that our Lord can use when He needs me. The more I am focused on pleasing myself, the less likely what I do will be fruitful.
May our Lord guide our path to follow the Principles of His Path.
Christian Life Coach 