(Gen. 28:20–22)
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 this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
After long contemplation, here I am at last, fully decided to write about a very sensitive topic. Money. Tithing. Why do I give my tenths to people I'm not even related with. There are a lot of questions and hesitations, intrigues and suspicions, that even most Christians I know can't fully understand the concept of tithing.
First of all, let me make it clear that being a faithful tither won't really take you to Heaven. You don't buy salvation, dude. It's free. It's a gift from God and all you have to do is accept it. All you have to do is accept Jesus. Now, if you have fully accepted Jesus as God and Savior, and you know you are saved, then why do we still have to give our tithes? Well first, it's a sign of obedience to God, and second, this is where all blessings and breakthroughs flow.
Two men were marooned on an Island. One man paced back and forth worried and scared while the other man sat back and was sunning himself. The first man said to the second man, "aren’t you afraid we are about to die." "No," said the second man, "I make $100,000 a week and tithe faithfully to my church every week. My Pastor will find me."
It's true that the tithes people give goes fully to the church. It is divided to the salary of the pastors, the staffs, the budget for the building rent and other important church expenses, Some people think tithing is a way to take advantage of people. I can't definitely say that all type of church are honest and is genuine in honoring God. It's important for the church to be more open about the projects they have and update the church about it's status every now and then. But tithing is really more of a matter of the heart. To what extent are you willing to obey God's words?
When you give your tithes, don't think as if you are blessing the church. Don't act as if the church needs you, and that you are giving them a favor by surrendering your tenths. Tithing is your personal obedience to God. It's not giving God something. It's returning back what is originally His.
I myself had personal struggles at first with tithing. It was just really hard. I started with P20.00 when I was just new to church. I had to swallow a lump in my throat when I started giving out P50, and even felt proud when P100 kept coming out from my pocket every Sunday, I still remember the very first P500 I gave for supporting our missionaries, It was so heavy I almost can't let it go. But after that moment, I just felt the holy spirit worked inside me. What do I mean by that? There was not much deep thinking, no calculation, no anxiousness about not saving enough. There was just no struggle within me anymore when I gave that amount. With just me, I can't let this money go, but with the holy spirit, I am able to understand how important it is to show God how I recognize His authority over everything. That I accept the fact that everything I have came from Him. Besides, what's 10 percent compared to the full 90 percent that I get to enjoy?
It's true that the tithes people give goes fully to the church. It is divided to the salary of the pastors, the staffs, the budget for the building rent and other important church expenses, Some people think tithing is a way to take advantage of people. I can't definitely say that all type of church are honest and is genuine in honoring God. It's important for the church to be more open about the projects they have and update the church about it's status every now and then. But tithing is really more of a matter of the heart. To what extent are you willing to obey God's words?
When you give your tithes, don't think as if you are blessing the church. Don't act as if the church needs you, and that you are giving them a favor by surrendering your tenths. Tithing is your personal obedience to God. It's not giving God something. It's returning back what is originally His.
I myself had personal struggles at first with tithing. It was just really hard. I started with P20.00 when I was just new to church. I had to swallow a lump in my throat when I started giving out P50, and even felt proud when P100 kept coming out from my pocket every Sunday, I still remember the very first P500 I gave for supporting our missionaries, It was so heavy I almost can't let it go. But after that moment, I just felt the holy spirit worked inside me. What do I mean by that? There was not much deep thinking, no calculation, no anxiousness about not saving enough. There was just no struggle within me anymore when I gave that amount. With just me, I can't let this money go, but with the holy spirit, I am able to understand how important it is to show God how I recognize His authority over everything. That I accept the fact that everything I have came from Him. Besides, what's 10 percent compared to the full 90 percent that I get to enjoy?
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