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If God Doesn’t Need Our Money, Why Give?

As we continued our All-In series this weekend, we looked at God’s covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7. I love this passage because it debunks one of the greatest misconceptions Christians have about money, and that is that we give money because God is in need.

Our God is not a weak, poor God who needs stuff.

He made everything with a word. He has a limitless supply of resources.

He has no needs; he’s never had one. And even if he did have one, he wouldn’t come to us with it! Look at Psalm 50:12-15:

“If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all its fullness are mine. Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows (your obligations) to the Most High. And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me.”

See what God says there? “I wouldn’t come to you if I had a need; I could create a whole universe full of ‘yous’ if I wanted.”

What God wants from us is an offering of thanksgiving for what he’s done for us.

He wants us to sit in stunned awe at how great his salvation is and to respond appropriately.

I cannot stress this enough: God does not need our money.

But there are also three aspects of David’s response that are worthy of our emulation.

1. Eternal investment.

David wanted to leverage his money for God’s eternal kingdom, and God said that was a good thing, because David realized what God was building on earth was more important than what David was building. David did not give to God because God was in need, but because he wanted to leverage his earthly resources for God’s eternal kingdom.

Randy Alcorn, in one of the most formative books I’ve ever read on money, The Treasure Principle, puts it this way: “Financial planners tell us: ‘When it comes to your money, don’t think just three months or three years ahead. Think thirty years ahead.’ Christ, the ultimate investment counselor, takes it further. He says, ‘Don’t ask how your investment will be paying off in just thirty years. Ask how it will be paying off in thirty million years.’ ”[1]