Judges 7. Much has been made of the fact that God commanded Gideon to send away almost all the soldiers he had accumulated. It is not typically recognised that considering Gideon's strategy, he only needed a small number of men anyway. It would have been more comforting however to know that thousands of men were not far away, ready to help if Gideon's plan didn't work. It was Gideon's plan by the way, not God's. God probably gave Gideon the wisdom to come up with it, but God is not recorded as telling Gideon to do what he did. Rather, God gave Gideon the confidence to go ahead, and God made the plan work by ensuring that the Midianite coalition did not trust each other. We tend to look to God for instructions at times when He wants us to grow up and think for ourselves.
On the other hand, God also instructed Gideon to dismiss most of his soldiers. Gideon was willing to risk having no human backup for his plan. This stands out most to us, probably because it is something we never do.
At the moment the modern application of this I am thinking of is church offerings. I have never heard a church say it would accept a certain sum in offerings and no more. Yet we read in Exodus 36:6 And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing.
When I give offerings, I understand that I am giving them to God. But I sometimes have a hopeless sense that I am fuelling an unquenchable fire. If the church has needs I appreciate knowing how much is needed so I can get a sense of how much I am contributing. This problem is much worse in the endless secular charities and not-for-profit organisations that are always asking for money, as much as possible, with no indication what it would take to actually solve the problem. Charity does not seem to be so much about solving problems as salving consciences.
God does not want anyone to take the credit for what He does. Why? Because He is vain? No, because He is the only being capable of preserving life in the Universe. If created beings do not see God as the source of power, rather than each other, then they will be vulnerable to reject Him and die. Let God moderate how much of our own strength (money and time) we invest in "His" cause, so that when His actual goals are realised, He will take all the credit. We need to do all the things that He has taught us to do: obey his commandments, show love to those around us, and tell others about His impact in our lives; but we must restrain our unquenchable desire for vainglory.
People should be called to live sustainable lives in the way they spend their time and money. The church should also behave responsibly and decide what it needs to do before it appeals for money to do it.
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