When I was young, I was not very generous in my gift-giving. In one instance, I gave my older brother some sort of toy (I don’t remember exactly what it was) but a few days later I decided I wanted it back, and so I marched into his room and took back the birthday gift I had given him! I wanted to look generous without paying the price of true generosity. Jesus himself said “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). And when Jesus sat outside the temple treasury and observed all the people giving their offerings to the temple, he commended the sacrificial generosity of a widow. Although the rich were putting in great sums of money, she only put in about two dollars, yet Jesus said “…this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on” (Luke 21:3–4).

Paul taught the early churches to make a practice of giving money each first day of the week to support the work of the church. “Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come” (1 Cor. 16:3). The particular context here was for a collection to be sent to relieve poor saints in Jerusalem, but the example for us today to give on Sunday is clear. In Second Corinthians, Paul emphasized that in light of God’s immeasurable grace towards us, we should give with a generous, cheerful spirit. “Each one must give as he has decided in his own heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor. 9:7). From all the above passages it’s clear to see that it’s not the dollar amount but the heart condition of the one giving that pleases God. When it comes from a heart that loves the Lord, giving is an act of worship that pleases the Lord.

In order to help us keep a focus on giving as part of our worship here at Worthington, we are going to begin incorporating a prayer for the collection into the closing prayer in our worship service. Our hope is that each Sunday this will help us all to reflect on how God has blessed us and will help us be intentional about cultivating the kind of cheerful and generous hearts that please God. We’ll also use this opportunity to ask God to bless the Christian causes that the collected funds support. Prayerfully, this small addition to our worship service will help us worship God with everything we have and everything we are, as we give, sing, pray, take the communion, and listen to the preaching of God’s word each week.