Personal Challenge: Tithing

I’ve been thinking about the issue tithing lately.  As most of you know, over the last two years, I’ve gone from a working professional with a steady income to an “unemployed” missionary, to an underemployed hourly worker (doing a job, by the way, that I feel like was God’s perfect provision these last 4 months.)

Needless to say, money is tight right now.  I’m not living on my own, and I try to only spend what I need to.  

And yes, a grande iced americano extra ice please is a necessary expense once a week.  :)

Anyway, while trying to cut back in all areas of my spending, I’ve also managed to become a little stingy in my tithing since being home.

Yes, it seems that 10% of your income is such a small amount compared to the 90% you get to keep, but when you actually figure it out on paper, how many times do you think, “Oh, that’s supposed to be my tithe?  But I could do this with that money, or that amount would pay that bill this month.  

And isn’t it easy to go into church on Sunday morning without having considered what you’ve “decided in your heart to give?”  The offering time comes up, and hey, you’ve got a five or a ten in your wallet, so you toss it in.  Ten percent?  Eh, I’m giving something.  

This is NUTS.  Tithing is a Biblical commandment, just as loving your neighbor and abiding in Christ are Biblical commandments.  Why do we cling so tightly to the money we have?  IT WAS NEVER OURS TO BEGIN WITH!!  God gave it to us, just like He gave us the job by which we earn the money, so it is really so ludicrous that He asks us to trust Him by giving a measly 10% back to furthering the local church and the Great Commission?  

Tithing is worship.  Tithing is trusting.  And it is necessary.  

God doesn’t need our money, just as he doesn’t need our prayers.  But He asks for them.  God continually pursues us for our love and devotion so that He can bless us more richly through an intimate relationship.

So I’m challenging myself.  

To GIVE.  

I sometimes wonder if I’ll have enough to make it to the next paycheck.    But I am going to TRUST that God is going to do mighty works of provision by TRUSTING Him with my first fruits.  For the next 4 months, I am going to faithfully give ten percent of my income to the Lord.  And I’m going to give it FIRST, meaning that, as much as is in my control, I will give my tithe BEFORE spending any of the rest of the income.  Thanks to online giving at my church, this is easier than ever before.  No more waiting until Sunday.  No more remembering to pull out the old checkbook and write the check while rushing out the door.  The FIRST "payment" I make will be my tithe.  

Four months. 

I’m ready to see the hand of God provide in miraculous ways in the next four months.  Let’s do this thing! 

Not my words: 

The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your life. Tithing is a reminder that God is the supplier of everything we have. It is also God's personal invitation to an outpouring of his blessing in your life. In Malachi 3:10 (NLT), God says this: "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." This is the only place in Scripture where God tells us to put him to the test. In other words, he's saying, "Go ahead. I dare you. See if you can out-give me."  (http://www.wearecitychurch.com/give) 

The Ability to Move Ahead

Where did the time go?  Have a I really been home from the World Race for six months?  Was I really in Africa this time last year?  

While eating dinner the other night at a restaurant, it hit me how I don’t think twice about ordering off a menu I can read from a waitress I can understand.  

Each month of the Race was like Readjustment 101.  We could shake off jetlag, adopt a new currency conversion, and learn “hello,” “goodbye,” and “thank you” in a new language every 30 days or so.  How quickly we adapted.  And how quickly life at home can return to normal.  

Oh, if only it was normal.  Now I face a new challenge.  Now I have to decide what to do with this person who came home changed.  

I think God is in the business of moving people forward.  I think the reason He takes us to the mountaintops is so we can glimpse the next peak we are to climb.  We’re tired and sweaty and just want to be on level ground again, but He says, “Look over there.  That’s where we’re going next.”  

I’ve struggled with anxiety for most of my life, and I’ve had overwhelming senses of fear and dread lately at the thought of what might be next.  There are days I live with extreme passion, and there are days where I am paralyzed with the thought of not fitting into the mold.  I believe the latter happens when I am weak, and my heart is just a little too accessible to the Evil One’s lies.

Fortunately, God in not in the business of calling us to security.  For where there is security, there is no faith.  And that’s the last mountain I want to be on.  

So I climb! 

I totally wrote this blog WITHOUT rock climbing in mind.  It just so happened that I had my first rock climbing experience this past weekend! 

Here are some fun facts about me and rock climbing.

Why I did NOT want to go rock climbing:

1)  I'm afraid of heights.

2)  Unlike some people, I don't really desire to climb tall rocks. 

3)  I don't trust my life to a rope.

4) I don't always have the best coordination.  This has led me away from most sports and athletic activities in life.   Which is why I run.  Straight ahead; no contact with others. It works for me. 

Why I WENT rock climbing:

1)  I need to step out of my comfort zone on a regular basis. 

2)  I need to conquer irrational fears.  If I can bite something off a fried snake in Cambodia and slit a chicken's throat in Mozambique, climbing a mountain should be nothing. 

3)  I wanted to get out and meet people. 

Anyway, I had fun.  And I'm proud that I did it.  Hmm, what's next. . . I'm thinking it either involves a kayak or some bagpipes. . .