1 Kings 9:10-14: in context

After Solomon had finished building the temple and his own house, with cedar and gold supplied by Hiram king of Tyre, Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in Galilee in return. But when Hiram came to see the cities, they did not please him. What cities are these which you have given me, my brother? he said, and he named the region Cabul, a word suggesting they were worth little. The gift Solomon gave was one that disappointed, land that pleased its recipient not at all.

This small exchange, easily overlooked, holds a quiet question about what we give. Solomon had received from Hiram cedar and gold, the best materials, given generously; and in return he gave cities that displeased Hiram, land apparently not his best, worth so little that Hiram called the region good for nothing. Whatever the political details, the contrast lingers: Solomon gave in return a gift that cost him little and pleased not at all. And it raises a question worth asking of ourselves: what do we give, and does it cost us anything? For there is a tendency in us to give others, and God, not our best but our leftovers, what costs us least. We give God the scraps of our time, the leftover of our attention, the remnant of our resources, keeping the best for ourselves. We give others the least we can, the gift that costs us little, holding back what we value. And Scripture speaks against this. When the people offered God blind and lame animals, keeping the sound ones for themselves, God rebuked them: offer that to your governor, and see if he is pleased. And David refused to offer God what cost him nothing: I will not offer to the LORD my God offerings that cost me nothing. What we give reveals our heart; and to give our leftovers, our Cabul, what costs us little and pleases not at all, reveals a heart that values the gift, or the God, too little. This calls us to examine our giving. Do we give God and others our best, or our leftovers, the least we can spare? Do our gifts cost us something, or do we hold back what we value and give only what we would not miss? The one who gave generously to God gave the best, the firstfruits, what cost him; and love shows itself in giving not the Cabul, the good-for-nothing remnant, but the best we have. What we give reveals what we treasure; and the call is to give God and others not our leftovers but our best, gifts that cost us something because the one we give to is worth it.

Do I give God and others my best, or my leftovers, the scraps of my time and attention and resources, the gift that costs me little and that I would not miss, and can I let the disappointing Cabul that Solomon gave Hiram search my own giving, examining whether my gifts cost me anything and whether they reveal a heart that treasures the one I give to?