Giving With Gratitude

This Thanksgiving season, I pray that our giving to God is saturated with gratitude. I  tried to use the following illustration in a sermon a few weeks ago, and just butchered it (pardon the pun). So I thought I would try again. Once there was a farmer whose cow gave birth to beautiful twin calves after a long and arduous labor. He was so grateful that he ran into the farmhouse and gave the news to his wife, who quickly reminded him of the goodness of God and encouraged him to give one of the calves to the Lord. He agreed immediately, but took some time to decide which calf would be his and which one would belong to the Lord. After a few weeks, one of the young calves fell ill, and the faithful farmer spent the night caring for it. Early the next morning, he entered the house and was met by his wife, who asked what had happened. With a voice filled with sorrow, he responded, “The Lord’s calf died.” That story always makes me laugh, but it also makes me sad. I fear this is our temptation when we give to the Lord. We follow the pattern of Cain, giving “some” of what God has given us, not always the best of what God has given us. 

We might even pass on to the Lord what we no longer need. This was painfully illustrated to me several years ago when I was a part of a team serving in Houston, Texas, after Hurricane Harvey caused almost $200 billion in damage. Incredibly, individuals from all over the country and the world sent relief items to assist those impacted by the storm. Part of our time on the trip was spent sorting those donated items, because the local leaders found out very quickly that it was necessary to go through the boxes and bags and filter out the “dead cows.” It was disheartening to see how often boxes would be filled with dirty, tattered clothes, used toothbrushes, and even single shoes. As one team member said, it was as if some people dropped this stuff at the church rather than to take it to the dump…where it belonged. 

As I have been studying for our current series, “Treasure,” I am amazed how much scripture speaks about giving, how aware God is of what we give, and how He desires for us to give to Him our best. I am haunted by the words of Malachi… “When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 1:8 ESV)

May this not be our story – may we give God our best this Thanksgiving season.

Expectantly,

Shawn