I Chronicles 29:14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee
Have you ever received a gift from a six-year-old? What is the best gift you have ever received from a six-year-old? Well, chances are if it was really from the child, then it is something you have hanging on your refrigerator. It is some work of art because it is not the child giving something; it is the child giving himself. So, you love that child and therefore you value that gift.
On the other hand, if a child that is six-years-old has given you an expensive gift, I’ve got to let you in on a little secret. They didn’t buy it; you did. It is like if your six-year-old says, “Here you go, Daddy, a Rolex watch.” If that ever happened, one thing you could be sure of is that you are in debt. Why? It is because everything a six-year-old owns belongs to someone else. It belongs to his parents.
What can you give God? What do you want from life? Something you learn in I Chronicles 29 from the life of David is that we live better when we remember that God owns everything. In verse 1 David addressed the congregation regarding Solomon his son, whom God alone had chosen to be the king and prepare the temple. David said that Solomon was young and tender, and the work that was to be done was great because it was for God Almighty. In verse 28 we read that David “died in good old age…and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.” That is the setting for this story of David’s preparing for the temple that Solomon would build.
In verse 14 David says something very interesting. He says to God, “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.” David was king, yet David was basically like the six-year-old in the earlier story. God is sovereign. David was simply a king at God’s bidding. David had gold and David sat on a throne, but he realized these things were of God.
Life is so much better when you remember that God owns everything. It helps us to be more generous than we would otherwise be. In verse 3 David says, “I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have…given to the house of my God, over and above.” He was generous toward the work that needed to be done. In consequence, the leaders of Israel gave generously because they followed David’s example.
But whose example did David follow? He followed God’s example. He says, “Who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.” God loves a cheerful giver because God is the cheerful giver. The only thing you ultimately have to give God is yourself. If you have given God self, He is not going to have to quibble over anything else. So, we live better when we remember that God owns everything. We become more generous.
We become more joy-filled. Verse 9 says the “people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly.” They had a perfect heart. And the Bible says the king also rejoiced. Verse 22 says they had a day of great gladness. Why? It is because life is not joy-filled because you receive; it is joy-filled because you give. Think about Saul. You feel sorry for Saul. He was always thinking and moaning about himself and his plight and plot. In contrast, in verse 2 David says, “I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God.” He had given gold, silver, above and beyond, and he was filled with joy. You don’t have joy in your life because you make it a goal. You have joy in your life when you are doing what God made you to do and giving what God gave you to give. So, there is generosity and joy.
Ultimately, there is gratitude. Verse 13 says, “Now therefore, our God, we thank thee.” Why? It is because they were giving God what already belonged to Him. What a remarkable thing! The people gave, but God received the credit because everything they had came from God. They had given God what He had put in their hands.
That is where joy comes from. Happy people are grateful people. They are not grateful because they are happy. They are happy because they are grateful. There are always things about which to worry and there are always things about which to give thanks. This is a mindset. Everyone has problems, but all of us have blessings that are totally invisible to us unless we have a mindset to look for them. When we do, we live a better life than we would, a grateful life. We live a life of generosity, joy, and gratitude because we live better when we remember that God owns everything.