Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the holy things that is brought into the house of the Lord, the money for which each man is assessed—the money from the assessment of persons—and the money that a man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of the Lord, let the priests take, each from his donor, and let them repair the house wherever any need of repairs is discovered.” But by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had made no repairs on the house. Therefore King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, “Why are you not repairing the house? Now therefore take no more money from your donors, but hand it over for the repair of the house.” So the priests agreed that they should take no more money from the people, and that they should not repair the house. (2 Kings 12:4–8)
The first idea to collect money and have the priests use it to repair the house of the Lord did not work. Therefore, the king switched the method. It doesn’t seem like a big change, but it pleased the Lord who worked in the hearts of the people to give generously. Then instead of the priests, masons and stonecutters and other “honest” workmen did the repairs with that money and, “The money from the guilt offerings and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the Lord; it belonged to the priests.” (2 Kings 12:16)Clarity in the church budget is vital. We attend a church that is totally transparent with donations. The amazing result is not only generous giving but a congregation that trusts the leadership. Our budget meetings last mere minutes and rarely have any questions from anyone, never negative or in protest.
From the account above, I see the importance of abandoning that common reasoning that says, “This is the way I always did it’ and be willing to change how I do things. If something does not work, it is perfectly okay to try a different way. In fact, one definition of insanity says it is a pattern of repetitive behavior that leads to stagnation or failure, rather than realizing changing outcomes requires altering one's actions, mindsets, or strategies.
Lord, this is timely. I’ve an issue where I need to change something that is not giving the results expected because of the way I’ve done it. So now need wisdom from You regarding what to change. Thank You for Your promise to give wisdom to all who ask for it. I’m waiting on You.