It all belongs to Him.

Here we go! I thought as I rolled my eyes, crossed my arms, and sat listening to the pastor one Sunday morning. He was preaching on the importance of tithing. I can't tell you everything he said, because I tuned most of it out. I became defensive immediately. Truthfully, I had not been attending that church for very long. I had fallen away from attending church for some time. While active as a young girl and teenager, the pain of my single mom experience left me looking for someone to blame. For a season, that was the local church. So, here I was, having made the decision to go back to my a church . . . and now the pastor was talking about money!

As a single mom of two toddlers with no support, I had little money. To consider giving any of my limited resources to the Lord seemed unfair. I rationalized that the pastor was preaching about this topic because he needed my money to buy himself something or perhaps was attempting to swindle me! Do you know the funny thing? Over the next several weeks, I could not get the sermon out of my head. The concept of the tithe was not new to me. I was raised in the church and knew the Bible discussed giving a tenth of your increase back to the Lord, but seriously?! I was a single mom! I made only a few hundred dollars a month to raise my two children, and government assistance was the only way I even made ends meet.

The concept of the tithe seemed outlandish. Yet, as I thought about it, I prayed about it. I argued with God about it. But I knew God was prompting me to give. Then, I did it. I wrote my first tithe check and put it in the offering plate as it passed by. Nothing miraculous happened that day or the next or the next. I just kept giving. There was something about freely giving to God who had given me everything, His only Son, freedom, hope, joy, and more, that brought me great peace. I felt good about it. I knew I was living in obedience to what the Lord had prompted me to do.

Here are a few things that I came to realize:

• I don’t want to take something that was meant for Kingdom purposes. Some might argue that the tithe is obsolete because it is an Old Testament concept. Here is where I landed - it all belongs to God. I can’t out-give my Lord, whether Old Testament or New, the law or the heart. So, whether we’re obligated to 10% or not, give cheerfully to the Kingdom. learned to say, “Father, I trust you with every area of my life, including my money.”
• Stop obsessing over how the money is spent. To be clear, I am not suggesting that there should not be good checks and balances regarding church spending. Of course, there should! However, I found that I used fear as an excuse to not surrender my finances to the Lord. Ultimately, the church is accountable to God on how they spend money, and should there ever be impropriety, the Lord will handle it. No doubt. However, it costs money to run the church, to serve the people of God, and to host the Thanksgiving outreach.
• The more I gave, the more I was blessed. Once I learned that my obedience to give was tied to my freedom, I saw the Lord unlock many areas of my life. My long-time bondage to sin, poverty, trauma, and depression broke over time. I moved out of government assistance, left my abusive boyfriend, and fully surrendered my heart to the Lord. I wholeheartedly believe that the blessings of the Lord flowed from my obedience to tithe (among others). Let me be careful here. I am not suggesting that we tithe to be blessed or that God is somehow our genie. Although I don't understand the reason, God chose to bless my financial obedience and it carried into many areas of my life. The blessings weren’t about my checking account; they were the peace of God that flowed like a river and the freedom of God that broke every chain.

To note, tithing isn't a legalistic ritual. It isn't about earning brownie points with God. It's about honoring Him. 2 Corinthians 9:7-8 says, "Don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure, for God loves a person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously provide all you need. Then, you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others." You can take it before the Lord and see where the Lord leads you!

Points to Ponder:

• Has it been hard for you to give to the church? Why or why not?
• How long have you lived with fear surrounding money? How might the Kingdom principle of sowing and reaping release you from that fear?