A missionary in Africa was preaching his first sermon in a mission church. When time came for the offering, the people danced their offerings forward.
They danced and sang praise to God as they brought their offerings to the altar. It was a beautiful moment. What do you think? Should we get our ushers in the United States to do that?
After the service, he asked one of the people, “Why do you dance and sing when you bring your offering forward on Sunday morning?”
Back came the answer: “How could we not dance? We are so grateful to God for what He has done for us in sending Jesus Christ to save us, that we have to dance and sing our thanksgiving. And it says in the Bible, God loves a cheerful giver.”
Do YOU feel gratitude to God that strongly? Do YOU have a strong case of the “can’t help its” when it comes to gratitude? When YOU are a Christian, YOU can’t help but be grateful!
Thanks to James W. Moore for sharing.
My Commentary:
There is something wonderfully disarming about that scene. The offering is not hurried, not hushed, not dutiful. It is danced.
Gratitude has found a body, and thanksgiving has found a song. What is being brought forward is not just money, but joy — joy that cannot remain seated.
In many churches, the offering can feel like an interruption in worship, a practical necessity tucked between prayers and hymns. But in that African mission church, the offering was worship. It was praise set in motion. It was faith with a rhythm.
The answer given to the missionary is both simple and profound: How could we not dance?
When gratitude runs deep, it insists on expression. When salvation is real, thanksgiving refuses to stay quiet. Scripture tells us plainly that God loves a cheerful giver — not a reluctant one, not a resentful one, not a distracted one, but a joyful one.
The question, then, is not whether our ushers should dance down the aisles — though that would certainly wake us up — but whether our hearts are dancing at all. Have YOU grown so accustomed to grace that YOU no longer feel its wonder? Have YOU received so much that YOU forget to rejoice?
Gratitude, when it is genuine, creates a holy case of the “can’t help its.” When you know what God has done, when you trust what God is doing, and when you believe what God has promised, thanksgiving becomes unavoidable.
When you are a Christian, gratitude is not optional. It is the natural response of a heart that knows it has been saved.
EVERY SECOND GOD REMEMBERS YOU. EVERY MINUTE GOD BLESSES YOU. EVERY HOUR GOD CARES FOR YOU BECAUSE EVERY DAY I PRAY TO GOD TO TAKE CARE OF YOU.
Please do not hesitate to share this Message with the people in your congregation.
