Where does giving to God have to begin?
Giving to God has to begin with believers first giving their own selves to the Lord. Only then does their offering carry value. Scripture shows the believers in Greece did this before ministering to the saints in Jerusalem. An unbeliever's gift to God's things does no good, because God neither needs nor wants it.
Les explains that the believers in Greece, despite their poverty, begged Paul for the opportunity to give to the poor saints in Jerusalem. Paul and Titus did not use promotion or arm-twisting; the believers were willing of themselves. But the key is that they first gave their own selves to the Lord. Les says this is where giving to God has to begin. It does no good for an unbeliever to give to the things of God, because God doesn't need it, doesn't want it, and can get along just fine without it.
And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
More Questions
What must happen before a person gives to God's work, according to 2 Corinthians 8:5?
The Macedonian believers did not give merely as Paul hoped; they first gave their own selves to the Lord, and that is where giving has to begin.