I’m looking at two fruit bowls on the table as I write this; one is full of apples, one is full of bananas.
By comparing two objects we often recognize details in both that would otherwise be missed. Today there are two legal quantities and two gift quantities I wish for us to turn over in our minds. Perhaps by way of comparison some detail of each object will be sharpened.
God made us to be friends and companions. He built into His relationship with man one day in seven in which companionship was its primary purpose. God considered the Sabbath to be very basic so the Sabbath rests at the heart of the Ten Commandments. With the advent of sin the value of this time took on a double value. It insures that we will, by the Sabbath, have an island of time to renew and refresh ourselves in his presence.
With the presence of sin, the resources at our disposal became limited. We tend to become selfish and tied to our possessions; they are finite, we are finite, and we tend to want to keep them tightly to us. By asking us to return some of the money He gave us to him, God intends to loosen our grip on material things so we see that all aspects of our life are answerable to God and service to man.
By our daily devotional time we present ourselves to God and acknowledge that we live at all times in His presence and we wish for Him to be present with us today. By the freewill offerings of time, service, funds, we express thanks for His blessings and show we wish to use our available resources in His service. It is in the optional services that we provide to God and neighbors that express our real priorities and values.
It is interesting to consider that God asks for one day in seven (14%) but one dollar in ten (10%). Doesn’t this say that us and our time are of greater need than our material resources? If He and His desires are first in our thinking then the use of all resources will naturally fall in line.