Jennifer and I are grateful that our parents taught us the responsibility of tithing. The tithe is not a gift we bring to God, it is a requirement. Our parents taught us that giving was over and above our tithe. My parents have been faithful to tithe to the local church even when there was no food in the house. They were faithful tithers even when they did not have enough money to put gas in the car.
At our house, we do not view tithing as giving. I don’t give my taxes to the government. I pay them. I give gifts. I love the first definition of “give” over at dictionary.com.
to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation; bestow: to give a birthday present to someone.
Jen and I are also thankful that our parents taught us the joy of giving. I have watched my mom empty all of her “mad money” stash to give to a single mom. I was awed when my dad gave his boat to help rebuild after our church burned to the ground. This wasn’t any boat. It had always been dad’s dream to own his own boat. On the 10th anniversary of our church, The ROCK gave him a 22′ Grady White boat. He named it “Speechless”. But there was a need and dad didn’t hesitate to give back his dream. The joy in dad’s eyes when he saw “Speechless” for the first time was not as great as when he gave it away.
I thought I would go a little “old school” with this post. Recently, as I was thinking about giving, the MP3 player in my head did a flashback to the Ron Kenoly tune, “Give to the Lord“. Check out some of the lyrics.
Give in love, Give in faith
Give the joy and the smile on your face
Give as the Lord has given to you
How you give is a reflection of your gratitudeFrom you heart, give your best
Give unto God and you will be blessed
Don’t be stingy and don’t be tight
Learn from the widow in the Bible
Who gave her last dimePeople rob God when they don’t give tithes and offerings
And they don’t understand why they’ve been cut off
From heavenly blessings but abundant life and prosperity
Begins when you prove your love to God by giving to HimWhen you give, give to the Lord
I wonder how many people sang this song and meant it with everything in them… except their wallet. Mom and Dad, thank you for teaching me to never forget or overlook the tithe and thank you for showing me how much fun it is to be generous.
Giving can be a key that unlocks provision and blessing. Remember in the scriptures the stories of the widow who gave her last bit of food to feed the prophet and the little boy who gave his loaves and fish? These acts of obedient giving unlocked huge resource!