our lead pastor put it like this: tithing is like paying your bill at a restaurant…you wouldn't dine and dash, so you shouldn't go to church and not tithe. and if tithing is your bill, then extra giving (to a special project or fund) is like leaving a tip…it's above and beyond your bill.
easy to say, sometimes harder to follow through on, right?
i remember when I first started tithing, shoving a crumpled one-dollar bill into the offering envelope at 10% of my $10 weekly allowance. it seemed silly at the time, giving an offering of $1 each sunday, but it mattered. for me, that small offering created a sense that tithing was a priority.
now, in my twenties, with college loan debt, bills to pay, gas to buy, hopes of travel and saving for a future, and of course, getting slightly larger paychecks than that $10 allowance, tithing is a lithe more complex. that 10% isn't just a dollar anymore, and i'm gonna be honest…sometimes its tough to see that chunk leave my paycheck as soon as it comes in.
malachi 3:10 says "bring the whole tithe into the storehouse... test me in this... and see if i will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."
sometimes giving at this stage of life is more about faith in what god has promised and relying on his providence than it is about having the extra income lying around. it's about living in those promises and trusting god to "throw open the floodgates of heaven".
i know people who have had experiences where they've needed a certain amount of money and that exact amount happened to show up in their mailbox just when they needed it. some might call those sorts of things coincidences but i firmly believe they're god's provision. and it's stories like those that bring scripture to life for me.
i find that making giving a habit makes it easier to give in times of plenty and in times of want. god promises to take care of us. he asks that we be faithful to him, and that includes being faithful in our giving. and for a god who promises "so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it", who am i to argue?
This is SO good! Our church constantly teaches tithing. Not because they need money, but because we want to be obedient to God in every aspect of our lives. We want to surrender it all to him, especially in our finances!
ReplyDeleteGood to hear that other people in our generation are being faithful!
Megan
arrowaylove.blogspot.com
Yes, yes, yes! I love everything about this truth, it is a great reminder!
ReplyDeleteDo you know where your money is going to? How are finances being spent? Are they giving it to charity? I'm pretty skeptical of this.
ReplyDeleteHi T,
ReplyDeleteThis post was aimed at tithing to the church in general, no matter what church you attend. The Bible is pretty clear that we are to make an offering to God, and I do that by tithing to my church and trusting that the leadership will use it for the purposes that are necessary to further the work that our church is doing.
In my particular case, yes, I do know where my money is going and how it's being spent. Our church is pretty transparent about what money is used for and I'm also a staff member, so I'm acutely aware of how money is used. Much of the tithes and offerings that come into our church are used: to support missionaries around the globe and support specific projects like digging water wells and outfitting churches in other countries with basic supplies that they need; towards our capital fund, which we pull from for things like building maintenance and growth, as well as funding things like the launch of our second campus, and of course, some of the tithes and offerings contribute to the salaries of our staff, which is obviously necessary to keep our church functioning.
A good sharing. I love these things and will save to note on my iphone 6 to read again
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