From Obligation to Worship: Jeremy Johnson’s Giving Story

For Jeremy Johnson and his wife, Mary Beth, giving didn’t start with joy—it started with survival. After getting married, they found themselves chasing what Jeremy calls the “Brentwood lifestyle,” and before long, that pursuit led to significant debt. They knew giving mattered, but their understanding of it was narrow and heavy. Tithing felt less like worship and more like a rule to follow, a transaction they hoped might unlock God’s blessing.

So they gave—but begrudgingly. There wasn’t much joy in it, and it felt deeply legalistic. Still, they committed to obedience, even when their hearts lagged behind their actions. And that simple, imperfect beginning became the starting point of a much longer journey.
Over time, something changed.

What once felt like an obligation slowly became something beautiful. Through years of faithful obedience, giving shifted from a duty into an act of worship. Jeremy describes it as a transformation—not because God needed their money, but because God was shaping their hearts.

That perspective deepened when Jeremy later served as a trustee and learned a surprising statistic: more than half of the people attending Sunday services weren’t giving at all. Instead of frustration, his response was sadness—not judgment, but compassion. He realized that many people were missing out on one of the most meaningful ways God grows and teaches His people.

Giving, Jeremy says, isn’t about funding God’s mission as if He were limited without us. It’s about learning obedience and allowing God to realign what matters most in our lives. It’s about trust, surrender, and growth in our relationship with Him.

And it doesn’t require perfection.

“You don’t have to have it all together,” Jeremy shares. “You don’t have to be a super perfect Christian to start giving.” His encouragement is simple: start. Take the first step and see what God does—not just through your gift, but in your heart.

Because in the end, God deserves our first and our best. And when we offer that to Him, what begins as obedience often becomes worship.