Why does generosity start with gratitude?

More Than Enough, Part 1 of 3. This series follows Pastor Seth’s message “More Than Enough” from Exodus 36. Part 2 asks what part God invites us to play, and Part 3 asks what “more than enough” means for a church.

Generosity isn’t simply about what we have to give. Generosity is about the posture of our hearts toward what God has already given us. Generosity flows from gratitude.

Why does it feel like there is never enough?

We live in a world where it often feels like there’s never enough. Many of us have experienced this, especially economically, over the past few months. It feels like there’s never enough money. Many of us, especially those of us who have children, recognize it feels like there’s never enough time. Maybe there’s never enough resource. Maybe there’s never enough security.

If we’re not careful, we can begin to see our entire lives through the lens of what we lack, instead of seeing what God has already provided for us. That has an impact on how we relate to God.

I believe God desires to form a different kind of people, not a people who see through the lens of lack, but a people who realize that their lives have been given to them to reflect the God of more than enough.

It’s not just that we believe God can provide more than enough. Even more than that, I believe we would become a people who understand what we’ve received from God. In return, as a measure of gratitude for what God has done for us, we would participate in what God desires to build.

What does Exodus 36 say about giving?

Exodus 36 picks up a narrative in which Moses is instructing the people of Israel. Bezalel, introduced in chapter 35, is the first person in Scripture who was filled with the Holy Spirit for the purpose of building the tabernacle of the Lord.

Here is the passage, Exodus 36:1-7 (ESV):

“Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.”

And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.

In other words, the people gave so much that Moses had to send word through the camp telling them to stop.

A couple of months ago, as I read this passage, I felt the Lord had led me back to Exodus 36 in preparation for this year’s year-end offering. When I came to verse 5, I stopped dead in my tracks and felt the word of the Lord say, more than enough.

It isn’t just that we believe God can do more than enough. Because we believe He can, we believe He will. But what we find in Exodus 36 reveals something deeper. God wants to form in us more than enough to accomplish His will and His purpose through our lives.

This is an extraordinary moment in Scripture. God’s people have given so generously toward the construction of the tabernacle that Moses has to tell them to stop. But the story isn’t simply about how much they gave. It’s about the willing hearts behind what they gave. Their generosity was an expression of their willingness to participate in what God was building. They wanted to see God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The same is true for us today.

What happened before Exodus 36?

Before we study Exodus 36, we need to understand what led up to it.

In Exodus 25, Moses is up on Mount Sinai, and God instructs him to build the tabernacle. Exodus 25:8 shows that God’s desire is to dwell among His people. That desire runs all through the Old Testament and into the New. What a God, that He would want to dwell with us. The tabernacle wasn’t simply a structure where they could gather to worship. It was the place where God’s presence would dwell among His people.

In Exodus 25 to 31, God gives divine instruction. He speaks to Moses face to face and lays out His plans to be among the Israelites. Exodus 32 records what I would call covenant rebellion. Israel had grown impatient with Moses being on the mountain for forty days. The people were getting anxious, and Aaron, who was placed in charge of them, said, “Why don’t you bring me some gold? We’ll throw it in the fire.” They built a golden calf and worshiped it. Aaron failed in his leadership.

Moses came down carrying the Ten Commandments, written by God on stone, ready to tell Israel all God desired, and he found them worshiping a calf. He threw the tablets down and pleaded with God not to burn everyone alive.

In Exodus 33, God listens to Moses’ request. God not only forgives the nation in His mercy, but He renews His covenant with Israel. He says, “You are My people, and I will be your God.”

By Exodus 35 and 36 there is not only covenant restoration but covenant participation. God’s people willingly contribute to the sanctuary. Israel realizes how big a deal it is that God has forgiven them, and they respond with a deep sense of gratitude toward the mercy of God.

This is the key contrast. In Exodus 32, the people give their gold to construct an idol. They grow impatient with God’s timing, with His vision, with what God wants for their lives, and they give themselves over to an idol. But in Exodus 36, the people bring their resources, because of the mercy of God, to build what God wanted built. In both moments the people gave what they had, but what they were giving toward had completely changed. What we worship shapes what we do with what we have.

Why does grace come before generosity?

It’s easy to read the Old Testament as a story and forget what covenant rebellion meant, and then what covenant restoration meant. But it’s essential to us as prodigal children, born into sin, with absolutely no merit on which we could stand before God, and yet God chose to see us in the worst of our human condition, love us, and reconcile us to Himself through Jesus.

Israel realized they had crossed a line with God. They had rebelled, and they had given themselves over to an idol. They said they would rather worship a golden calf than Yahweh, Creator of heaven and earth, who brought them out of slavery in Egypt. They found themselves with a chasm of guilt and regret, thinking God was going to smite them. And God, in His mercy, showed up and said, “I still love you. You’re still My people, and I’m still your God.”

It is in this context that the people respond by contributing what God wanted. So the principle is this: grace precedes generosity. Our experience of God’s grace in our lives creates an opportunity within us, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to play a part in what God is building.

Their generosity wasn’t an attempt to earn God’s favor. Their generosity was a response to God’s mercy. You could say it like this: generosity is a response to grace, not a price paid to earn it.

Are free will offerings really free?

The root of the phrase “free will offerings” in the text tells us something important. These gifts weren’t forced. There wasn’t pressure to contribute. These people gave willingly. What they gave revealed what was happening in their hearts. Because of God’s mercy, they responded in gratitude.

More than enough starts in the heart before it shows up in the hand.

If you are jaded or slightly cynical about the idea of bringing a year-end offering, I want to say this to you: we don’t want anything from you. We want everything for you. We aren’t positioning ourselves in a capital campaign because we have objectives we want to accomplish. Our approach is much different. As a pastor, I hold a deep conviction that this is not a transactional moment in the church. I’m not putting a hundred-thousand-dollar target on a screen and saying we need to raise it by December 6 so that we can accomplish a list of objectives.

I actually believe that God can do it whether or not you participate. According to Scripture, God’s will will be done, because my God supplies all of our needs according to His glorious riches. Whether or not you participate doesn’t change that. It only means you’ll be missing out on what a patient God desires for your life. But we will do what God has set for us to accomplish, because our God is more than enough.

What is motivating my generosity?

We aren’t preparing to give because we’re trying to earn something from God. We’re preparing to give because of what God has already done, and because we desire to participate in what He is building.

Gratitude isn’t merely something we feel. Gratitude is something we express. When we have true gratitude for what God has done for us, it shows up in how we live and in what we do with what God has entrusted to us. Generosity is one of the ways we express that gratitude, because generosity flows from gratitude.

So consider an important question: what is motivating your generosity? Is it obligation, or is it personal conviction? Is it pressure because this is the moment we’re in as a church, or is it gratitude? Is it an expectation of what God will give you, or is it a response to what He has already given?

The heart of an offering isn’t that everyone gives the same amount. It isn’t that we hit a targeted goal. It’s that we become a people who are willing to take part in what God is building in our midst.

What is the takeaway?

Grace comes before generosity. God showed Israel mercy, and their giving was a response to that mercy, not a price paid to earn His favor. Generosity is a response to grace, and more than enough starts in the heart before it shows up in the hand. Before we ask what we are going to bring to the Lord, we can ask what God is forming in us.

Next in the series: Part 2 of 3, “What part does God want me to play in what He is building?”