Heart attitudes…. and money matters

When King Hezekiah initiated reforms that helped the people return to the Lord (see this previous post), there was much celebration and enthusiasm. Not everyone did things the right way (see 2 Chronicles 30 vs  18 - 20) but God was merciful and didn't judge them for their mistakes. He saw that they had "set their hearts on seeking God" and so He was quick to forgive them for their wrong way of doing things. God looks to our heart motivation and doesn't make it difficult for us to come to Him. He accepts us "just as we are."

As we continue reading in 2 Chronicles chapter 31, it's interesting to note that serving God and giving to God go hand in hand for these worshippers. For four whole months they gave so faithfully and generously that there was surplus in the temple - even though the people's tithes were being used to provide for the priests and Levites who served God "full time." A priest called Azariah explained this great wealth by saying that, once the people began tithing faithfully, the Lord began blessing them - which meant that there was even more for them to tithe… and the end result was that there was, "enough to eat and plenty to spare." What a wonderful picture of how God's faithfulness and ours go hand in hand.

Store rooms needed to be prepared to store the surplus provisions (animals, grain, oil…) that were being brought to the temple, and we see in vs 12 that the provisions were made up of three different kinds of giving:

• contributions
• tithes, and
• dedicated gifts.

Contributions, I guess, are small amounts that we put in the offering - like notes or coins that we put in the "collection" at church on Sunday morning.  (Later, in verse 14, these are called "freewill offerings.") Tithes are something different: they are a specific percentage (a minimum of 10%) of our income that we "owe" to God as an expression of our dependence on Him and our thankfulness for the ways He has blessed us. (The prophet Malachi told the people that failing to tithe is the same as stealing from God. See Malachi chapter 3.) And dedicated or designated gifts are perhaps larger amounts that we choose to give for a particular purpose - like a building project, a missions trip or some other specific need in the Kingdom of God. (Later, in verse 14, these are also called "consecrated gifts.")

The people's giving was so faithful that it provided adequately for all the worship in the temple, as well as providing for the priests and their families. What Hezekiah and the people did is described in vs 20 as "good and right and faithful before the Lord."

In fact, the summary of King Hezekiah's life - in vs 21 - is that, in all of his service to God and obedience to God's commands, " he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered." And so we're back to heart attitude again. Right there, in two short sentences, are guidelines for pleasing God and being successful in life:

1. seek God and keep Him at the centre of everything
2. work wholeheartedly in all that you do

It's not a complicated "recipe." But these two things are evidently important keys to living a life that prospers and is blessed by God.