Gifts, Its Costs And The Intentions Behind

 

TUE Evening Prayer Reflection 061521 (1 Sam 1:21-2:11; Luke 20: 19-26)

“Gracious Lord, invade my being with your hope and your life, so that I may desire your will and experience the joy of being in your Kingdom. Enable everything about me: what I think, what I do, to discern your will. Amen”

The other day I saw a debate about corruption. The host went on tirade, bashing Nigeria to be the worst corrupt nation in the world. The guest disagreed and brought to everyone’s attention that those who point fingers at others are often plagued with an unparalleled hypocrisy. This raises the question about cultural differences in perceiving what society calls gifts and what it calls bribes. I am not an expert in this but there must be a difference. If we expect something in return and demand it, then clearly the gift becomes a bribe. Again, this can be tricky because the real issue is in our hearts. Now I visited an online dictionary called Britannica, it defines lobbying as, “any attempt by individuals or private interest groups to influence the decisions of government; in its original meaning it referred to efforts to influence the votes of legislators, generally in the lobby outside the legislative chamber. Lobbying in some form is inevitable in any political system.” It would be safe to assume the possibility that monetary values or exchange in favors are involved. To me this also is a form of a 'sanitized' bribe. 
Corruption is the abuse of power or position for personal gain. There are many forms of corruption, including bribery, embezzlement, and extortion. These are not uncommon in the world of the Bible.

I wonder about the gifts we give to God. It is possible to give our gift with a misguided heart and wrong attitude. Heb. 11:4 “by faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which, he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.” There is something about Cain’s gift that was not right or which didn’t meet God’s expectations. The issue caused the first human murder. Things can quickly become problematic when hearts are full of worldly and selfish intentions. The intention behind their gifts was originally to worship God. Chaos tend to thrive where truth is ignored. Cain became angry because his gift was not accepted and his countenance fell (He lost his cool). God said: If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it. Genesis 4: 7

God gave us an ultimate gift: He sent his only Son Jesus Christ to make an atonement for sin once for all. He became sin, who knew no sin, in order that we might become righteous in God’s sight. (II Cor. 5: 21; 1 Pet 1: 18-21). God’s intention was so noble, it was to save us out of immense love. How about our gifts to God? God expects us to give our hearts, minds and soul to him in recognition of his love for us. Jesus was asked about the gifts to God and the tax for Caesar. His wise answer was: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” What are our intentions? Why do we do what we do? is the glory going to be God's?

This conversation leads me to the birth of the prophet Samuel. After being barren for a long time. Elkanah’s wife had been in the Temple pleading with God for her prayer request to have a baby. The priest eventually told her that God heard her prayer. She conceived and had Samuel. She decided that her only child is the perfect gift she could give to God in thanksgiving. So, she brought the child into the temple to grow up there under Eli the priest. I marveled at her quick thinking and her decision to understand a worthy gift to God. God used the prophet Samuel all of his life. The cost for her gift is substantial: her only child to show how grateful she was. Again, with regards to the cost, at another passage, King David said: “I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God, burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” I think we learn a great deal from these passages, not only about the pure intention of the giver, which shows in how costly the gift is. The higher the cost, the higher the appreciation for the recipient. It also shows the intensity of the personal relationship with God.

May we learn to understand and appreciate God’s ways and live only to please Him.