“If you need to raise money, bring in Winfred.” I noticed when I was a young pastor that certain pastors had a gift for getting people to give money to a cause. Men like Winfred Moore, Paul Powell and John Bisagno stood before gatherings and encouraged the people to give generously to missions, or the building of a church, or an educational institution. When my older brother was a member of Tallowood back in the 1980’s, Pastor Jack Taylor, visiting from out of town, was called upon to pray the offertory prayer. Before he prayed he looked at the good people of Tallowood and said, “You who are not tithing: how does it feel to steal from God?” Then he prayed. I never heard if his approach was effective that day, but it was certainly bold.
Moses apparently had a similar gift. He had preached the “sermon on the amount” as they were building the tabernacle. God gifted Bezalel and Oholiab to design and build a great tabernacle for worship. They also trained other craftsmen. But everyone shared in the work. The people brought so many offerings that the designers had more than enough. To be clear, the people gave more than was needed. So Moses preached that rare sermon, asking the people to stop giving.
Why did the people of Israel give so much? Was it guilt that motivated them to overflow the building coffers? Did Moses manipulate them. No. I suspect it was gratitude. God had saved them from the oppression of slavery. He was providing their daily needs. God promised them a new home in a new land. In other words, they had every reason to be thankful to God for what he had done, what he was doing and what he would do. So do we. How does it feel to be so loved by God? How shall we live? How shall we give to our gracious Redeemer? Can we ever give God too much of our lives? I think not. God will show us what to give.
