The concept of giving an offering or a sacrifice to God or the gods in whatever religious system is shockingly common. In most religious systems, the offering is meant to please and appease the gods so that they will look with favor upon humanity and give them seasonable weather, good fortune, or whatever the humans are asking for.
This may seem antiquated, but how often do you hear the trope from movies, TV, or in your own life where a person is in trouble and they make a promise of an offering or a sacrifice if God or the gods get them out of the mess they are in.
Legend has it this happened to Martin Luther. Traveling in the countryside through a lightning storm, he promised to become a monk if he got out of the storm.
We see this inThe Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. There's one chapter in which Tigger bounces to the top of the tree, gets stuck, refuses to try to climb or bounce or jump down, and then promises that if he ever gets out of this mess, he'll never bounce again.
The attitude of Luther or Tigger in such a moment is one of desperation, one of offering to repay God or the gods by doing something in particular or by giving up something in particular, by offering or sacrificing something. Luther offers his life to service in the church. Tigger offers to give up his absolute favorite thing in the entire world.
The attitude behind these offerings and sacrifices, these promises, is not the attitude of the Christian offering. As Christians, we do not view the offering this way. Such offerings are hostage negotiations that we make up in our own mind. They are cosmic contracts that God never actually agrees to.
When Christians come forward with their offerings, it is not to curry God's favor, but to thank God for His unwavering favor that has already been placed upon us. Christians should never give an offering with the mindset that if we give enough, God will help us win the lottery or get us that promotion at work or whatever thing we desire. Offerings are not a way to payoff God to give us what we want, but rather the Christian offering is a time to give back to God for already giving us all that we need, all that we have to support this body and life.
Although, there are times when God calls upon us to be more faithful in our offerings, even to put Him to the test. In Malachi 3, God challenges the people to give their full tithe, to quit robbing God by holding back from all that He has given them.
There is enough biblical evidence to show that God actually does expect 10% from His people. It's not the easiest jump to make from offerings of crops to offerings of dollars, but the expectation for God's people has been to return a tithe, 10% of what God has blessed them with.
What has God blessed you with?
The real problem with the example of Tigger is that Tigger offers to give up what God had given him. Tigger doesn't offer to use his bouncing for good, to use the talent God had given him for the betterment of the 100-Acre Wood. Tigger had been doing that very thing when he got stuck in the tree. He was teaching Roo how to bounce. He was spreading joy through his God-given talent. It is only after Tigger gets down, and Rabbit relinquishes his hold on Tigger's promise never to bounce again, that we see Tigger go back to his vocation of spreading the joy of bouncing.
The problem with examples like Tigger is that they come from a place of fear that blinds us to the goodness of what God has blessed us with.
So what has God blessed you with? Do you have an income? God blessed you with that. Do you have a passion or some skill set? God has blessed you with that. Do you have relationships and a sphere of influence? God has blessed you with those. Don't hide those things. Don't ignore those things. Don't hoard those things to yourself. Don't try to give up on those things like Tigger did in fear and desperation, but rather put them to use in the kingdom of God.
Make the best use of what God has given to you. And if you don't know what that looks like, talk to somebody with more experience in this world of being a good steward of God's gifts.
