Giving back what belongs to God

1 Chronicles 29:14-15 GNT

"Yet my people and I cannot really give You anything, because everything is a gift from You, and we have only given back what is Yours already. [15] You know, O LORD, that we pass through life like exiles and strangers, as our ancestors did. Our days are like a passing shadow, and we cannot escape death.

This is part of David's prayer of dedication. He had gathered together a great wealth of precious materials for the building of the Temple. Yet he acknowledged that he was only giving back what belonged to the Lord in the first place.

This prayer has been adopted into the communion service in the Anglican service book.

It's a good reminder that we owe EVERYTHING to God. It is only that He has opened His Hand to give us what we have in our bank accounts, in our homes, bodies and souls.

1 Chronicles 29:11-13 GNT

You are great and powerful, glorious, splendid, and majestic. Everything in Heaven and Earth is Yours, and You are King, supreme ruler over all. [12] All riches and wealth come from You; You rule everything by Your strength and power; and You are able to make anyone great and strong. [13] Now, our God, we give You thanks, and we praise Your glorious Name.

When we truly realise that all we have is a gift from God, then our natural response is thanks and praise.

Instead of owners, we realise we are just stewards and hold loosely to our possessions.

"Of Your own do we give You" is a wonderful phrase, describing that all our giving is simply returning what came from God in the first place.

That leaves no room for ostentatious giving, but a humble heart, knowing that it was God's in the first place.

Matthew 6:2-4 GNT

"So when you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it, as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets. They do it so that people will praise them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. [3] But when you help a needy person, do it in such a way that even your closest friend will not know about it. [4] Then it will be a private matter. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.