My cup flowth over.
Tithing, giving, donations whatever you want to call it, parting with hard earned money is a major trigger for many, and a source of shame for others.
For my family tithing initially felt impossible, and we were embarrassed that we weren’t giving, at the time we were just managing to cover all our financial obligations, we gave when we could, but it wasn’t regular. Money was tight and when it came to tithing we never even considered that anything besides giving financially could be considered a donation and this mentality persevered even after we moved to Tauranga and changed our budget.
With the move and our new budget we prioritized giving, making sure to take out our tithe before paying anything else. We had read the verse in Malachi 3:10 (NIV) that says:
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, “says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
There are multiple elements in this verse that we could have focused on, I mean the concept of having more than we need is pretty compelling, but for us the thing that really stood out was the ‘Test me in this’. A test is a ‘procedure to establish the quality, performance, or reliability of something, especially before it is taken into widespread use.’ to me that meant God was saying we could test it out, we could tithe and he would make sure all our obligations were met, so if we ended up starving and not being able to pay our bills we could stop giving the money.
I can safely say that we have not starved, all our bills have been paid, and we have received abundant provision, which means that we have never stopped our tithe, because He has proven His reliability. My God means what He says and He always follows through. As per Philippians 4:19 (NIV) he met our needs.
Once we were able to really come to grips with the fact that God wouldn’t leave us to starve and were able to tithe financially, my perception of giving changed. I realized that God would use and grow a tithe of time, ability, or anything else that I give in the same way he grows a financial tithe.
In 2 Corinthians 8:12 (NIV) the Bible says:
“For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.”
Tithing is often seen as a way for us to support our Church, or our Pastor, but I want to suggest that it is so much more that that. In 1 Timothy 4:15 (NIV) it says
“Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.”
Tithing is just as much about allowing ourselves the opportunity to grow. So I encourage you, me, us, to take every opportunity to tithe however you can. Test God, see that He is trustworthy with what you give Him. See how your trepidation at giving can become joy, excitement, and anticipation as each opportunity to give is presented to you. Keep your eyes open for the place you can tithe.