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Whew! It has been quite a whirlwind of blog posts about money, giving, and tithing, hasn't it, dear friend?!
If you missed it, here's a quick recap:
- We talked about the surprising interconnection between our hearts and money here.
- We talked about how giving becomes easier when we understand that God owns it all here.
- We talked about tithing--what it is, and why God encourages us to test Him with it here.
- We talked about how to stop robbing God and step out in faith with our money here.
- We talked about taking the next step in the lifelong journey of giving here.
I'd venture to guess that during this blog series on giving, you might have felt uncomfortable with the subject matter.
In fact, you might have even felt lectured to.
If you've hung in this long, you might even have even wondered, why do you care about this so much, Risa?
That's a great question!
I am not your pastor, pleading with you to give money towards the church's capital campaign.
I am probably not your fellow churchgoer, who might directly benefit from your giving more to our church's programming and expanding our office staff.
As we have discussed before, giving and tithing is God's idea. It's aim is not to line the pockets of the church and make our stay here on Earth more comfortable.
Instead, God teaches us to give for many other reasons.
God's money can be used to further His kingdom here on Earth, as it allows the gospel to advance across the globe. God can also use our generosity to save our souls from the evils of the love of money (see 1 Timothy 6:10).
Dear friend, please understand: my aim in encouraging you to tithe and be generous with your money is because I do NOT want you to forfeit a grace that could be yours through giving.
Jonah talked about this truth from the belly of a whale:
"Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs." Jonah 2:8
Some translations offer the word "mercy" instead of "grace." Either way you translate the Hebrew into English, God's word is crystal-clear. If you cling to any idol (and it doesn't have to be money!) you forfeit the grace and mercy that could be yours.
Tell me friend, is it worth it?
Is hanging on to God's money worth forfeiting untold riches of His mercy and grace, joy, and peace in your life?
THAT is why I care to tell you the truth about this subject, dear friend!
I am NOT a sage on a stage, but a guide on the side, encouraging you as I, too, step out in faith alongside you! God has taught me and my family about the blessing of tithing, and continues to stretch my faith to give more sacrificially and joyfully. And we must always remember that giving isn't limited to our money! It involves our money, time, and talent--ALL the things God has blessed us with, even our weaknesses.
I know you--and I--NEED to hear this message. Never before have I bawled my eyes out after posting on this blog, and with hands lifted high, asked God to tear down strongholds. Never before have I felt pushback from friends and relatives alike, and never before have I been so encouraged to keep on writing from others. This subject is a raging battlefield, and it is a war involving our hearts, not merely our bank accounts!
Pastor and author David Platt goes so far as to say that money is the modern-day church's blind spot, and he draws the parallel to slavery in our country, which was overlooked by the American church for far too many centuries
"We look back on slave-owning churchgoers of 150 years ago and ask, 'How could they have treated their fellow human beings that way?' I wonder if followers of Christ 150 years from now will look back at Christians in American today and ask, 'How could they live in such big houses? How could they drive such nice cars and wear such nice clothes? How could they live in such affluence while thousands of children were dying because they didn't have food and water? How could they go on with their lives as though the billions of poor didn't even exist?'" --David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream
Don't waste another day forfeiting the grace that could be yours if you walked in the obedience of giving, dear friend!
May you and yours be richly blessed by the giver of all good things as you step out in faith and obey Him today!
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