Tithing: That is a foreign word to many people and for others it is a bad taste due to some unfortunate experience with a church. Many have heard of it, and lots have no idea what it’s about. As we wrap up our FROG series, I couldn’t let it end without going here.
Tithing stands for Fully Relying On God! (I know that’s not a very good acronym, but it’s true.) By biblical standards, it’s giving 10% of everything earned back to God.
Some of you know our story and have heard me talk about it but I want to recap briefly for our series’ sake. Then I want to tell you about one of your own, a fellow member, who has experienced the undeniable and unbelievable provision of God firsthand.
When Ashly and I got married we had $40K in student loans. Then, we also bought a vehicle incurring an additional $10K in debt (used vehicles were much more affordable in 2008). This $50,000 was no small thing to consider looking at our meager income of youth pastor and a part time nurse (at the time).
Within 4 years we had knocked out ALL of our loans AND paid down 25% of our PRINICIPLE on the house we also purchased in that time.
HOW?
We’re not financial geniuses, didn’t win the lottery, nor come into some great inheritance. We decided to TRUST God to do MORE with LESS!
Both of us had tithed our whole life – gave 10% of our income to the church. It was our ‘duty’. But it wasn’t really our faith. So, when we got married, I felt like God was asking us if we trusted Him and so we started giving our tithe to God, instead of the church. We increased our 10% to 15%...now it was a matter of faith.
That’s how we paid out more than $75k in our first four years of marriage. And that hasn’t waned. When we started RWOL, my salary was cut in half immediately and I didn’t take a dime from the WOL for 18 months. Income went way down, expenses stayed the same, we kept trusting God, giving our tithe, and have not ever gone without. (Now, I’m able to draw $1,500/month to pay me and God still keeps providing.) It is truly miraculous!!!
One of our RWOL members experienced this in their own life. Being behind on making payments for membership, we had a conversation about all the things going on and sought to figure out a plan. RWOL was one of many no getting paid and there was a vast deficit in their whole life, financially. In our discussion, I asked if they were tithing. Answer was no. I said, ok, don’t pay RWOL till you are able to pay God. Two weeks later, the individual reported giving tithe to God (via their local church) and then within another month, things turned around. New housing situation which was such a blessing, new job, and financial restoration for the family, and caught up on membership dues at the WOL.
This is a hard thing because it doesn’t make sense on paper. A spread sheet cannot compute the economic strategy of God. But this is one thing that God says we can test Him with!
Malachi 3:10 is the source of this theology. “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 enough room to store it.”
Luke 6:38 records Jesus saying, “Give and it will be given back to you, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
So, if you’re in financial trouble, have you considered this? If you’re not yet fully trusting God, would you give this a shot? It can be scary to give up control, but there is so much freedom in the letting go! You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain!
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Brett
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