We often associate the term “worship” with praise and singing. There is the Praise and Worship Movement, as well as worship concerts and radio stations dedicated solely to playing worship music. But worship includes so much more than just our singing. Worship includes our whole being, in which we worship in spirit (with our hearts) and in truth (with our minds).
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. —John 4:23-24
With regard to giving, A.W. Tozer discussed the fact that worship is more than praying and singing, although those actions are included in worship. Tozer said,
Worship is also living. And in our Bible, we find worship not only to be singing, but doing and living and walking and working and going and serving, so that we can worship God with our feet by going the right way. We can worship God with our hands by doing the right thing. And if we have wings (referencing the seraphim around God’s throne), we can worship God by flowing in the right direction. —Worship: The Reason We Were Created, Collected Insights from A.W. Tozer, p.103
One of the ways we get to worship God is through the giving of our tithes and offerings. We worship when we give our hearts back to God through singing his praises, we surrender our will to God’s ultimate design for our lives through prayer, and when we offer our tithes to Him for His glory through giving. Through financial giving we praise God for the blessings of having the financial resources to offer back to him that which He has already given us.
Think about the relationship this has to singing. God has given us voices that, when utilized through spirit and truth, we offer our praises back to Him through the voices that he has already bestowed upon us. In the same vein, God has already blessed us with financial resources to live our lives, and through the giving of our ten percent back through tithing, we praise God in an act of worship. The emphasis is not on the money. The emphasis is on our hearts.
Jesus told us in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What a convicting sentence from our Savior. If you were to examine your heart toward giving financially to the church, what would you find? Do you feel joy, excitement, greed, self-centeredness, anxiety, fear, or something else? Rather than focusing on what you are giving up, focus on your giving as an act of worship. Through your giving, God not only utilizes your financial contribution, but he works in your heart and blesses your worship to transform you more into the image of Christ.
Tozer also stated, “The beautiful part of worship is that it prepares you and enables you to zero in on the important things that must be done for God. Listen to me! Practically every great deed done in the church of Christ all the way back to the apostle Paul was done by people blazing with the radiant worship of their God.” (p.18) Oh, that we would be included in the number of believers that are radiant in their worship of God!
Our church has set the goal of being caught up in our greatly behind giving by Pentecost Sunday, which is June 9th. Please take some time to pray that God would show you how to use your financial resources to worship Him. Let’s allow Him to work in our lives so we can worship Him in spirit and in truth, giving from a heart of complete adoration and in a way that multiplies our ministry.
Editor’s Note: I’ve always heard my giving impacts what the church can do ministry-wise but I never really understood the magnitude until these past few years while serving as a staff member. Incredible opportunities and dreams must sometimes be passed up, practical needs and people cannot always be helped. When we all do our part, something beautiful happens and we can do more than we individually dream. Let’s worship well and give back to God what He has entrusted to us so together we can do great things for His name! —Vickey
Meet the Author!
Kim Arnold has been a church member of Council Road Baptist Church for nearly 25 years. She teaches private piano lessons in her studio and at Mid-America Christian University. Her passion lies in training up the next generation of worship leaders. Kim and her husband Jason have been married for 17 years and have a 12-year old son, Nolan.
