Day 1: There are two types of people: the givers and the takers. Throughout the whole Bible we see people that give their money, their time and even their lives. On the other hand, we also see the people that are just simply the takers. This pattern is also seen in churches nowadays. Many Christians ask the question on how much they should give. Many Christians is expecting that a pastor will give a figure amount on how much Christians should give. But, giving is not about the amount, giving is about the ATTITUDE. More than the attitude, giving is about WORSHIP. Giving is an act of WORSHIP. Let us see one example in the Bible about the act of giving, the act of worship that Mary of Bethany did. We'll learn from her the attitudes of giving. ATTITUDE #1: Giving is a SACRIFICIAL attitude. What does "sacrifice" means? Sacrifice comes from two Latin words. The word "sacri" comes from the word that means "sacret" and the word "fice comes from the word that means "to make". Therefore the word sacrifice means to "make holy." Mary of Bethany shows that her giving to the Lord (i.e., perfume) is an act of obedience and it is a sacrificial, holy gift. Mark 14:3-9 "While Jesus was in Bethany ... a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, make of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head (vs 3). ... The perfume could have been sold for more than a year's wages (vs 5)." Mary of Bethany poured Jesus with a gift that worth a year's salary. An alabaster jar of perfume is a mechanism that woman used to put their savings. This is either a hope chest or a marriage chest. A hope chest is a saving that is created to cover rainy days (i.e., when we need money). On the other hand a marriage chest is a saving that woman created for their wedding. Mary of Bethany took her savings that actually worth a year's salary and poured the whole thing to Jesus. We live in a comfortable world and we are part of the comfortable generation. We want to pray without fasting and we want to serve without time and financial sacrifice. Actually everything in life that is good, godly and lasting requires sacrifice. For example: getting good education for our children is good, godly and lasting and it does require sacrifice. If we want to check and see what is worth a sacrifice, then we should take a look at our check book. Look at how the money is spent. This exercise will tell us what we actually believe as important in our lives. What is the percentage of our giving to our income? Does this exercise reveal that giving to the Lord is important? The real question is not about how much Christians should give. The question is about HOW MUCH Christians are willing to GIVE and GIVE UP.
Day 2 ATTITUDE #2: Giving is a SERVANT attitude What is a servant attitude? "Mary poured the perfume on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair." John 12:3. Mary was at Jesus' feet. She assumed a position of a servant. It is a servant's work to attend to the feet. Moreover, she wiped Jesus' feet with her hair. A respectable woman (at that time) does not unbind her hair in public. This shows her humility. Mary did not just give sacrificially, but her whole attitude says, "My master, whatever that is mine, I give to you." Now let us look at Mary of Bethany. Who is this Mary? She has a sister named Martha. Martha is this super talented woman. She can practically do anything. Anytime in the bible when we see the occurrance of Martha, she is always busy serving food and hosting. Martha is a very special woman. Now, let us look at her brother. Mary's brother is Lazarus, the one that was raised from the dead. He is a very special man. At the time when Mary poured the perfume to Jesus, Martha was serving and Lazarus was at the table with Jesus. What can Mary do to show her love for her Lord? This was when she chose to honor the Lord with all that she had. Jesus said, "She did what she could." Mark 14:8. What is the immediate result of Mary's act of worship? "The whole fragrance of the offering filled up the room." John 12:3. How much do we have and how much do we give? A sacrificial gift with a servant attitude will fragrant the whole room. It is such a sweet and sacret offering to the Lord. What is the motivation of our gifts? Do we give because we feel sorry for some poor people, do we give because we feel sorry for the pastor, do we give because we feel guilty for having a comfortable life? Or do we give because we love the Lord and we want to worship the Lord? This is what Mary did, she gave because she loved her Lord.
Day 3 ATTITUDE #3: Giving is a SELFLESS attitude Mary concentrated so much into worshiping the Lord and giving her best to the Lord that she did not pay attention to whatever thing that people was saying. Sadly, her complete and whole act of worship to the Lord was rebuked harshly by her family and the disciples. Judas, one of the disciples, said, "Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor."(John 12:5) It is funny how this work. Many times, when we try to give our best to the Lord, criticism comes. Sadly but true, most criticism actually comes from those closest to us, such as our family. Worse yet, some of the criticism may also come from other Christians. There was Mary with her heart filled with love to her Lord and she did whatever that she could. On the other hand, there were the people on the table (i.e., her family and the disciples) and they started rebuking her harshly. They told Mary that there were other ways to use or allocate the gift. So many times at church, we come across this argument. Some people may say why use the money for this project, let us use it for that project. What we do not realize is that each project is God's project. God prepares different people to give to different project. In fact, most of the time those people that criticizes are not generous givers themselves, they only want to minimizes gifts. One encouragement is provided here. Jesus himself came to defend Mary. He said, "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them anytime you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. " Mark 14: 6-7. Do not be discouraged when other people is criticizing us about our gifts. Just concentrate on our obedience of the Lord. We give to the Lord, because we want to show our love to Him. This is an act of worship.
Day 4
ATTITUDE #4: Giving is a SPIRITUALLY MINDED attitude Why do Christians give? What is the rewards of giving? Let us look at Mary of Bethany, what reward did she get for giving such a sacrificial gift? Jesus said in Mark 14:9, "I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." Do you realize that every Easter story (either in terms of books or video), include this story about a gift, an ACT of worship that Mary did to Jesus? Yes, giving to the Lord has ETERNAL reward. If we are not careful with our alabaster jar (i.e., our possessions), then the jar might be broken into by thief or eaten by moth. Why should we worry and invest on temporary things, Christians should be busy about eternal things. A spiritually minded gift has value that goes beyond this life to eternal life. If we simply keep our alabaster jar and do not use it as an act of worship to the Lord, then we may miss the opportunity to save lives. All of those times when we choose to keep instead of give, opportunities are gone and lives are gone. It does cost ETERNAL things. It costs what could have been, what should have been. Christians will be judged for all of those lost opportunities to reach people for the Lord. So how much should a Christian give? The answer is really simple, Christians should simply give their VERY BEST for the Lord. Giving is an act of worship and it shows our love to our Lord. Just remember how Mary gave to her Lord.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Disclaimer This material is a summary of the message that was preached by Pastor Jack Graham at Prestonwood Baptist Church. The writer of this EBS (Electronic Bible Study) made some changes and added some personal notes that is necessary to customize this material into an electronic media, a daily reading material and to better fit the audience. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++