Week 43 - Giving That Costs Nothing

“I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing.” (2 Samuel 24:24, NASB)

Last Sunday, our worship leader taught us a new song entitled “Anything That Costs Me Nothing.” The chorus goes like this:

I will not offer anything that costs me nothing I’ll place before Him nothing less than my very best And if I’m called to sacrifice It will be worthy of my Christ I will not offer anything that costs me nothing.

The lyrics of the song are probably inspired by what King David said, “I will not offer… to the Lord my God [that] which cost me nothing” (2 Sam 24:24, NASB). As Christians we are to give sacrificially of our resources and to give ourselves sacrificially. Or as The Message puts it, “I’m not going to offer GOD, my God, sacrifices that are no sacrifice.”

From David’s statement, we can understand why God said David was a man after His own heart. When David was preparing to build the temple, he purchased what is now the Temple Mount from a man named Araunah. When the king came to purchase his land, Araunah wanted to give it to him, as well as the animals, to make offerings to God, but David declined the offer. Instead, David said, “I will make no offering to God that costs me nothing.”

Giving Sacrificially

The press once carried a report about a lady who donated a kidney to her husband suffering from end-stage kidney failure. She died while recuperating in the general ward. The transplant gave her husband a new lease of life but within hours of the operation, the mother of three young children died from internal bleeding. Her sacrificial giving of an organ cost her dearly.

True giving is always sacrificial. In the gospel accounts, we encounter two women who gave sacrificially. The widow with only two mites (Mark 12:42-44 ) and Mary with an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment (John 12:1-7 ). One gave in spite of her poverty while the other gave lavishly.

Often times, we give to the Lord what is convenient or that which costs us very little. When we offer our resources, time and effort to support God’s work, do we feel the pinch? We should, if it costs us something.

What is in your alabaster jar? Mary’s lavish gift was a great act of love on her part. She gave her best — a gift of great quality, quantity and cost. It was also an act of deep humility and reverence. After pouring out the perfume, she stooped down to wipe Jesus’ feet with her hair.

Are we as selfless and devoted as Mary? Are we willing to give up that which is precious to us to not only honour God but to also be an example to those around us?

Each one of us has an alabaster jar. I ask myself, “What’s in my alabaster jar and what am I going to do with it? Is there anything hidden in there that I want to treasure for myself? Would I be willing to pour it out for Him?”

What about you? What precious perfume is locked inside your heart that could be given to our Lord? The little treasures you and I struggle to hold on to may hold back opportunities to worship Him with praise, releasing our ministry and service to Him that would bless all those around us. What’s in your alabaster jar? And what are you going to do with it?

Giving Your Best

There is a hymn we use to sing in our weekly youth group meetings many years ago. It was our theme song, and it would be sung towards the end of every meeting. It is the hymn “Give Of Your Best To the Master.” The composer includes in it the lines, “Give of your best to the Master; give of the strength of your youth.” Then in a subsequent stanza, “Give Him first place in your service; consecrate every part. Give, and to you shall be given.” In the final stanza he pens, “Give Him your heart’s adoration; give Him the best that you have.”

Someone once said that even though what we offer to the Lord may not be the best, if it is our best the Lord would bless it. We begin with the giving of ourselves. If we give ourselves genuinely and deeply, then all these other aspects of giving would take care of themselves. Christianity is centred on giving. God gave Christ through His great love for us. We in return give of ourselves back to Him. All this is what it means to give to the Lord. Can we say with David, “I will not give to the LORD my God that which costs me nothing”? How can we when He has given us so much?