Last week I mentioned the phishing scam we were victims of. Blogreader Jennifer wrote this comment:
"My blessed sister in Christ, I have one question. Are you a tither? If you are then you have NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT."
Malachi 3 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
Malachi 3: 11
I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts.
Thank you for reminding me of these verses Jennifer!
This comment reminded me that I never got around to finishing my last post in my Living Debt Free blog series I did this summer. Tithing is really the most important part of our budget and yet I never got around to compiling my post on the issue due to my pregnancy fatigue.
So, though my time is limited, I want to share with my blog readers that I was trained to tithe as a child, have always tithed, and sincerely believe that tithing is absolutely important in the life of a follower of Jesus. I don't believe that it is a ticket to Heaven or that you should give just to see what you can "get" out of it. I don't believe churches should guilt people into or force tithes and that we should give as the Lord leads us. I do believe, as commenter Jennifer does, that God will prove Himself faithful if we are faithful to tithe. I do agree with the words of Billy Graham on tithing, "Most Christians find that 90% goes a lot further than 100%."
I am saddened to see how few American Christians give and how very few give sacrificially. Some people declare that they would tithe if they had more money. Because how we handle our money is an overflow from the heart, how much money you have isn't the issue. Priorities are. People tend to spend what they make (or more). Why do Americans seem to think they can't give when we are the richest folks in the world? Remember the widow's mite? Or the widow who gave her last flour and oil to Elisha? Why do Christians want to rob themselves of blessings by not giving to the Lord?
If you believe that all you have is God's anyway, then that 10% (or whatever you believe is God's will for you to tithe) isn't yours to begin with and isn't yours to spend. The government takes 10-15% of our income and we manage to survive. Shouldn't we revere God more than the IRS? There are many Christians out there buying a daily mocha or spending $50 a month on a gym they never visit who won't give to their church but once or twice a year. I have been in missions and we have two siblings in missions right now and we have come to find that sometimes it is the poorest of people who give the most.
Is it always easy to give? Not always. Often you feel wonderful about giving and excited to help with a ministry you really believe in. But there are also times, like when I was in college and only making $100 a month, where I could have used that $10 for Ramen instead of tithing. But God ALWAYS provided my needs and gave me above and beyond what I needed. He continues to do so and we continue to tithe and to give above our normal tithe as He blesses us with unexpected income from overtime hours or unexpected refunds. Because both my husband and I were taught as children to tithe, it is generally easy for us as there is no doubt in either of our minds that tithing is the best thing we can do for our budget! Of course the world doesn't understand this AT ALL! How can you build wealth/security by giving money away? How foolish to give money to "an idea of a deity" who may or may not exist, they say. All I can say is, "If you are not a believer, than you won't be able to understand the spiritual wisdom of tithing. If you are a believer and you don't tithe, you are robbing yourself of incredible blessing." I found this article interesting.
If I felt that I couldn't possibly tithe because my budget was so tight I would find a way to live on less or make more money. How I spend my money is a reflection of my heart. If my heart is passionate about the things of God, then I will use my resources to fund the spread of the Gospel, support my church body and help the needy.
2 Cor. 9:6-8
"The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."
You've heard on my blog how God provided our mini-van though it looked like an impossibly big amount just a half a year ago. I could share countless stories of how God has provided exactly what we need at just the right time. But I'd rather hear YOUR stories. How has God proven Himself faithful to you in conjunction with your obedience to tithe?
5 comments:
Awesome post! Thanks for reminding me how faithful our Lord is! We are in an awkard time of our life. We are currently searching for a church to belong to. We left our church of 7 years because of issues with our pastor. They were EXTREME things that a pastor should never ever do! It broke our heart to leave, but we knew we could not stay under his leadership. Now we are drifting to find a church that holds true to the Bible. Sad that you have to "search" for a church that is biblically sound! But, during this process we have not been tithing. Our finances are in total chaos! I have been praying for the Lord to direct us to the church body we need to be at. Until then I have trying to figure out where to give. Thanks for this post! I have repented for my disobedience and am praying for wisdom.
Lately, even though we cheerfully tithe, it doesn't seem like the storehouses in heaven are opening (on the other hand - we have never gone naked or hungry...)
but - I remember in particular, one instance where I could see it SO clearly......
We had been tithing (full tithe - not what we thought we could afford, as we had done in the past) for less than a year. We were so unsure if I was supposed to have the myomectomy, but after much prayer - we decided that even though we really couldn't financially afford it, Physically, I couldn't afford not to...
When the hospital bill came, insurance had given us such a HUGE discount that we only ended up having to pay 1/10 of what we should have paid. We called the hospital, thinking there surely must be some mistake & they'd come back later asking for the 'real' amount we owed. They assured us - that was the correct total.
1/10 ~ it could have been any reduced amount, why 1/10?! I have always been convinced that that was God's blessing on both our decision to have the surgery and our giving.
Thanks for sharing Wendy! I hope God directs you to a wonderful body of believers and that you and your husband are able to come through this rough financial time! It sounds like God has led you in where He wants you to start!
Tracy(the momma),
That is one incredible story! It really does go to show you how good God is to us, even to just show you through that amount that He was blessing your obedience to tithe! Thanks for sharing and I hope you are all doing well and that you come out of the financial slump too.
Although we've been in the church hunt for several years, we still tithe by supporting some missionaries through Gospel for Asia. In the past, we've also supported Voice of the Martyrs. There have been times we've said, "maybe if the tithe money went elsewhere this month..." but we always send it where it belongs. We've never gone hungry, we've always had a roof over our heads, and clothes on our bodies. Praise the Lord!
I am glad you posted about this. I have just been thinking about doing a post about this. I was looking up where "tithing 10%" came from, but it's fuzzy for me. I see some places, but no commands for 10%, however, my feeling was the same as yours... 10% is REALLY so little an amount to give the Lord, why can't I trust Him with it.
Thanks for confirmation. :)
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