We Can Give to Jehovah
1 Did you know that humans are able to give something to God? Abel sacrificed some of his precious livestock to Jehovah, and Noah and Job made similar offerings. (Gen. 4:4; 8:20; Job 1:5) Of course, such offerings did not enrich the Creator in any way, since he already possesses everything. But the sacrifices did demonstrate the deep love those faithful men had for God. Today, we can use our time, energy, and resources in giving Jehovah “a sacrifice of praise.”—Heb. 13:15.
2 Time: How commendable it is to ‘buy out’ time from less important things to share more fully in the ministry! (Eph. 5:15, 16) Perhaps we could adjust our schedule in order to auxiliary pioneer one or more months a year. Maybe we could lengthen the time we usually spend in the ministry. Staying out an extra 30 minutes each week would increase our ministry by at least two hours a month!
3 Energy: Having energy to use in the ministry requires that we avoid recreation and employment that leave us so tired that we cannot give Jehovah our best. We also need to put aside anxieties that could make our heart “bow down,” robbing us of energy that we could use in serving God. (Prov. 12:25) Even if we have a legitimate concern, how much better it is to ‘throw our burden upon Jehovah’!—Ps. 55:22; Phil. 4:6, 7.
4 Resources: We can also give of our material resources to support the preaching work. Paul encouraged fellow Christians to “set something aside” regularly so as to have something to give to those in need. (1 Cor. 16:1, 2) In a similar way, we may be able to set aside funds to donate for local congregation needs as well as for the worldwide work. Jehovah appreciates what we give from the heart, even if it is just a little.—Luke 21:1-4.
5 Jehovah has given us much. (Jas. 1:17) We show our appreciation by giving generously of our time, energy, and other resources to serve him. Our doing so pleases Jehovah, “for God loves a cheerful giver.”—2 Cor. 9:7.