Wednesday; April 6

I grew up in a faith tradition that asserted there are five acts of worship that should be conducted during our worship services: singing, praying, preaching, observing the Lord’s Supper and giving. These five acts of worship were so ingrained in us that when the pandemic started influencing the way we conducted worship (even having to do it online) we did everything we could to incorporate them into each of our gathering. Interestingly, we were able to address four of the five without much trouble – but the most challenging was “giving”. When we are separated from each other how do we follow through with Paul’s direction, “On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.” (I Corinthians 16:2)? In all honesty, I was a bit worried about this because of the old adage, “out of sight, out of mind”. Yet, I am thrilled to report that, according to most church leaders I visited with, people were faithful in their giving. Whether it was online, through the mail or even dropping off a donation at the building, people kept up with their giving.

First of all, I would like to say “thank you” for your commitment to giving. While God has all the wealth at His disposal, churches need local contributions to carry out the good works they do. Yet, secondly, as the pandemic starts to fade, let’s not forget our need to continue to give. While the modern way we handle finances might differ from how they did it in the First Century, the need to support the work of the church continues into the 21st Century.

I am glad we are getting more comfortable with being together again. Let’s make sure we keep (or restart) doing what we are supposed to be doing.

Think About It!

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