When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket… (Deuteronomy 26:1,2 ESV)
Fear Not… Then Give
An elementary school chum usually shared his lunch with me. While my sack lunch was usually made up of a dried beef sandwich, a plastic baggy of chips, an apple, and a homemade cookie… HIS lunch included candy bars, Fritos, Oreo cookies, and other such delightful treats. As we ate our lunches, I would keep my eye on his disappearing meal. When he was finished, he would often hand out his leftovers.
I would eat them with wonder.
But I never thought of his gift as a meaningful sacrifice. My place in his pantheon of friends was shown by WHEN he would donate to my lunch. I received his leftovers.
I was still grateful, mind you! But we both understood that giving leftovers is not the same thing as giving away something precious, first.
That is why God asked His people to give offerings of FIRST fruits. He is not desiring our leftovers, whether in terms of money, time, or effort. Leftovers show our gratitude in a different way than giving to God, first.
Notice that God’s instructions were particularly focused on what the Israelites were supposed to do after they successfully entered the promised land. After the fearful struggles were over. When fear had given way to peace.
Then, aware that God had removed the reasons for their fears, they could show their understanding by giving to God first.
It is true for us, as well. While plenty of things are still scary all around us, in Christ we have no reason to fear. And like the grateful Israelites, we can show that we understand what God does for us.
We can give, first… not leftovers. We can give before we have figured out if we have ‘enough.’ We can give because we are glad to acknowledge His conquering of our fears… by not being afraid to distribute our resources.
Not just money, but also time. Not just finances, but also energy. Not just possessions, but also priorities.
Fear not, then give.