Is Love A Business Transaction? (Leviticus 27)

Summary:

What does it mean to be someone’s fan? In this age of cancel culture, stans, and gatekeeping, the rules of fandom can get so blurry.

I like K-Pop, but am I not a true fan because I don’t have a bias or know the age, role, and blood type of all the members of my favorite band? Or maybe you think Beyonce is extremely talented, but if you don’t buy every album or haven’t seen her Netflix special, then are you not really part of the Beyhive?

Where’s the range? What is the acceptable threshold for adoration in order to be, like, a stan? Or a fan? What’s the difference, again?

Speaking of fans, in Leviticus 27 it’s almost like God is explaining to the Israelites how to join His fan club. There’s rule after rule (sound familiar?) explaining how to dedicate something to God. Basically, you pick something to dedicate, you pay its value to the priest, and it belongs to God. And by “something to dedicate”, I really mean “anything at all”.

Animals.

Houses.

Land.

People. You could literally take your one-month-old and dedicate her to God for three shekels of silver.

Later on, if you wanted, you could redeem the animal or house or person by paying the value you paid initially, plus (in some cases) a little more. Then it was yours again. Unless you devoted the item. If you devote something to God, you can’t sell it or redeem it – it’s God’s forever, and holy. With all these rules, why would anyone go through the trouble of this in the first place?

After all, what’s the point? If everything is God’s already, why go through the complications of dedication, redemption, and devotion?

I guess that even though God owns everything, the tabernacle still needed to be upheld. The animals and homes and land dedicated to God then probably filled the same roles that the food and homes and land dedicated to God now fill. It’s used to give pastors a living. It’s used to house and feed people who need help.

But God owns everything, He can help people Himself. Well, sure, He could. But when God doesn’t do something Himself, it’s always for our benefit.

When we make the decision to give to God, we’re forced to think about why.

No, not because we have to. Not because we’ll get what we want in return. Because it’s important.

When we take our hard-earned time or money and give it to something, it means that that something is a priority. It’s our education, which can determine our entire life. It’s our relationships, which we want to maintain for the rest of our life. It’s our career, which we certainly hope will fund us for the rest of our life. Our money and time go into our lives and what’s important to them.

And when we give to God, we’re making the same kind of statement. This is my life. We are God’s, we love Him, and we want to tell others about Him. Therefore we give.

We give our time by volunteering at a homeless shelter or by holding a position at church.

We give our money through tithe, offering, donations, and charity.

We give our talents when we do special music or design a church graphic or start a ministry.

We’re saying that we’re all in for God. That He’s a big part of our lives. That He’s that high of a priority to us.

And you know what? God loves that.

God’s Message To Us:

“What’s yours is Mine.” The Israelites could redeem their property again. But will we? It’s one thing to give once, but to keep giving is tough. Especially when you’d rather spend your time scrolling through Reddit or watching movies (I’m speaking for myself).

So instead of dedicating ourselves, our talents, our whatever to God, let’s devote it to Him. In this chapter, devoting something to God essentially meant no take-backs. I want to give to God, no take-backs.

Because remember, this isn’t like giving back to your community or buying fan merch. This isn’t a business transaction. It’s a relationship. It’s a commitment. We’re giving to the One who’s spent eternity giving to us.

He gave us life. He gave us salvation. He gave us friends and family and laughter and the smell of rain. He gave you His heart. What will you give in return?

What do you think? What have you devoted to God? Comment your opinion below, and if you feel like it, share this!