"Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High." Psalm 50:14

God commanded sacrificial offerings to be given by Israel for different circumstances.  Some were given as sin offerings; others were given as peace offerings or free will offerings, or for any of several other reasons.  These offerings were all shadows of Jesus Christ, and were to be given with a heart full of thanksgiving.  The way they gave the offering was just as important as the offering being given.  Somewhere along the way Israel lost their heart of thanksgiving, at this point the offerings became loathsome to the Lord.

Still today God expects us to come before Him with a heart of thanksgiving.  As we serve the Lord we are not to do it out of only obligation, but out of love for the Lord with a heart full of thanksgiving!  God wants our heart along with our service!  Service done from a grudging and grumbling heart is not pleasing at all to the Lord.  The Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver!  And the same holds true for all we do for the Lord!  Serve the Lord with a heart full of love and thanksgiving for our Lord and Savior!

"So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:7