He is Pleased with Integrity

This is from the February 17th edition of the Summitview Announcements (sign up here)...

 

This morning I read 1 Chronicles 29, the last chapter in that book.  David's reign is coming to an end and he is handing Israel over to his son Solomon and also the responsibility to build the temple.  David had been passionate about building a temple for God.  Previous chapters tell us of the materials he has stored up for building the temple and that God's Spirit showed him the plans for the temple.  But even though it was David's dream, God told him that he would not build it.  It would instead be Solomon who would have the honor of building the temple.

Even so, David did not respond to this with bitterness.  God had shown David over and over that His ways are right and David had not forgotten this.  David publicly demonstrates his great love for God one last time in this final chapter of this book by giving even more of his wealth to be used in the temple.  Back in chapter 22, we read how David allocated about 3,750 tons of gold and about 37,500 tons of silver for the temple!   Here in chapter 29 he gives another 110 tons of gold and 260 tons of silver from his personal treasury.

The people of Israel respond to this example of their king by coming forward as families and giving 190 tons of gold and 375 tons of silver themselves (along with other precious metals and stones).  Was this all just a show?  Were they pressured into this by David?  No.  Verse 9 says this:

1 Chronicles 29:9 (NIV) 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.

David then praises God with a magnificent prayer, and in the middle of that prayer, he says this:

1 Chronicles 29:17 (NIV) I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.

God sees our hearts as we give and as we act.  We can give God a spectacular gift or do a wonderful good deed, but if the purpose is to win favor by our actions (the favor of either of God or of men), the action becomes empty and meaningless.  But when we give and our hearts are set on pleasing God, even the smallest of gestures is greatly valued by God (see the story of the poor widow in Luke 21:1-4 and about our attitude when giving in 2 Corinthians 9:7).

On this same morning God had me thinking about how God is "pleased with integrity," he gave my son James this verse to think about:

Galatians 5:6 (NIV) For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

May all our actions be motivated by faith and integrity.  May what is seen on the outside be a true reflection of what we are like on the inside.