Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, and of all that you give me I will surely give one tenth to you." - Genesis 28:20
This is the central inspiration for tithing as a response to God’s goodness and bounty for us.
About 7 years ago I decided it was time to start tithing. As I recall, it was in the spring of the year. After recalculating my income back to the first of the year, I told Sydney with a grin, “You know what? I have to give away $700 right now!” And I’ll tell you, That was fun!
Once the money was budgeted, it was easy and fun to give money away to do God’s work.
A church I worked for had a group of refugees from Sudan. One woman from that group worked hard to keep her house neat; she needed a vacuum cleaner. So I bought her one. For her, it was a very big deal. For me, it was no big deal because it was in my budget.
The local news told of a church in north Minneapolis, already struggling financially, that had experienced a serious roof problem. So I sent them $100.00. It was easy, it was already in my budget.
My mother passed away last summer. Once things were settled, some of her resources remained for us 4 kids. One tenth of my share enabled me to fund solutions to 2 problems here at Judson, problems that had festered for some time.
Ministries have to be funded, there is no other way. People have to be paid, the property has to be maintained, expenses have to be met. Now not every problem can be solved with money. However, it is amazing how many problems can be solved with the simple application of some cash.
Remember when I did the children’s sermon on Stewardship Sunday? I gave every kid 10 dimes. The only requirement was that, when the offering plate came by, one dime had to go in. One kid exclaimed, “Oh, boy! Now I’ve got 90 cents I can spend!” To which I replied, “Right!” When we receive a dollar through the grace of God, isn’t 90 cents enough? Is a dime too much to return in gratitude? The kids understood this really well!
So I ask you to think about the tithe. It’s easy, it’s the right thing to do, and it’s rewarding. It’s good to find you can get along just fine on a little less and, once you get started, you’ll find it rewarding as well.