Bono, lead singer of the band U2, once said during a song, "The God I believe in isn't short of cash." He was criticizing phony TV preachers for stealing money from unsuspecting people. Lots of people have the same feeling. I meet people all the time who assume the only thing the church is after is their money. But Bono brings up a good point: If God can bless everyone, then why do we have to give-to God or to anyone else for that matter? Can't God just bless people? The answer is that it's not about the money.
We've received so much from God, it's only right that we honor him by giving some of it back. And as we give our resources away, it reminds us that the God who gave them to us in the first place will provide what we need. From cover to cover, the Bible records how people honored God by giving back to him. And we can still do this today through our local churches.
The early churches exemplified this concept of giving back to God by giving their money to help other churches that were in trouble. Paul not only taught his churches about giving, but he also gave them an opportunity to give an offering that he personally delivered to the Jerusalem church.
The generosity of the early churches is an example we follow today. This week we're going to look at why we need to give God our time, energy, and money.
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