A friend of mine once voiced his objection to our Social Security System. “I’m more than happy to give to someone in need; I just hate that our government mandates it and takes it right out of my paycheck!” Sometimes that’s how we can feel if someone mandates even something that’s supposed to be beneficial and helpful. Think about your church for a moment. What if they began mandating offerings? How would you feel? You probably wouldn’t like that.
In Romans 12:1, Paul tells us to offer. He uses the Greek word paristēmi, which means to present or offer. The connotation is that it is a gift, rather than something you are doing out of obligation. Scripture is clear that God wants us to obey out of gratitude rather than obligation. The Law was meant to be a gift not merely a requirement. When we start seeing obedience as requirements, we start acting like children and asking, “How far can I go before being disobedient?” That’s human nature. Being in education, it never fails that when I assign a project, there’s always at least one student that asks, “what’s the least I can do to get an ‘A?’” Something about the word obligated makes us want to rebel, or at the very least, we feel threatened. Aren’t we more at ease when we hear a salesperson say, “You are under no obligation?”
The Holy Spirit is teaching us in Romans 12:1 the importance of offering ourselves. Are we required or obligated? I suppose in some sense we are. But we’re being asked to offer, to do it out of our own volition, not out of a sense of obligation. This is why Paul says, “In light of God’s mercy.” He is explaining that we ought to be so moved by what God has done for us, that we would be willing to give up anything to follow Jesus.
In Scripture, the Temple offering was distinguished between two different words – tithes and offerings. Tithes were the required 10%, but an offering was above and beyond that amount. In one sense, Paul is urging us to forget about the requirement, to pretend that there is no requirement, and instead, give everything as an offering. You may have some sort of sense of what God is asking you to do, but today I want to challenge you to not think that way. I want you to think of how you can bless the Lord with an offering – a voluntary expression of worship. How can you offer yourself to the Lord? Beginning to think of yourself as a gift you offer instead of an obligation you fulfill is an important step to becoming a living sacrifice.
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