Gratitude, a Sacrifice?

Whoever offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies me, and prepares his way so that I will show God's salvation to him." (Psalm 50:23 WEB)

Ever wondered why this verse talks of thanksgiving as a sacrifice? Isn’t thanksgiving a spontaneous response to generosity? Is there any struggle at all to respond with gratitude to the bounty of God?

Why does God talk of our gratitude to Him as a sacrifice? What does He consider to be a sacrifice?

We were talking with a pastor recently when this became very clear. We are expected to consider a lot more when we give thanks to God. But even more important is that our gratitude has to go beyond us to be that sacrifice. We ought to look outward in our gratitude for it to qualify as a sacrifice. Like David said he could not give to God anything that cost him nothing. It is the aspect of selflessness that qualifies our gratitude as a sacrifice.

Why is that? Of course we are aware that we know pretty little of the world around us. We do not know the circumstances that have brought about the situations we are grateful for. What we see can be equated with the tip of an iceberg. Our gratitude must of necessity encompass all those persons and circumstances that make our gratitude valid.

Let me give my example as a writer. What polishes my writing? As Christ’s minister I am constantly on the devil’s cross hairs. He is therefore hitting me as much as he can to rock me and if possible lead me astray. He lays temptations my way even when I am asleep. Awareness of that and constant battle with him is what has given me an experience with God that I can share. The reality that he camouflages as an angel of light keeps me on the lookout lest I corrupt whatever message God gives me as many preachers and writers are presently doing. I have to seek God constantly so that I do not mistake His voice. The devil therefore, though an adversary, immensely contributes to the quality and focus of the messages I share. His is therefore a positive contribution that I should thank God for (though not necessarily pray for).

My critics, ‘enemies’, haters, etc. ensure that I get very careful that I do not share carelessly because I know that they are on the lookout for any slip and they will descend on me like a swarm of scavengers. The awareness through experience that they exist more or less to make my life and ministry miserable, if not bring it down completely ensures that the message I put up not only qualifies as a message from God but also stands up to their intense and unrelenting scrutiny. They are therefore positive contributors to the messages I share in books and social media and I should be grateful to God for them.

There are people who pray for me from around the world, some I have no capacity to even know as the nature of effective prayer is that intercessors do not broadcast themselves. The fact that they lift me constantly to the throne of God makes it possible for me to maintain focus amidst such opposition so that I not only hear accurately but also share clearly. They also contribute very positively to my success as a writer and I should be grateful for them though I also know of very few of them.

There are people who harass me with questions and situations, some that I wonder why they have refused to grow. These take my message from textbook to application because they are hard of hearing (my assumption). They make my message down to earth as I really must get them from the milk bottle reality in their Christian lives.

Of course I can’t ignore my supporters in any way as they make it possible for me to minister. They will therefore be constantly on my thanksgiving list. And the respondents to the messages who share testimonies of the impact the messages have had on them, especially the ones whose testimonies have come back to me. And these are a few among many, many other factors and persons.

The sacrifice of thanksgiving therefore takes cognizance of these and many other contributors in our gratitude.

But the sacrifice goes beyond this. What happens if someone brings a gift in appreciation of my ministry? How should I behave in that situation if I will offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving?

I will realize that probably only 5% of that gift is legally mine considering this crowd that is playing on my side yet under the surface. Assuming that the gift belongs wholly to me is actually misappropriation of resources as I have diverted all the resources to my use and assumed I was the sole player in the game just because I was the most visible. Just like in football many times it is the strikers who are feted and the goalkeeper will be remembered in a penalty shootout but the defenders may never be mentioned.

I will therefore be treated as a thief in heaven for taking the whole gift when I was entitled only to 5%. I will be taking the credit that belongs to thousands more, some that I am not even aware of.

It is therefore a sacrifice because any gift I receive in the course of ministry should be treated as a gift to God; any support I receive in ministry is actually a gift to God and should be treated as such. It should be treated not as a personal gift or appreciation but the recognition that I am the visible part of the team God has put in place to do the ministry He has called me to.

Having the constant acknowledgement and reality that my success in ministry depends very little on my part in the whole effort will humble me. But it will also get me to appreciate all these other partners to the success, especially those I may not know. I will therefore be very careful to divorce the success of the ministry to my sole effort. But I will also be very careful to avoid the ownership of all the gifts I receive since I know that my contribution is a fraction of the total effort. I will be careful about taking possession of any gifts and appreciation I receive for that effectiveness and success. This means that I will seek avenues to spread those gifts to other people, especially people I know are also ministers though they are not as visible or rewarded as I am.

And it is not only in ministry where success depends very little on our effort. A businessman normally has more faith than a preacher due to that fact. He knows that most of the factors contributing to his success are outside his scope of work. How does one determine the customer response before he puts up a business? How does one open a business where another one has just closed and succeed? One verse explains it.

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

Even farming or any other human endeavor is not different.

It is therefore essential for us to take the route of the sacrifice of thanksgiving.

Why did Zacchaeus give half of his wealth to the poor? Precisely for the same reason. It is not in doubt that he had defrauded many, some who may have even appreciated it as they did not know they had been defrauded. (I have seen people who will cheat someone and the cheated person will think they have been served so well that they will follow that thief with another gift). He knew that he had no capacity of rectifying all the mess he had made. Giving to the poor was therefore a way of mitigating that damage.

And we see that in the Bible. The Israelites were given instructions to remember the Levites. But they were receiving the tithes for the ministry they were involved in. Yet the tithe did not stop with them. It was extended to the disadvantaged. The orphan and widow; the stranger (refugee) and the poor were other recipients of that tithe. The sacrifice of gratitude is what made God’s people reach out to those undeserving cases.

But the aspect of sacrifice was most emphasized by the Sabbath. Leaving the land fallow for a whole year exemplified their gratitude to God. This is because that gratitude really meant that they trusted God enough to ‘waste’ their year and lands. And it was made ‘worse’ by the fact that they had to forgive all debts owed them as that ‘wasted’ year commenced.  That is the reality of a gratitude to God that becomes a sacrifice. And no wonder Israel was unable to keep the Sabbath! I must of necessity be so close to God relationally to surrender my future to Him as it meant two years without any source of livelihood.

But mammon leads us otherwise. He will have us so focused on ourselves that we will divert anything we receive to our use. Then he will have his day because we will soon start operating according to his other rules.

That may be the reason for these ministers being sent to hell in Matthew 7: 21 – 23. Could it be that they ate all the gifts they were given in appreciation for their visibly effective ministry? Could it be that they went astray due to that one fact? Could they be guilty of a gratitude that stopped being a sacrifice that cost them anything?

A minister represents God. Many people equate giving to a minister to giving God which is true if the minister is operating under the direct leadership of God. And we all know that God does not eat anything we give Him. It is therefore clear even to the giver that giving to God will result in another person using whatever God is given. But it is imperative to acknowledge that the person who gives is under no illusions about the minister being in constant fellowship with God as His minister. He therefore gives because he is sure that the minister will hear clearly what God needs done with that gift. And that is why they do not require much, if any accountability due to that fact. And it is no wonder that you will approach a Christian for assistance and they will tell you that they gave everything to the pastor. You should approach the pastor since the responsibility of knowing which needs are valid belongs to him.

In my many years in ministry I have seen such reversal of ministry effectiveness that at times I have been dazed. Things become unbelievable though very clear. And I will give a couple of examples.

A minister had a small house that was really used for ministry that it was the visible nerve centre of ministry in that place. The hospitality and other ministry that occurred in that house were phenomenal. From the starving finding food to the displaced finding lodging to a lot of other ministry.

Due to that, the minister gets an upgrade (don’t ask me from where as I do not know). He gets a much bigger house, more expensive furniture in a better neighborhood. All of a sudden it becomes really hard for the people he ministered to to access that house. They cannot be trusted with all that expensive luxury. If they must meet the minister it has to be in another ‘safer’ location for him. He finds it easier to give money to buy food than to have the same person eat in his palace.

Or this minister who had a donkey of a car. That car went everywhere doing ministry unless places its small wheels couldn’t pass. It took him as deep in the slums as those wheels could allow. Not only that, anybody who needed it for ministry could get it without ceremony. The touch of God was evident on that car as it worked when it ought to have died ages before. But again the ministry he was able to perform due to that car was phenomenal.

Due to that, or because of that, he was able to get an upgrade (again don’t ask me from where). He got a car that could penetrate the slums since the gullies that prevented his smaller car were not much different from a paved surface to this other car. Again this other minister changed (transformed may be more accurate). The new car gave him class. This meant that this breakthrough meant that he could not really fit in the slums. He stopped going to places that devalued or exposed his new machine. But it got even worse. This car could not be lent to anybody else. It had all of a sudden become personal property though it was ‘given’ for ministry.

These two ministers focused their gratitude to self, which to God is not gratitude.

Just before I wrote this a friend told me that he at one time desired to buy a car, to peel off the wrapping himself, so to say. And God allowed him that privilege. It was then that he realized that a new car has a ‘life’ of its own. It has some controlling influence on the owner. There are places it insists that it be taken. There are activities it requires to be made part of. And I suspect it is not only cars that behave that way.

I have said severally that a blessing focused on the receiver is really a curse. A blessing is what goes out to others. In fact a blessing constrained to me is poison. Just as a body that takes nutrients and does not use them (physical exertion) becomes sick, so is a blessing that is not shared. Obesity is evidence enough.

This reminds me of a conversation I had with some ministry friends the other day. God told one of them that though He gave him anything, it was not supposed to touch him. By touch I understood it to mean defile, affect, corrupt or change. I believe this is what happened to these ministers I have mentioned. Their gift got into their heads. It then caused them to disconnect with what brought the gifts in the first place.

But He also told him something else. Though He give him many things, he should keep in mind the fact that though now he is dealing with God as his Father, he will in the last day relate with Him as God the judge. A spiritually connected person is one on whom the difference between a mite and a talent is nil when dealing with his status. Walking with kings will not limit his walking with paupers. (Among the standards of that judgment is what we see in Matthew 25 from verse 31.)

But I am sure you are asking for the application. How do we prevent wealth and status from getting into our heads? How do we handle those gifts God (or otherwise) sends our way?

I will take us to Christ. I want us to get into one story that brings this out very clearly. Remember the rich young ruler? Though Christ asks him to sell all that he had, he never requested for a coin from the proceeds. He simply ordered him to give it to the poor. Why did He not ask for support or even that the wealth be invested in His ministry?

I am convinced He wanted to give us an object lesson on how to deal with wealth especially as ministers. Ever noticed that Jesus enjoyed the support of people whose names we do not know? Again I believe it is for the same reason. Support was divorced from the supporter.

Why did Ananias and Sapphira die yet they had given a huge offering? I believe Peter had internalized Christ’s dealing with support. Support and the supporter were dealt with separately. The fact that they gave probably 95% of the proceeds of their farm did not and could not cover the sin in their hearts from the recipient of the gift.

It is instructive to realize that people laid their gifts at the feet of the apostles as opposed to their hands. Then they released it to others to manage those gifts as they concentrated on their core function which was prayer and the ministry of the word. They could therefore accurately discern God’s assessment of whatever situation came their way. Remember Paul casting a demon out of a girl who was a very excellent advertisement for their ministry? (Acts 16: 17, 18)

How can we operate like that? I think the first thing we ought to do is to realize that we are more of channels than recipients of those gifts as far as God is concerned. The gift is therefore a trust I have from God to ensure that it reaches the intended person and fulfils its intended purpose. Then though I may receive and use it, I will be under no illusions that the gift is mine. The owner (God) can order me to release it elsewhere as He sees fit. My hands will therefore become very slippery to those gifts as I will seek to be like Christ or the apostles.

Imagine a church leadership operating like that? Instead of building a more comfortable building or buying more classy furniture and locomotion for its ministers, they will ask the members to give so that they will settle a few poor families and educate their children. They could even ask the members to personally adopt those homeless families and children. They will take the offerings and use the bulk of them on meeting needs instead of pursuing comfort and prestige.

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (James 1:27)

A minister will take the car he is being offered (not the old one he had) to a minister who needs a car. He might actually direct the giver to take it directly to the one who needs it. And he will do the same with the envelopes of appreciation that he receives even before opening them. He could even ask that cheques are written to other ministers instead of having to transfer the money from his account. Then it will be very difficult for him to be defiled either by the gifts or the givers as we are wont to see with many ministers nowadays. And that is what we see Christ doing when he redirects the gifts he was entitled to others.

And this especially when the gift has ambushed you. You were not prepared to receive it and therefore are in no position to properly appropriate it. Taking it for yourself will very easily defile you. Diverting it elsewhere will give you time to connect with God to know whether or when you will need a gift of that kind.

But diverting it will serve another very important role. It will remove you from the path of compromise as it will reveal the purpose the giver had for the gift. They can’t place you in their debt because you are not the one who is using their gift. And of course it will chase the ones who will want to use their gift to compromise or control the minister as they are not sure where their gift will end up.

But you will not only divert the gift when you are not ready for it. Like I have said many will give you because they believe that you are connected enough to God to know where the gift will be most useful. You might be required to give a gift you have been praying for and expecting for a long time because God says so. And He is the one who really knows who needs that gift you have been praying for.

Let me give you my example. At one time my rent was due and came before things got out of hand. Of course it was in answer to prayer. Then a minister friend of mine called and told me that his family was threatened with eviction. Could I help? I was in a dilemma. My prayer has just been answered. As usual I decided not to make a decision without a clear word from God. I therefore asked for a sign and He said that I ought to take that money to this other minister. And that is what I did.

Recently a friend called and asked whether I knew someone who needed some things, things that I also need. I said I did and went to pick knowing that I will use one and give away the rest. It was then that I realized that the quantities available locked me out. But I am also involved in a children’s home and asked them whether they needed those items and of course they did. It was when we went to pick the items that I realized the blunder I could have made had I thought first of me. They had prayed for the exact number of items that were being offered. I left there very content that I had done my work as a minister of God.

Another thing we see Jesus doing is challenging the people to reach out to the undeserving. Remember Him asking that if one made a party he invites only those with no capacity to repay? Then their reward would be counted in heavenly currency.

Remember the rich man and Lazarus? Most preachers of today preach as if the wrong guy was taken to hell. The really blessed was actually the one who was cursed. Why was he taken to hell? I believe because he thought that this poor beggar deserved nothing from his hard work. He couldn’t waste his hard earned wealth on a loafer who had better things to do with his time and energy. And is that not what most preachers teach nowadays?

For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. (Deuteronomy 15:11)

An effective minister can be equated to an efficient warehouse when it comes to resources. He is supposed to be the channel through which God will bless His people as He connects to their needs. It is a sacrifice because it is totally opposite to the flesh where I want to keep all the goodies to myself and will have to really struggle to relate with these resources the way God expects me to. I will therefore need to fight very hard to keep self interest at bay even as I am receiving things I may really crave and can easily convince myself are useful for ministry.

… as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.(2 Corinthians 6: 10)

This, I believe was the standard for the early church. Paul had internalized Christ’s method.

Job 31 is one chapter I think should close our discussion today. Just read it to get the kind of relationships we should have with the world around us. Then our gratitude will be pleasing to God.

God bless you