Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Joyous Giving

 


A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.
- Leviticus 27:30 (NIV)
 
As a child, I saw that my parents believed in tithing. They gave 10% of their income to our church and to those who were needy. I remember my father often telling me, “The more we give away, the more we get back.” At the time his words did not make sense to me. I couldn’t understand how giving away money could result in having more.


But soon after my wife and I began tithing almost 20 years ago, we began to understand what my father had been telling me. The more we gave away, the more we received —
 not just from the standpoint of financial return but more importantly from the joy of knowing we had helped our church and God’s children. Whether our tithe is a small or large sum, the Lord is pleased with our offering. Attitude is just as important as the amount we give. God loves a cheerful giver!
Dear God, thank you for the resources you have given us. We pray that we will invest them in your work and service and that we will do so generously and joyfully. Amen.
Prayer focusThose trying to decide to tithe