S)"24 However, the king said to Araunah, 'No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing.' So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver."
2 Samuel 24:24 (NASB)
O) David makes a very convicting point, here. The principle is that a sacrifice is only worth what we pay for it. It's not bravery if we're not scared and it's not a sacrifice if it costs nothing to do it. This particular instance, though, is a little interesting in that, David was a king, so how much was the 50 shekels really costing him? Also, in terms of monitary sacrifice, can't we also say that God provided the silver in the first place? But that's when we go back to the principle. David knew that the sacrifice meant more if he was actually paying something for it. It also makes me wonder if this 50 shekels of silver was from a more personal source than the king's treasury.
A) I will admit, sometimes I am kind of lazy with offerings. It's pretty easy to give a few extra dollars toward something (a missionary, a single mom, a homeless person, etc), if the few extra dollars are truly extra. It's pretty easy to sacrifice a meal when I forgot to pack a lunch. But, even in that, I need to recognize that I can take it a step further. Let's suppose I do give an extra $5 toward something, wasn't that already God's $5? So then my sacrifice should be more than the money and also include my heart. Let's suppose I do forget to bring a lunch to work, so I decide to fast until sundown, then my sacrifice needs to also be in my attitude and I need to fast from my heart and really pray with earnst and with purpose. Maybe God actually orchestrated an opportunity for me to sacrifice something, I need to make the most of that opportunity and be sure that it's still costing me somthing.
P) Father, I'm sorry for my worthless offerings. You deserve infinitely more than I can give on my own. I know that Psalm 50 tells us that You own the cattle on a thousand hills, so I can never give anything that You haven't already given me. Whenever I sacrifice anything, let me first evaluate the true cost, to ensure that my sacrifice is also costing me something as well. I will not give offerings to You LORD, that cost me nothing. Holy Spirit, search my heart and expose my motives. When I prepare my offering, show me what it's really costing me. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
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