What does it cost you?

 "I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing"

2 Samuel 24:24 (ESV): 

This is a statement David makes towards the end of 2 Samuel and it got me thinking;

1. How do you offer things to God?
2. If so, what is the cost?

When David was around, an offering would of been made in the form of a sacrificed animal. This offering could be for a variety of reasons - atone for sin, to say thank you to God, to celebrate the keeping of a promise to God and many more. For us, it is different because Jesus put himself in the place of one of those animals and sacrificed himself. He is our sin offering and our thank offering as well as all else. He sacrificed the greatest thing - his own life to save ours. 

So, if Jesus has paid all the cost, do we even need to offer God anything? I mean, if Jesus paid it all, what can we offer? Is there any point in us making ourselves uncomfortable or inconveniencing ourselves for God when Jesus has done far above what we could achieve? 

I mean, the ultimate sacrifice has been made by Jesus. We can't offer anything as incredible as Jesus did, and it's not essential to offer God things, but surely, considering the depth of love God has shown us requires a response?

If someone has shown us love, or favour, then we naturally want to respond and show our appreciation to them. So, how do we do that for God? In response to His great love, to His great mercy, what can we actually give Him?

I know many Christians who faithfully give money to God. They regularly set aside part of their income to give to God - this is a good thing, it honours God, but does it actually 'cost' you? 

Obviously there's a financial impact, but most budget around it and it doesn't become an inconvenience. I'm not saying that it necessarily should, or that you should get into debt (I don't think God would want that) but it is possible to give, even generously, and not really feel it. Not really feel the pinch or the difficulty. 

Unlike the widow giving her mite - she gave all she had, she had nothing for herself. It was a true sacrifice. I'm not saying that we should all do that, go bankrupt, into debt or starve in order to give to God, but there is something in the obedience and sacrifice that we see in the widow that we admire. She displays a reliance, security and honour in her sacrificial giving.

Giving to God isn't all about financial giving either. In fact in this scripture in 2 Samuel, it's about building a place of remembrance- of setting up a memorial as well as making a sacrifice. So, there are clearly different ways to sacrifice to God. It could be serving on a team, helping a neighbour, extending your hospitality, or giving up something - laying down a reliance in other things that, at heart, you know do you no good. 

Sacrifice to God, like David says, shouldn't be something that, "cost me nothing". We should feel it, but in a healthy way, like the first time you start a new activity, it stretches us and might ache a bit, but we know it does us good. 

Giving to God does us good. 

It causes us to grow in character, to extend ourselves, to discover new skills and gifts, to grow aspects of our personality. 

God doesn't actually need us to do anything, but once we realise something of what God has done for us, the response of our heart should be to honour Him with the resources we have. 

So.....

How do you sacrifice to God? 

What do your offerings cost you?

PS

'A generous person will prosper'

Proverbs 11:25

Greatness through gentleness?

As I was reading through 2 Samuel 22, this phrase stood out to me;

your gentleness made me great

2 Samuel 22:36 (ESV)

This phrase comes amongst a stream of descriptions of what God is like; a shield, strong, secure and a rock, so how does gentleness fit in? 

It doesn't seem to fit with the other expressions about the stability, strength and security of God. Let alone the statement that gentleness made David great (how can gentleness make someone great?). It doesn't seem that these two aspects; gentleness and greatness should go hand-in-hand. They don't seem compatible. So why does David put them together?

We usually associate gentleness with being; meek, mild and calm. 

Greatness is about being distinguished, standing out, having authority and power. 

So, how do these two qualities meet? How does God's gentleness lead to David's greatness? Are we even allowed to say that we are great (as David did?!)? 

Could it be something about God's great patience, His mildness in dealing with our inadequacies that causes David to feel great? Maybe David has seen that God's mildness and grace has taken care of him, maybe even rubbed off on him so that he can handle difficult situations in a calm manner. 

Thinking about it, that's probably a huge quality that we need in our troubles, gentleness - the ability to have a calm, considered, mild response. Not to instantly react, but to calmly contend during strife. Gentleness implies that we deal with others well. Not seeking to destroy or battle them, but remain calm even against opposition. 

David learned how to do that because God was his example. When we look at the New Testament, we see Jesus was incredible at it - When he was spat at, flogged, ridiculed and cruelly murdered, he remained gentle. He did not fight, shout, rant or curse. He responded mildly, considered others and even remained silent when abused. This gentleness of Jesus demonstrated his godliness and greatness. 

There is power in gentleness. Jesus gentleness indeed fulfilled this phrase, "your gentleness made me great". Without Jesus living the gentle life he did and dying the death he did we would not have the great life we have now. We would not have the freedom from guilt or shame that we enjoy, nor the empowering of the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave us greatness through his gentleness, can we too be great through gentleness? 

The pursuit of righteousness

2 Samuel 22:21–25 (ESV): 

'The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; 

according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me. 

 22  For I have kept the ways of the Lord 

and have not wickedly departed from my God. 

 23  For all his rules were before me, 

and from his statutes I did not turn aside. 

 24  I was blameless before him, 

and I kept myself from guilt. 

 25  And the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, 

according to my cleanness in his sight.'

Can you say the same?

Can you honestly say that God repays you according to your righteousness?

I know that God doesn't repay me according to my unrighteousness, and I'm very grateful for that! But does God pay me according to my righteousness? That's puzzled me, because when I take a good, hard look at myself, even though I may appear a good, kind, considerate person, I see the imperfect thoughts and feelings that gunk up my life, the imperfect, unrighteousness that dwells within me. Even if immoral words are never spoken, adverse thoughts never voiced, the Bible teaches that even just thinking them is unrighteous. I am sometimes surprised at the unwanted, adverse thoughts that pop into my head. So, the question I am asking myself is - how righteous am I.....REALLY???? 

We all have a person that we exhibit to the world - to our friends, family, colleagues and others around us, and they're probably what we would consider an alright person, one that's quite acceptable, but the real person inside - what are they like? - how righteous are they? 

David, in this song, says that God dealt with him according to his righteousness - David says he's; kept the rules, he's not looked back, he's done what God has told him, and, 'kept myself from guilt'. 

Now, sometimes we can follow the rules - outwardly that's usually pretty easy. The thing I most admire in this paragraph about David though, is that he admits he had kept himself from guilt. That shows something of the internal battle to do what's right -  the internal struggle for righteousness. He had to KEEP himself from doing what he knew to be wrong. Don't we all struggle with that? 

David knows righteousness doesn't all rest on the outward appearance of doing what is right. It's actually about overcoming the internal desires that would lead to a guilty conscience. To succeed, we have to persevere. Just like David did if we are to preserve ourselves from guilt. It is about mastering our internal emotions, our own self-concern, and maybe even our innermost desires. It's not an easy fight - it's a fight against ourselves. But isn't the result worth it? A conscience free from guilt - the pursuit of righteousness. 

I would love to be able to say, like David, that God rewards me for my righteousness, but I know, hand on heart, God rewards me even in my unrighteousness. 

I, like you, am fighting internal battles. I have desires that I battle to overcome so that I can be free from guilt. I pursue this righteousness that David talks about, and I think that this is what David is saying God rewards - Our earnest pursuit of righteousness, our keeping ourselves from guilt. 

MY God

2 Samuel 22:2–4 (ESV): 

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, 

 3  my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, 

  my shield, and the horn of my salvation, 

my stronghold and my refuge, 

my savior; you save me from violence. 

 4  I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, 

and I am saved from my enemies. 

What a strong, confident expression of who God is to the person who wrote this - David. I like this because it shows something of the personal nature of God. 

David uses the word 'my' a lot, showing that he recognises the up close and personal nature of God. He knows that God is interested and invested in his life. God is just as interested and invested in yours too, do you know that? 

Consider that as we look at the different aspects aspects David reveals of God's character in this passage:

My rock - stable, strong, unshakeable, steady, dependable and trustworthy.

My fortress - protection, watchtower, inaccessible to the enemy.

My deliverer - one who sets free, allows escape.

My God - amongst many other things - the one in charge who knows what they are doing.

My shield - protection, weapon.

Horn of my salvation - source of pride, might and strength (like for an animal)

My stronghold - security, stability, safety.

My refuge - place of hiding, repairing, restoration and equipping.

My saviour - the one who saves from danger, redeemer.

From these few verses we can see something of the personal nature and power of God. God does not just sit back and look at your situation. He is actively involved in; protecting you, fighting for you and saving you. 

How have you seen Him do that in your life?