4. Tithe

i've always had an interesting relationship with the concept of tithing. i remember hearing about the concept when i was much younger - maybe middle school - and knowing that my mom did not tithe. to this day, she religiously gives $20 to church, no more, no less. i did the math once and figured that $20 was a LOT less than 10% of what she makes weekly, and actually asked her once why she didn't give more, like she was supposed to. her response was something along the lines of, "well, we don't really have a lot of money, so we need to make sure we can save up some in case something happens later on in life." something about that response didn't sit well with me, but because i saw nothing inherently wrong in saving money, i sort of just brushed it off.

as i grew more in Christian faith, the fact that my mom didn't tithe started to bother me more and more. we were by no means a wealthy family, but we had a good amount in savings and we can certainly stand to give 10% of our household income. we weren't living paycheck to paycheck, and in fact because my mom is so frugal with her money, we barely spent anything and saved pretty much all the time. especially because i grew up in a church that was always financially struggling, i always hoped my mom would realize that we can stand to give a few more dollars a week and that we'd be fine if we did.

it wasn't until the last few years that i really began to understand tithing the way i do now. someone, at some point, made a throw-away comment that tithing was a spiritual discipline and not an obligation, and because it was the first time that i'd heard that statement being said, it pretty much threw off everything i'd known about tithing in my life thus far. since then, i've learned that if we want to fully surrender our lives to the Lord, that means we surrender ALL of it. including our finances. i once heard that budgets are moral documents (side note: the first time i heard this, this also changed my life). if you look at an organization, a church, a government - any sort of body that has money to spend - the way they spend their money tells a good story about what is means the most to them.

there's so much i want to write about tithing that i feel like i'm going to lose any of you who are still reading my thoughts at this point. i was really convicted about tithing a LONG time ago, back when i was a student and i wasn't making much money. but i justified not tithing what i was actually making in may different ways: i'm in debt, i can't survive on 90% of what i make, and about a million other excuses that really pales in comparison to what i'm saying by choosing NOT to tithe: that i cannot (or will not) trust God to be sovereign over my finances the way He is sovereign with the rest of my life. it's like telling God that a big savings account is much better financial security than trusting that God will provide for my every need. now, don't get me wrong. just because you give 10% of what you make, doesn't mean that you're miraculously not going to run into any financial hardships. i definitely have my share of financial hardships, but one of the most meaningful things that i've gotten out of knowing that i'm giving God the first 10% of what i make is that i need to be REALLY, REALLY careful about the 90% i am getting to keep.

this goes back to looking at my budget as a moral document. if i'm having trouble parting with 10% of each paycheck to give to the church, but i have no problem spending 25% of that same paycheck buying clothes, eating out every weekend or watching movies... i probably need to reevaluate where my heart is. if i'd rather have the so-called "luxuries" in life, rather than making financial investments in the work God is doing on earth, where exactly am i storing my treasures?

i know there are lots of discussions in the Church right now about tithing, and whether everyone is really required 10%. and if we are required 10%, do we give 10% of our net pay or our gross pay? personally, i think a strong case has been made that God requires 10% (Pastor Mark, my senior pastor, actually gave a great talk on this one day - at this link). as far as whether we should tithe on our gross pay or net pay... well, i feel like if the government takes from our gross pay, i think the work God is doing on earth deserves at least the same treatment.

i want to end with this story. i was at an annual conference a few years ago, when a married couple got to up make a presentation to the conference. they said that early on in their marriage, they made the decision that no matter what financial situation they find themselves in, that they would never stop tithing. they went on to talk about how they've tithed through tough financial times and times of plenty, and then they announced that recently, they inherited a large sum of money through the estate of a deceased relative. the married couple then proceeded to announce that they were "tithing" this inheritance, and made a large donation toward one of the ministries of our annual conference. i will never forget this day, because it was the moment when i really understood that those who honor God through the discipline of tithing will never find themselves in a situation where God cannot take care of their every need.