Mark 12:41-44 (NKJV) 41 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. 42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. 43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”
Over the years, I have realized that many Christians have it all wrong when it comes to their giving.
What do I mean by that?
I mean that many Christians who give regularly do so only “when they can afford it” but quickly stop when money gets scarce.
They give what they feel to be a “reasonable” amount until things get financially tight. Then, when things get a little tough, they forfeit their giving. They quit.
Rarely do people like this tithe. They feel that giving 10% of their income is too much to ask. And they may even say that tithing was an Old Testament thing related to The Law.
This line of thinking goes something like this; Money has gotten tight, so I can no longer afford to give to God.
And how do I know this?
Because I used to be one of those Christians. I would give each week, usually far less than what would be considered a tithe. And then if things got tough, I would stop giving. I would quit.
But if we look at the example above, with Jesus observing the people as they “put money into the treasury”, He never suggested that the poor widow should not tithe or give according to her income.
On the contrary, He noted that she gave more than the rest despite her poverty.
This flies in the face of thinking that we should give what we can afford, and then we stop giving if things get tough.
Many years ago, during one of the toughest times we faced financially, God spoke very clearly to us and told us that we needed to tithe, trusting Him with our finances and our situation at that time.
We had no idea how that would work out, since we were already not able to keep up with our bills.
But we obeyed. We trusted God and took Him at His word, and we began sowing 10% of our income each week, even though I was unemployed, and we were living on very little income.
We didn’t look at it as us making a sacrifice. We looked at it specifically as us obeying God.
You see, it was all His money anyway. We were just stewards who had been entrusted with managing what He had provided.
And as we stepped out in obedience, He began to show us how trustworthy He is.
No, hordes of money did not suddenly come rolling in. And no, our situation did not instantly go from bad to excellent.
But as we continued to trust Him and obey Him, He slowly worked things out.
Some bills that we owed were mysteriously marked as “paid in full” with no explanation as to how or why.
Putting Him first in our finances taught us how to be diligent and faithful with what He had provided for us.
And, over time, He pulled us out of the hole we had gotten into.
That was roughly 30 years ago. And we have never looked back.
No matter what has hit us, we have never stopped obeying God. He still comes first. We still obey Him.
And He continues to prove that He is faithful. He is still the same yesterday, today, and forever.
There is none like Him.
And we can attest to the fact that tithing is never about whether we can afford it or not.
It is about whether we trust God or not.
Put him first. Obey Him. You will never regret it.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443
401-439-3780
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