With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God — gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise,stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities. Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?” Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. 2 Chronicles 29:2-6
“Now I would be greatly remiss if I left the impression that the pastor (drill instructor) can lead by himself or herself. No one is more important, but laity (fellow recruits) must also be willing to pick up the mantle. No one motivates better than a peer. When a fellow recruit gets out front and encourages compatriots to follow, the troops take notice. When they exalt, “You can do it and I will show you how,” others listen. It is one thing for a coach to suggest that players come in early or stay late, but when one of the players announces that he ior she will be there early and stay late, now that gets attention. For the church to become a generous community that Christ desires, there must be laity willing to step forward and lead in announcing their commitment. They must stand in front of a congregation or a Sunday school class and invite persons to follow them. They must share their stories as to how generosity is a priority in their Christian walk that keeps them grounded and close to Christ.”
J. Clif Christopher in God vs. Money: Winning Strategies in the Combat Zone (Nashville: Abingdon, 2018) 16.
In today’s Scripture, David brings his gift, then his compatriots pitch in. Their response has a domino effect. Then the entire community makes willing gifts in gratitude for all God had richly supplied to each of them. But notice the power and importance of the compatriots.
If we read on in the text we see the impact in verse nine. “The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.” Notice that the people did not rejoice at David but at the response of the next layer of workers.
We need more compatriots for generosity to spread in church congregations and ministry constituencies. As a CEO of GTP, I am expected (like David) to give sacrificially and invite generous giving. But the best way people can help me (and the best way we can all serve our pastor) is to rally others to join in the work by giving.
Be a good compatriot and rally others to rich generosity, with you!