Giving Back To Him Who Gave More

I recently discovered that morning, just after breakfast is the best time for me to do my computations. Be it computing for the cost of finished pieces or, in the case of this particular morning, computing for tithes to be given on Sunday.

I remember Denzel Washington saying in a magazine interview a long, long time ago that he was a Christian, a tithe-giving Christian. I love that description. To me, it is a mark of a seriousness in one's faith. A determination to obey.

I am far from an ideal Christian, that I will tell you. But I thought I'd share with you this little experience I had today as I was computing for my tithes.

Payments were kinda slow the other week and this week I had a number of trips to the bank for deposits. So when those checks started clearing and I'd see my account balance increasing, I was ecstatic. I began thinking of things I could buy with the surplus. Haha.

Finally this morning I paid my bills. Sobering experience. The list of things I could buy dwindled as I realized the surplus wasn't that big. Haha.

Then came the computing of the tithes.

Like I said, payments were delayed last week so I had a lot to compute today. As I went through each piece to compute (I go by the tithe on your net income principle), and the list of amounts to tithe got longer, I started to feel blue. Bye-bye nice account balance. Haha.

But I wasn't going to let my selfishness ruin the beauty of what I was doing. So I sang Ron Kenoly's Give song. Give and it will come back to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. Give and it will come back to you. When you give, give to the Lord.

I felt much better. I was after all giving to God who owns everything. He doesn't need anything we have to give. We give back as thanksgiving for the blessings we have been so generously given. We give back to make room for blessings to be received. I am weepy now as I write this.

So finally I tallied the total tithe (I just couldn't resist the alliteration) and came up, expectedly, with a higher than usual figure. I thought of my account balance and subtracted the tithe amount from it and knew that the balance was more than what I need. By this time the list of yummy things I wanted to buy had become unimportant. My perspective had been changed.

Tithing, I believe is more for us than for God. It teaches us to depend on He who owns the universe and reminds us that it is not by our strength or ability that we are able to have that money in the bank. Tithing is my offering of thanks. My song of gratitude for the fullness of Life He gives.

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 you will not have room enough for it.

Malachi 3:10          

We have tested the Lord on this promise and He has been faithful. I will tell you that when we are obedient with tithing, we have not wanted for anything. Not for anything at all.

And with that I leave with you with Ron Kenoly and the wonderful song on giving. Have a great weekend! Give!