Showing posts with label Tithing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tithing. Show all posts

Sunday, July 16, 2023

Giving Is A Choice In Freedom

The practice of tithing was under the Law of Moses. Christians today don't have to fearfully practice it because we don't have to do anything to be accepted by God after we accept his Son Jesus as our Savior. The tithing principle, however, is a good guideline for those who need structure in giving. 

While tithing required 10%, the scriptures teach that it is good to give more than that when we feel free to do so. However freely we give it will be freely given back to us (Matthew 7:2). This is a statement on how much we can expect back, not on how much we need to give. 

Today, it's not about tithing. It's about giving abundantly to others out of our own feeling of abundance. It's giving in freedom. The type and amount of that free-spirited giving varies from Christian to Christian. Our Father wants us to give from the heart, in the amounts and the frequency that we feel comfortable to do. Give how, when, in what way, in what amount and to where you are inspired to give.

If anyone attempts to make us feel ashamed because of our monetary giving or the lack of, their spirit is not of God. If you are not giving today but would like to, don't despair. God sees your heart and he will surely help you to get to your goal. He works with us, not against us. He does not push us, he understands us. Giving is a choice in freedom. Be comfortable and at rest in your freedom in Christ Jesus.



Sunday, September 26, 2021

Giving Through A Pure Heart

 


God wants you to begin a tithes and offerings process when you are happy to give. If you are afraid to release your funds in this way or begrudge tithing and offering for any reason, then you should wait. If you are already giving and want to increase your donations, rather than force yourself beyond your faith, you should ask God to help you to advance in that area.

If you want to tithe and offer but have not begun yet, don't fear that you will never begin to give. It just means that you need more faith and reliance upon God to be able to give through a pure and fearless heart. If you feel that it would be unwise to give at this time, it is more harmful than useful to succumb to hounding from other Christians. They may mean well but it does little good to pressure and shame others by declaring that we can't afford not to give, that we will never prosper if we don't give, that God is angry because we don't give.

You may be burdened with bills and debts, have a large family for which to make ends meet or be struggling to build up your life on a very low income. The platitudes spoken by others, while they may be based in truth, do not inspire faith. Faith is built by feeding the Word into our spirits each day and by consistent and fervent prayer. These faithful, daily practices are an indication that we are asking Our Father for help and that we are serious about growing into giving. 

If you allow yourself to be coerced, intimidated and shamed into giving, you will do so from a fearful, resentful heart. Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11), for whatever their reasons were, begrudged giving a certain amount and they kept part of it back for their own use. Keeping some of it back was not the problem. We know that everything belongs to God but when their deceit was discovered, they were told that the money was theirs to give (or keep). In other words, it was up to Ananias and Sapphira to decide how much to give, if anything. All money belongs to God but it's ours to decide how to use.

It was not necessary for Ananias and Sapphira to lie and embellish the amount that they had given. The problem was not how much they had given but that they lied about the amount that they did give. They led others to believe that they had given more than they had, therefore they stole from God through lying. Dishonesty was the problem.

The bottom line is honesty with ourselves and honesty with God is of the utmost importance. If we give through fear, anxiety and faithlessness, it is similar to keeping some back but pretending to be all in. We didn't really want to give what we gave. Maybe we feel that we just can't afford to give at this time. We feel bullied but are afraid to admit it to ourselves and to God. Because of this, we step out before we are ready and for the wrong reasons. On the other hand, when we are honest with ourselves and God, we can begin to grow. God can help us to do it the right way.

The perfect time to start giving will never come, just like with anything else that you need to stretch to do. You'll never have enough money because that money will seem to always be needed for something else. Even so, you have to start somewhere. It's better, though, to grow into giving or to increase giving through pure and fearless hearts. God can and will establish it in you as you continue in prayer, Bible study and occasional fasting. The keys are honesty and to not be ashamed of that honesty, and faith.

When you come into the blessed peace of giving from a pure heart, you will always have this assurance:

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. (Luke 6:38)



Monday, May 24, 2021

To Do Good And Share With Others

 

Whoever Gives To The Poor Will Not Want

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.

Luke 6:38

Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.

Proverbs 28:27

She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.

Proverbs 31:20

If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.

Isaiah 58:10

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2:4

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Hebrews 13:16

You Have To Do What Is In Your Heart And What Is Between You And God
I had gotten to a place where I could tithe again and the savings had grown to a few hundred dollars because I was deducting it from my income but accumulating it. In the past, I've tithed to any local church where I was heavily involved. I've done it the traditional way, giving hundreds of dollars, over time, off the top and faithfully to churches, even though I could not financially afford to.

I have also given to various TV and online ministries through which I enjoy learning, even though they operate with millions of dollars and always feel like they need to grow more. During the times that I struggled financially, barely being able to pay bills and often not being able to pay them at all, my tithing fell by the wayside. In my heart, I always carried a desire to begin a tithing program again.

In this new, retirement-era of my life, I talked to God about it often and chose to wait until I got to a point where my leftover funds after bill paying were 10% of my income. Some Christians would say that I am doing it backwards and that I should have been taking the 10% off first, like I used to. I don't believe that I should take bill money and give it away. My heart does not condemn me in this. I talk to God about it all of the time. You have to do according to what is in your heart. That is between you and God.

Maybe God Wants Us To Give Away Our Vacation Money Sometimes

I believe that we are to be good stewards of our money and manage our financial affairs with the utmost care. That means paying bills on time, not over spending and not living beyond our means. That means not giving away money that should go towards bills and then expecting God to make it up when the bills are due. I know this is totally against what some teach and preach. It is hard to think like this. You don't have to. This is for those who are of the same mind and did not think there was anyone else who understood.

Last week, Joyce Meyer said something to this effect, that God does not necessarily want you to give money that you won't miss. Maybe he wants you to give away your vacation money sometimes. It's the second part of what she said that illustrates my belief about tithing and giving. If a person donates their vacation money, that means that their bills are paid. They wouldn't be able to save for vacation if their bills were not paid first. To give away money that you have earmarked for yourself is truly a holy sacrifice.

Each Of Us Must Give As We Have Decided In Our Hearts
I understand that tithing and donating are different. The only real difference, however, is the amount and the order. Tithing is generally a set % and giving is anything beyond that amount. Some Christians don't bother with a tithed %. They are happy to give whatever amount they want to give. The Bible teaches, "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:7  Whether it is tithed or donated, giving is giving. Whether it is given before or after our life needs are taken care of, it is giving that is honored by God.

I distribute my tithes how and where I see fit and I give a little above the 10% that I choose to honor. I don't feel that I need to give my funds to any one place or any certain place. As long as it is not used on myself, I consider that I've given it for the work of God, because it is given to the needs of others. I've always had a heart for homeless people and those who are struggling financially. I don't hand out on the street anymore, because it has become so dangerous. God wants us to be generous, not foolhardy and unaware.

Give With A Heart That Is Comfortable With The Giving
I didn't want my tithes to continue accumulating because it becomes more challenging to not spend them. I began to ask God to show me people online to give to because I am retired and spend most of my day online doing many creative things. I wanted to be led to people in need, struggling, homeless, hopeless and unhappy. I'd always been impressed by GoFundMe campaigns, so I started looking there. I am happy to say that so far I've given to 7+ campaigns. I searched in certain states and cities, which narrowed the number of campaigns I found that I wanted to give to. 

Though I may give to some of them a 2nd time, I can expand my search area to find more suitable causes to which to give. In addition to homeless, ministries and churches, I also searched for struggling single mothers raising a son. I struggled so much raising my son and working and so many times I wished someone would reach out and help me with just $5. I promised myself that if I ever got to the position that I would reach out and help others.

Find Persons And Causes To Give To
I am thrilled to be giving at GoFundMe! It's a dream come true. I like using my tithes and giving in this way because I'm giving directly to the person. There are too many times when people can't get the immediate financial help that they need from organizations and funds. I prefer to give direct, personal help, for the most part. I divide my funds out and decide who gets what, as the Holy Spirit leads. Here are some of the campaigns that I've given to:

  • A homeless woman who obtained a tiny shed house and put it on the land of a kind person who offered her the space for free and the city is going to condemn her house if she does not come up with hundreds of $$$ to install utilities on the undeveloped plot.
  • A homeless man who wants to buy a fixer upper home and who recently was able to get a mobile home fairly cheap because a tree had fallen on it and has been doing his best to keep dry.
  • A homeless woman who is living in her car.
  • A non-profit, mobile services organization that reaches out to provide hair cuts, manicures, personal products and other to senior citizens, homeless, low income persons and veteran communities, also aiding churches, schools and small businesses.  
  • A man and his fiance who want to buy 3 buildings to house at-risk homeless and runaway children and who have been helping people living on the streets and under bridges for several years now.
  • A young lady who is collecting $250 to get food, socks, gloves and beanies hats for the homeless and who wants to do this because "growing up me and my brothers didn't have much but we always had a roof over our heads....as i got older i realized how blessed we were to have a place to call home that was warm....and when i look around it saddens me how so many people are walking around in this weather without even that."
  • A man, when going to the barber shop, noticed a homeless man sitting outside in the freezing weather who looked like he hadn't eaten in days and, who gave him warm clothes, a hotel room and food.
  • A woman with her son trying to get on her feet after being stabbed in the neck and chest when leaving work from an upscale, 4-star hotel and who was so traumatized that she lost everything and lost all friends when she became homeless, who has been painting houses and stands outside Home Depot or Lowe's trying to get work but is not often picked.

God gives us a lot of flexibility in this life, flexibility that too many Christians don't take advantage of. Don't feel bound, constricted and secretly miserable about what you feel you have to do. Don't allow other Christians to impose their fears and restrictions upon you. Study, pray and learn about the freedoms in Christ Jesus that are available to you today.

I'm so grateful to God that he has led me to a place where I can regularly give to the needs of others in the way that I've always wanted to. It has made a tremendous difference in my life and I'm not doing it to be blessed. I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do and because I finally can. I always pray that the Lord will increase to the recipient what I give to them and I plan to consistently increase my giving, in Jesus' name.



Sunday, March 21, 2021

Tithing With Wisdom & Faith

Are you tithing out of desperate need?
I believe giving 10% of all funds that we receive is a good point from which to start tithing. We can always give more or less. Additional offerings can also be given. I don't believe that tithing should be done if a Christian has only enough money or less to pay the bills. To be faithful, some Christians give part of their bill money in tithes, believing for an immediate return from God. When God does not make it up by bill time, the person is in a worse situation than before.  Oftentimes, they have given into ministries where the ministers and staff are doing much better economically than they are.
 
I am not begrudging ministers for prospering. The Bible teaches that we should not muzzle the mouth of the oxen. (I Corinthians 9:9) I am asking you to examine your faith if you've been struggling to tithe or give because you observe the recipients prospering, but you do not do any better financially.

I know many Christians believe that in order for our financial status to grow we have to give out of our lack. They often use the widow's mite Biblical story as an example. (Luke 21:1-4) I agree to a certain extent. I like tithing and giving into God's work. I think, however, that people who are struggling financially are often coerced to give and they do it because they need an immediate return. Their intention is sincere, but they can't afford to give and wait on a return that may not come until who knows when. It may come tomorrow but often it does not.
 
If a Christian has a spouse and family and is tithing and giving significant portions of their finances away when they are barely making ends meet, it is poor money management. If God instructs a person to do it though, he/she should follow the lead of the Holy Spirit. The question is whether or not the Spirit is truly leading. We all make decisions and choose to believe that God is leading us when he is not. He did not put us into the situation and it was never his desire for us to suffer like we did. We were misguided in our desire to be faithful.
Is your tithing equal to poor money management?
More people than ever are in precarious financial situations today and our economy has been crippled for some time. Tithing and giving should be tailored to each individual who desires to do it. I do believe that the widow's mite example can inspire faith in a clear mind and a pure heart. I once gave 5 cents in offering, all that I had but I was not thinking about that Bible story.
 
I was visiting a cramped, bedraggled, storefront church and felt the desire to give it, but then drew back in my spirit. It was all that I had and I was putting a penny a day into the Lion's Club bubblegum machine to get 3 little square pieces of gum. This was my daily encouragement as I went to the library to use the computer to search for work. If I gave these 5 pennies, I wouldn't have that little bubblegum encouragement anymore.
 
For some reason, my desire to give was stronger so I placed the coppers into the offering basket. The youth who was helping gawked at my 5 pennies and my face felt hot with shame and embarrassment at my paltry offering. If it had been an adult who gawked, I would not have cared. It was something about that youth  not understanding that made me feel like I was being a poor example. I so wanted to explain to him but I just dropped my head in humbleness.
Are you tithing because you need an immediate return?
The next day a stranger with a black dog that I met gave me $50 for no reason other than that we started talking in the park. I only needed $6 to get where I needed to go, but had not even thought about that impending trip when I gave the pennies the day before. I gave all that I had, like the widow did. Note that my return was 1000 times what I gave. Wasn't that magnificent! The 5 pennies could not pay any bills and I had no dependents so I did not hurt anything or anyone by giving all that I had. It was a personal sacrifice that God honored.
 
The return was swift, coming the very next day! It was showered on me, pressed down, shaken together and running over. I have given up 15 pieces of gum and I was then able to buy all of the Chiclets that I wanted and more. I was so grateful that I made that $50 last me for weeks. Most importantly, I was able to travel to where I needed to go so that I could accept help to begin rebuilding my life. It was weeks before I connected my church donation with that astounding blessing.

If you want to tithe but you are struggling financially, maybe you should consider this. Pray to God to help you get your finances in order so that you can begin to tithe. If you have dependents and you barely have food, your lights are about to be turned off for the nth time and your rent or mortgage is behind, consider this. If you give a large sum of your funds in tithes, assuming that God will make up the difference by the time the bills are due or by the time dinnertime arrives, you and your family just may suffer more than you already are.
 
Assuming and presumption are types of faith but they don't produce faith-filled results. God wants us to develop and practice good money-management skills. If you take money and give it away, to ministries or to anyone, and your dependents suffer more than they are suffering now, what type of witness for God is that? What type of example would you be to your children, your spouse? How would you be representing the Kingdom of God?
Do you need your tithes to pay off by a certain date?
How can I sacrifice if I don't give what I can't afford to give, you ask? Well, tithing is always a sacrifice whether we are financially sound or not. When we are financially stable, the tithe could be used for something else, so it is a sacrifice to be obedient. A greater sacrifice is when we give above and beyond our tithes, when we occasionally give away money that we were going to use on ourselves. Work with God and get to the point financially where you can tithe regularly, then start to give above that and watch your cup overflow!
Is your tithing equal to gambling?
You do what you feel is best according to your relationship with God. If you feel that you can release some funds, just not 10% at this time, do that. Just remember that to give money for God's work while expecting a needed return by a certain time is unwise. Some may call it give and name it/claim it. Some may call it great faith. It can, on the other hand, be gambling and that is not something that our Heavenly Father wants us to be involved with.
 
He wants us to give from a pure heart. To do that, we have to give not needing an immediate return. The Bible tells us that we will receive when we give but we should give being happy if we never, ever receive a return. It's best to be in a position to kiss the tithes goodbye and forget about them, in Jesus' name.