God is more important than money
Monday Morning Insight Weblog: The Tithing "Money-Back Guarantee"
I think that God often blesses us in ways that are difficult to recongnize. God may often be leaving my wallet empty so that I don't have the opportunity to spend that money on something that would be appealing to me now, would be pointless from an eternal perspective.
Often some of the richest experiences in life happen when you have nothing, you take the family to the park, you play in the back yard, You bake bread together and spend time with one another. Those times are a blessing.
Tithing is a useful habit because it puts your priorities straight. God is more important than money.
Unfortunately campaigns like this often trivialize the concept. They teach that you should give because you get. While this may be true, it is not the reason you should give. God sees our heart, and a selfish gift is seen for what it is.
The way I see it, it is all God's money anyway. He will Bless me, because he promised to bless me.
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD , "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God's blessings don't always feel like blessings, but they are.
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
I started tithing years ago, and didn't notice an bugetary impact at all. I have always had what I needed, and little more. This was true before and after I started the tithing habit. I see that as a blessing. 90% seems like 100 percent, plus I get to be part of an awesome community of faith that is leading hundreds of people out of despair and into hope.