As we continue this road to Easter, celebrating our own version of “Lent,” we’re going to spend each week with Teaching Pastor Chris Ward focusing on practices that we can be deliberate about to help us focus on Jesus and attend to our spiritual lives just as deliberately as we attend to our physical lives. This week, we’re going to be focusing on the practice of “sacrificial generosity.”
One of the more interesting verses in the Bible on the subject of giving is 2 Samuel 24:24. In this passage, King David is seeking to build an altar to God on a piece of land. The owner of the land offers to give both the land and some oxen for David to sacrifice for free. David refuses the man’s generosity, however. Why? As he says to the landowner, “I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24)!
David’s attitude lies at the heart of the biblical concept of sacrificial generosity: giving in a way that stretches us, challenges our comfort zones, and truly reflects a heart devoted to God. It is something that all of God’s people are called to: we are all called to give in a way that acknowledges God’s ownership of all that we have and demonstrates our trust in Him to provide for our needs.
Of course this type of generosity includes our finances (because if God doesn’t have our wallet, He doesn’t have our heart!). But sacrificial generosity is about more than just financial giving: it also extends to how we allocate our time, our talents, and our resources for God’s Kingdom. It could include volunteering our time in a way that stretches us or offering our skills for the benefit of others. Any time we give out of what God has given us in a way that costs us something, we are displaying sacrificial generosity.
That’s why we need to ask ourselves: What does sacrificial generosity look like in my life? Am I giving in a way that costs me something? Or am I simply giving to God from my excess, offering him things that don’t really challenge me or stretch me? As God’s people, we need to understand that God doesn’t just deserve some of what we have—He deserves it all (Romans 12:1). This week, let’s consider how we can practice sacrificial generosity with all that we have. After all, our God is worth it!
May God bless you richly as you seek to live out sacrificial generosity in your walk with Him.