Today's Giving Thought - Giving Should Cost Us Something

Last night, Becki and I sat down at the table for dinner, and after eating, we went through yesterday's giving devotional. This was very appropriate, for yesterday's Scripture starts out by saying, "After you have eaten . . . Don't forget the Lord your God ".

Today's deovtional thought is on giving as a sacrifice.


2 Samuel 24:21-24
David, “Let my lord the king take whatever pleases him and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. O king, Araunah gives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the LORD your God accept you.”
But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”


Devotional Thoughts
David’s words here--“I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing”--have always stuck in my mind. A sacrifice should be, well, a sacrifice. Giving should cost us something.

Giving is often something that we give out of our “extra” funds, rather than a choice gift that really causes us to give up something.

I did an image search on the word “sacrifice” on a general photo site, and I was surprised to find that most of the images were of a cross. This sort of makes our sacrifices for giving look rather small, does it not? But we must start somewhere.

Questions to ask yourself and/or your family
What could we give up in our spending that would really be a sacrifice so that we can give more?

Prayer - Father, help us to not just give you our extra, but to give sacrificially.

What comments or questions does this devotional thought on giving spur with you and your family?