Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Pilgrimage Growth Guide) by Donald S. Whitney & Rita J. Platt

Author:Donald S. Whitney & Rita J. Platt [Whitney, Donald S. & Platt, Rita J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Non-Fiction, Spirituality, Religion, Reference, Self Help
ISBN: 9781576830277
Goodreads: 213368
Publisher: NavPress
Published: 1991-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Giving Is an Act of Worship

In Philippians 4:18, the Apostle Paul thanks the Christians in the Grecian city of Philippi for the financial gift they gave in support of his missionary ministry. He writes, “I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” He calls the money they gave “a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God,” comparing it to an Old Testament sacrifice people gave in worship to God. In other words, Paul says that their act of giving to the work of God was an act of worshiping God.

Have you ever thought of giving as worship? You know that singing praises to God, prayer, thanksgiving, and listening to Him speak through His Word are all worship, but do you ever think of giving to God as one of the biblical and tangible ways of adoring and worshiping Him?

In his book The Gift of Giving, Wayne Watts wrote,

While researching the Biblical principles of giving, I considered the subject of worship. Frankly, I had never before studied worship in detail to find out God’s point of view. I have come to the conclusion that giving, along with our thanksgiving and praise, is worship. In the past I made pledges to my church to be paid on a yearly basis. Once a month, I would write a check while in church and drop it in the collection plate. Sometimes I would mail a check from my office. My objective was for the church to get the total pledge before the end of the year. Though I had already experienced the joy of giving, the act of making my gift had little relationship to worship. While I was writing this book God convicted me to begin giving every time I went to church. The verse that spoke to me about this was Deuteronomy 16:16—“Do not appear before Me empty-handed.” When I started doing this, if a check were not handy, I gave cash. At first I thought about keeping up with the money given. Then God convicted me again. He seemed to say, “You do not need to keep up with the amount of cash. Give to Me simply out of a heart of love, and see how much you enjoy the service.” I made this change in giving habits, and it has greatly enhanced my joy in our worship services.6

It’s common in my tradition for people attending the small-group Bible study before the worship service to give then rather than in the worship hour. If this has been your pattern, you might discover as I have that your giving seems more like worship when you give during the worship service instead.

Most people give as many times each month as they are paid. In other words, if they get a paycheck on the first of the month, they give once a month on the first Sunday of the month.

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