Accountability

‎”…I will not offer to the Lord my God sacrifices that cost me nothing.” 2 Sam 24:24


Talk about power. A little background about this verse. God commanded King David to build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. So David goes there and this guy Araunah sees him and immediately recognizes he’s the king. David tells Araunah what he plans to do and Araunah basically says take what you need, you don’t have to pay for anything. But David stops him and out comes verse 24, “But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them..”

Wow. So many times when I donate items or give offering I give to God what I feel comfortable with. I remember last fall being in a car with some friends on my way to feed the homeless and we were talking about the exact same thing. Of course at the time I was super gung-ho about it and was tithing at church pretty much half of what I had and was giving up the comfort of a in home bible study to go out in the rain to talk to homeless people. I wasn’t in the best of financial situations (what college student is?) but more than that I was in the midst of completely giving up my dream to be a doctor and serving God 24-7. It was intense and there were time when I really needed that money or wanted to stay home Thursdays, but I still gave regardless. Fast forward to this Sunday and God gave me a huge wake up call. My pastor used this verse in his sermon and God was like, “Yo Soph, remember what you went through this fall and yet you still gave sacrificially to me? What happened?”

So what happened? I forgot. This summer has not been easy by any stretch of the imagination. I became so focused on my issues I forgot what to do through them. I have a job and I’m still giving to the church but it wasn’t the kind of desperate giving that took place in the fall. It was more of, “OK God, here is your allowance.” And I always loved giving my time to my community but I haven’t made time to do much besides one or two hours here and a money donation. Needless to say, going into this 21 day challenge God has given me a lot to look at. But this story doesn’t end here because after being reminded of what I went through there is no way I can go another week without responding to that. I just thank God that he keeps me accountable.