Exodus 36:2-3
Then Moses called Bezalel, Oholiab, and all the other skilled people to whom the Lord had given skills, and they came because they wanted to help with the work. They received from Moses everything the people of Israel had brought as gifts to build the Holy Tent. The people continued to bring gifts each morning because they wanted to.
One of my least favorite memories growing up was chores on Saturdays. Now, I don’t want to portray my parents as harsh, mean people because they weren’t. But when you’re a teen, ANY chore on a Saturday feels like the kind of torture reserved for the devil and his angels. It was the worst feeling in the world to be woken up and forced out the door to do stuff that I would have never chosen to do. It was in these early formative years that I began trying to hatch a business plan that would pay me to sleep, eat Cap’n Crunch, and wear my pajamas. And now, I write. Weird. It all worked out except for the pay.
Anyway, what strikes me about the verses above is the phrase “because they wanted to.” Not only did the skilled people come help Moses because they wanted to, but all the people kept giving because they wanted to. I get that they may sound a bit strange to our culture, so let me repeat it one more time, slowly, so that it will sink in.
They came because they wanted to. Wanted. To.
Wow.
There is so little “want to” in our American Christianity today that sometimes pastors have actually said things like “God loves a cheerful giver, but He’ll take money from a grump.” Really. I’ve heard them say it. Many times. Out loud. And all I can ever think when I hear stuff like that is that God isn’t really in the taking business as much as He is in the giving and receiving business, and if He was taking, how would that make a grump less grumpy? It wouldn’t.
Lots of times we fall into the trap of throwing God’s weight around. We play the part of bouncer and tell people that God demands their lives and they’d better quit fighting Him and surrender. Whether we realize it or not (and I’m pretty sure we don’t), we make coming to Jesus about as inviting as a visit to the dentist for a root canal while his assistant helps us prepare our taxes even though we can’t answer any of the important questions she’s asking us without inadvertently dribbling spit all over ourselves. Yippie.
The good news is that God never intended to be the bully Who makes you do chores on Saturday morning when the rest of the neighborhood kids are out playing ball. There are lots of people who are bigger and more powerful than me, and they could easily make me do what they want me to do. But they could never, ever, make me want to do what they want me to do.
But then there are the other people in my life who have loved me, poured into me, and given everything to help me be the best I can be. If those people called and asked me to do anything, I’d be there. And the funny thing is, I’d want to be there.
That’s the way it is with Jesus. He gave everything for you and me, and something about that should fill our hearts so full of gratitude that we would not only do anything for Him, but actually want to do anything for Him. The kind of want to that makes us reach for something larger than a buck to throw His way the next time the offering plate passes. The kind of want to that makes us reach out to others around us with the same intensity that He reached out to us. The kind of want to that could transform chores on a Saturday morning into time spent side by side with a good friend doing whatever they need done.
It’s rare, I know, but I want that kind of want to, and I’m praying that you want it, too.
