1 Then King David said to the entire assembly, “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced and the work is great; for the temple is not for man, but for the Lord God. 2 Now with all my ability I have provided for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, onyx stones and inlaid stones, stones of antimony and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance. 3 Moreover, in my delight in the house of my God, the treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, over and above all that I have already provided for the holy temple, 4 namely, 3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the buildings; 5 of gold for the things of gold and of silver for the things of silver, that is, for all the work done by the craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the Lord (1 Chron. 29:1-5)?”
David had a desire to build a house for God. It was a legitimate desire; a noble and honorable desire, but God had a different plan. God wanted David’s son, Solomon, to build the house. Now, David was still the king at this time. We might expect him to pout, be mad, or react like I’ve seen a lot of church members react when they don’t get their way—“Well, I’ll just take my toys and go home.” David could have said, “What’s in it for me?” He could have walked away and said, “I’ll have no part in it.” But instead, David helped build a house of worship that he would never enter. He gave the gold, the silver, the bronze, the wood, etc. According to modern day calculations, David gave roughly $20 billion to the construction of the temple—a temple that he would not even live to see. Some church members today might well say, “I’m not giving a dime to something that doesn’t benefit me!” “I’ll take my money elsewhere!” “If it doesn’t benefit me, then I want no part of it!” Sadly, far too many Christians approach church with a consumer mindset. They expect the church to cater to them, rather than selflessly serving the church.
Notice David’s heart. He says, “I want to invest in the work of God any way that I can.” “If it means that God will be glorified then I will play whatever role I can.” His attitude is summed up in the following statement:
“My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced and the work is great; for the temple is not for man, but for the Lord God (v. 1).”
God had chosen whom he wanted to build His house, and that was alright with David. David understood, “It’s not about me.” He goes on to say, “For the temple is not for man, but for God.” David speaks to all of us. The church doesn’t belong to us. We have been entrusted with her care and well-being, but it’s not ours. It belongs to our Lord. Therefore, what our Lord wants should be what He receives. When we approach church as a consumer, we’ve made it all about us. Church is not about us. Yes, church can be a great benefit to us, but it’s not about us. It’s all about God, who established it. And Jesus, who died for it.
Chris McCurley – https://start2finish.org/its-not-about-you/