Instead of trusting God for victory over his enemies, David decided to count the number of troops in his army to see how strong he was. God wasn’t pleased and a plague hit Israel that wiped out seventy thousand people. In order to stop the plague, David was told: ‘Build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite’ (v.18 NLT). When Araunah realised what was happening, he offered his threshing floor and oxen to David free of charge. But David said: ‘“No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing.” So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen.’ The old Anglo-Saxon word for worship is ‘worth-ship’, which is the act of giving worth or value to a person or object. Worship involves sacrifice. It should cost us. Whether that’s giving up our time, money or something else – it’s about putting God first. God knows we can’t all give the same amount. But what He’s asking for isn’t equal giving, but equal sacrifice. The Bible says, ‘Honour the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything’ (Proverbs 3:9 NLT). When the widow put in two coins as her offering, it would have seemed a very small gift compared with what other people were giving. But Jesus said: ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.’ (Mark 12: 43-44 NIV). So whether we’re worshipping, serving, or giving, we need to make sure we’re giving God our best.

What Now?

Start collecting your change (perhaps 1 or 2 pence coins) in a jar. After a year, donate however much you’ve saved to a charity or to your church.