OBEDIENCE: PAIN OR PLEASURE?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
(Luke 12:34)

MEDITATION:
Where is the treasure of most people? Is it in their assets? Is it in their
bank accounts? Is it in their investments? Have you ever heard someone
say something like,
    “If I could win the lottery I could tithe more and
      have more time to serve the Lord in many ways”
When someone prays in this way it sounds like there is an undertone of
selfishness, doesn’t it? It can also be an indication that the person feels
the Lord has not blessed them sufficiently.

According to surveys, the more a person earns, the less likely they will
give at least 10% to God’s ministry. Fewer than 10% of born-again
Christians tithe 10% to their church. It’s interesting to know that the
ones most likely to do tithe are those who earn the least.

Only 8% of those making $20,000 or less give their tithe. As incomes rise,
the percentages drop – only 1% of those making $75,000 to $100,000 tithe
(after $100,000 the percentages of those giving rises a little). At any rate,
it appears that the more one has, the less likely they will obey the Lord in
the area of tithing. It seems the opposite would be true, but it’s not.

One thing I have noticed in the work force is those with lower salaries are
the biggest contributors whenever there is a need. The reason may be that
those with higher salaries have strained their budget through overspending
in their attempt to achieve a desired social status. It could also be that the
ones making less can understand the needs of others better.

Some with higher salaries maybe have sizeable debts, and are too proud
to downsize, so they can be better stewards of their money. Tithing may
have a lower priority due to their debts, or a desire to buy more ‘stuff’ to
increase their social status.

Apparently, the heart can be drawn away from a heavenly focus
to a worldly focus whenever people prosper. The words of Jesus
strike at the heart of both the problem and the person:
    “Where your treasure is, there you heart will be also”

The Lord doesn’t NEED our tithes so why would He tell us that we should
tithe? For one thing it is an act of obedience. It gives us an opportunity to
say to ourselves,
    “God doesn’t need my tithe, but He has
      commanded me to tithe, so I will obey Him”

It is also an acknowledgement that we truly believe He exists and we
have a desire to be in a good relationship with Him. We express our
faith in God, and our love for Him when we tithe. Tithing is an our
expression of faith and appreciation that God has blessed us with
what we have, and He will provide for our needs.

It is our opportunity to prove to ourselves, and to God that we love
Him, we want to obey Him, and we certainly do not want to be known
for robbing our Creator.
    “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.”
    “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In
      tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your
      whole nation—because you are robbing me.”
      (Malachi 3:8-9)

And, when we obey the Lord, we need to have
the right attitude toward what He has commanded of us.
    So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you
    in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous
    gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous
    gift, not as one grudgingly given. Remember this: Whoever
    sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows
    generously will also reap generously. Each of you should
    give what you have decided in your heart to give, not
    reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful
    giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in
    all things at all times, having all that you need, you will
    abound in every good work.
    (1 Corinthians 9:5-8)

Lastly, when we show our trust that God will provide for our needs when
we obey His command to tithe, He promises to bless us (it may not always
be financial blessings, but He can bless us in ways we never expected). God
blesses those who express their faith in Him through active obedience.
    “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 room enough to store it.
      (Malachi 3:8-9)

    May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
    as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with
    hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
    (Romans 5:13)

ACTION:
When we read Luke 12:34,
we are challenged to answer these questions (honestly),
    “Where is my heart?”
    “Am I more focused on worldly or heavenly (eternal) things?”

Rather than focusing on how I can spend His tithe for my own perceived
pleasure, I need to think about how it shows my love for the Lord and His
provisions for me (and my family). It is an act of faith that shows I believe
that God will meet my needs (and I realize my ‘needs’ encompass much more
than financial or material needs). Our ‘wants’ and our ‘needs’ are seldom the
same, wouldn’t you agree?

Personal testimony:
When we were first married, I had drifted away from attending church on
a regular basis. However, after a few months of marriage, my wife would
walk to the church across the street from the apartment complex where we
lived. After several Sundays, I decided to go with her, and it reminded me
of how I enjoyed being in God’s house.

Later, we decided to start putting money in the offering plate. We chose an
amount that seemed generous to us, but was way less than a tithe. A couple
of years later we bought a house and moved our membership to a church
nearby. After adjusting to our new expenses, we were convicted that we
should start giving a ‘real’ tithe to the Lord.

To be honest, I had heard many tithing testimonies and was more than a
little skeptical, but we decided to see if there was any truth to what we had
heard about “God’s math”. We chose to tithe on our net income (since that
was the ‘spendable’ money we had). We had several instances where we had
a financial need and God provided for us in some unusual ways.

I can’t explain it, but later we could feel the Lord convicting us that we
should be tithing on our gross salary, so we ‘bit the bullet’ and obeyed,
but never felt any financial strain as a consequence.

Then, God convicted us to give more than our tithe, and this is where
it became very interesting. We obeyed and held our breath, but again
we didn’t have any financial problems. In fact, when I received my
raise the next year, the tithe we had been giving was ten percent of
my new salary.

We ‘upped’ our tithe again and the next year when I received my raise,
it happened again – the tithe from the previous year was ten percent of
my new salary. It happened again the third year – three years in a row!

Of course that’s when Satan started trying to plant ideas in our heads
like,
    “You can determine what your salary for the
      next year will be, by how much you tithe this year!”
It sounded like a logical thing to do, but thankfully we didn’t fall for his
scheme. The fourth year of giving above our tithe, my raise left us short
of what we had been tithing the previous year, and we realized that God
must have a sense of humor. It was as if He was saying to us,
    “Okay, now what are you going to do?”

It helped us to change our focus from the monetary amounts to how He
was blessing us. It wasn’t too long after that when we were astounded by
His blessings. I received a ten percent salary increase, followed by a fifteen
percent increase, followed by an eleven percent increase in less than a
twelve month period! We learned that what some say is true,
    “You can’t out give God”

But more importantly we learned the blessings of obedience, and He
taught us what it means to be a ‘cheerful giver’. If you are like I was,
then you might be skeptical of this testimony. However, I hope that
you will consider obeying God’s command (and challenge) to start
returning what belongs to Him, and see if the 90% you keep doesn’t
go further than the 100% you kept while being disobedient, and more
importantly, while robbing God (that’s what He said in His Word).

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me for thinking what belongs to
You, is mine to keep. Give me the faith, trust, and courage
to start obeying Your command to return what belongs to
You so I will not be robbing You. Help me to know that
when I obey Your commands, You will provide for all of
the needs of me and my family. Thank You for Your love
and Your blessings for my obedience.”

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