Why God Flips the Script on Giving

"Flip the script": reverse the usual or existing positions in a situation; do something unexpected or revolutionary.

Imagine abundant financial blessing. Maybe it's not so hard to imagine. Maybe you've experienced it. If not, just imagine it.

Now imagine determining to take from that abundant blessing and give a significant portion back to God because you are grateful to him for his blessings. 

And God says no. 

But he doesn't just say no. He says, "Instead of you giving to me, I want to give more to you...more than you can ever imagine."

That's flipping the script!

That's what happens to David in our passage for this weekend (2 Samuel 7).

In the field of psychology, flipping the script like this is called noncomplementarity.

If you do something nice for me and I do something nice for you, or if you do something mean to me and I respond in kind, that's complementarity.

But if you do something mean to me and I respond with kindness, that's noncomplementarity.

Used carefully and judiciously, this is a powerful force for bringing about change in relationships.

Think about all the ways God flips the script to bring about our reconciliation with him. 

But this flipping the script doesn't end with our salvation. 

Throughout our entire relationship with him, he continues to flip the script in much the same way and for the same reason because no matter where we are in our journey with him, he wants to drive home that a relationship with him is always about grace, from new birth to final judgement. Every step of the way. 

Including our giving. 

Don't miss this weekend's worship gathering and sermon. We'll watch God flip the script on King David when David decides to build a house for God. We'll also explore how he might be flipping the script in our giving. 

Ever felt like the underdog?

by John Eiselt

Everybody loves an underdog story. Stories about unlikely heroes, who rise to face-off against their opponents whom, are seemingly much more suited for the challenge. We all have circumstances and events in our lives that seem too big, too hard, and down right impossible.

We all know what’s like to be the underdog, to not have enough of whatever it is we think we need to win, to overcome, or persevere.

Perhaps one of the greatest underdog stories ever recorded is the story of David and Goliath. 

In his book, Leap Over A Wall, Eugene Peterson writes this about the life of David…

“It’s the first full-blown story about David, and the most memorable. If you know anything at all about David, you know the story of Goliath. People who’ve never read the Bible, people who’ve never so much as heard about the Bible, know the story of David and Goliath.”

 “The David story anticipates the Jesus story… Why David? “…He’s so emphatically human: David fighting, praying, loving, sinning…There’s nothing, absolutely nothing, that God can’t and doesn’t use to work his salvation and holiness into our lives. If we’re going to get the most out of the Jesus story, we’ll want to first soak our imaginations in the David story.”

The story of David and Goliath is much more than an underdog story.

David is created for a purpose, and the story of David and Goliath is the beginning of God revealing that purpose to him, to God’s people, and to us.

Join us this weekend as we look at the beginning of David’s journey to becoming king. Come and discover the timeless truths it reveals about humanity, trust, and God.