Have you ever considered what kind of world this would be if God were a “getter” instead of a “giver?” What if God had made getting the chief goal of His creation so that everyone created in His image would have His encouragement toward a selfish life? There would be no such thing as sacrifice because the idea of a Savior-God would not exist. Forgiveness would be a relative matter depending on its ability to manipulate others. Love would only exist in the form of affection toward oneself. Faith would only express the confidence in one’s ability to succeed through accumulation. There would be no such thing as sharing with the less fortunate and the thought of dying for another would be repulsive to say the least. The concepts of church and ministry and caring for the hurts of humanity would be ideas foreign to the thoughts of a self-centered god.
How horrible we say, if God had been oriented around getting instead of giving. How thankful we are that His word is a loving testimony of His sacrificial commitment to all humankind. With gratitude and praise we celebrate His divine compassion. We experience hope and peace as we trust His eternal kindness.
We are so impressed by His unselfish love that it becomes the theme for our songs and the inspiration for our sermons. We join Paul in giving thanks for His unspeakable Gift and all the gifts that are products of His selfless nature. Although we are grateful for a “giver” God we must take care not to let getting become the goal of our lives. Let us be done with our “getter” gods lest we lose the precious commodity of grace.
