Pastor Rick Warren: What Kind of Giving Is Worship?

There’s nothing you can give God that he needs. But when you give him an offering, you’re saying, “God, I love you. I’m thinking of you. I want you first in my life.”

The Bible says, “Honor the Lord by giving him the first part of all your income” (Proverbs 3:9 TLB). That’s called tithing. Tithing actually means 10 percent, and it’s the first part of your income.

Tithing doesn’t just honor God. It is also an act of worship. But the Bible says that not every kind of giving is an act of worship. So what kind of giving is worship?

“On every Lord’s Day each of you should put aside something from what you have earned during the week, and use it for this offering. The amount depends on how much the Lord has helped you earn” (1 Corinthians 16:2 TLB).

Worship giving is undesignated. That means you don’t control it, you don’t direct it, you don’t tell God what to do with it.

Worship giving is given when and where you worship. You give the first part of your money on the first day of the week and say, “God, you’re first in my life.”

Worship giving is planned. You don’t just give spontaneously. You think it through.

Worship giving is proportional. If you didn’t earn anything this week, you don’t give anything. If you earn a little, you give a little. If you earn a lot, you give a lot.

God wants your heart more than anything else. He doesn’t want your money; he wants what it represents. The most sensitive nerve in the body is the one that goes from the heart to the wallet.