The Blessing of a Generous Heart

There was a commercial on television a while back that pictured people running around with their hands in the pockets of other people. I can’t remember what the commercial was trying to sell but the image returned to me this morning as I read Exodus 25.

There are some who accuse the church of always having its hand out looking for money (which I guess is one notch better than having it in the pockets of the congregation). It was this perception that caused us as missionaries to be extremely careful how we handled teaching about tithing and taking up an offering for the ongoing ministry of the church.

Here in Exodus 25 we find Moses receiving instructions from God about the building of the tabernacle, including how to collect the materials from which it would be built. He said: “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give” (25:2, NIV).

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There is plenty of teaching in the Scriptures about tithing but here, in the case of the tabernacle, God doesn’t ask for a tithe. The only stipulation is whether or not each man is moved to give and he is only asked to give if his heart prompts him to do so.

This coincides nicely with Paul’s instruction in 2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV) which tells us: “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

The building of the tabernacle depended on the generosity of the people of God. There was no building fund that Moses had been stashing under his mattress, or a branch of the CIBC where he could negotiate a loan. There were no raw materials out in the desert or a Home Depot where things could be purchased.

The passage in Corinthians goes a few steps beyond that of the one in Exodus. Verses 6 to 15 promise blessing to the one who gives with an open hand and a generous heart. “…in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work…he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”

God could have done a few miracles and provided all that Moses needed to build that tabernacle without asking anything from the Hebrews. But God, generous as always, didn’t want his children to miss out on the blessing that comes with giving.