Believe it or not, tithing is not really about money.
Of course, it is about dollars and cents and where we choose to put our monetary resources. But that’s only a small part.
The larger part is about trust.
When we make the conscious decision to tithe a portion of our income, we are effectively saying that we put our financial trust in God. We are trusting that God can do more with less of our income than we can do with all of it. It’s a leap of faith.
Returning a portion of our income to God should be about gratefulness – giving God thanks for all he has financially blessed us with. However, trusting that God will take care of us when we do tithe is also a big roadblock for many of us.
And, that’s natural. It can be scary to believe that we will be OK with less of our earnings. Let’s face it, the economy isn’t at it’s all time best right now. Times are tough. People are in need.
If we think about tithing only in terms of dollars and cents, we would be crazy to give our money away when the economy is shaky. Wouldn’t it be wiser to pay down our credit cards or put it in savings for a rainy day?
However, if we think about tithing as trusting, then we realize that we want to return our first fruits back to God. We are so incredibly thankful for all He has given us that we can’t wait to give back to him from our first fruits. And, when we do, we know that he will take care of regardless of the economy or what’s left of our paycheck.
So stop thinking of tithing as currency and start believing what God can do with our financial trust. No doubt He will reward us in ways we could never imagine.
