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Viewing Our Offering
Box As An Altar Of Worship |
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A pastor announced on Sunday that he
had made a new offering box for the weekly
collection. He claimed that it
was designed to encourage people to
become better stewards of their money. “This new box,” he
explained “has some interesting features. When you drop
in a check or paper money in large amounts, the box
makes no sound at all. Put a quarter in and it tinkles like
a bell. A dime blows a whistle, and a penny fires a shot.
When you put in nothing,the box takes your picture.”
I’m sure you have all noticed that
our offering box is nothing like the one described
above. It is instead a simple place for you to quietly
express your love to Him. Aren’t you glad?
Several years ago, I had a
conversation with a brother who was concerned that people in our
Church may forget that our offerings to the Lord are an act
of worship. His concern was that if we don’t pass a plate
during the worship service people may simply drop their givings
in our offering box without consciously considering the
spiritual nature of the gift.
Scripture indicates that our financial giving is a worshipful response to the goodness of God. The
Bible teaches that
giving to the Lord is to be a key
feature of our worship. See for example, Phil 4:18.
The fact that we use an offering box
does not necessarily
mean that the act of giving will not
be worshipful. Certainly
the widow who placed her offering in
the treasury chest
located in the court of the temple
was worshipping when
she gave. The Lord observes her
giving, calls over His twelve disciples, grabs their
attention by highlighting the significance of her offering, and
emphatically commends
her for giving out of her poverty
(Mark 12:41-44; Luke
21:1-4). Worshipful giving is a
matter of the heart not
the particular mode of collection.
On the one hand, there are drawbacks
to the offering box. With the plate, people give during the actual
worship service so it may be easier for them to connect giving with the act of
worship. Furthermore, when the plate is passed, this occasion provides a
natural opportunity for the pastor or worship
leader to remind the congregation
that their giving is to be an expression of
gratitude and faith toward God.
On the other hand, there are
advantages to the offering box. It allows people
to give more privately. When the
plate is passed people may feel obliged
to contribute because every one else
seems to be doing so. Our giving must
not be motivated by people but by
God. Our offering box may put less
pressure on a person to give and
this can enhance worship.
It seems however that with the use
of the offering box there is a great responsibility for leadership to communicate with the church. We need faithfully to remind our
congregation, particularly the new believers, that when they place their offerings
in our church “treasury” they are to do so as a conscious act of worship.
Ideally, we should prayerfully
consider how much to give before we even
leave for church on Sunday morning.
The amount of our offering should
be determined through prayer in
advance of the worship service. And the
placement of the offering should be
an extension of that prayerful consideration
whether our giving is placed in a
box or a plate. I am convinced that I have
not done my part in prompting the
congregation. We all need to be reminded,
if not frequently at least from time
to time, that our giving is an offering unto
the Lord. In the past several years
these promptings have been rarely provided
to you. For this I ask your
forgiveness and repent.
I need to renew a commitment made
some time ago that I have failed to follow. My renewed commitment is to
encourage you more frequently either at theoutset of the service, in connection
with the worship prayer or toward the end of the service. The format will
probably vary but the intent will remain the same – to encourage you to give to
the Lord as a genuine expression of love, faith and adoration.
Finally, let me add how thankful I
am for the faithful giving of many in our church. Any prompting you may
receive in the future from the pulpit in this regard will simply be to encourage
you to excel still more. For those in our congregation whose faith needs to be
increased in this important area, my intent will only be to prompt you to
give cheerfully and sacrificially to support the ministry of Community Church.
May our love offerings continually
please our good and faithful God.
