As Christians we sing songs and give testimony to the supposed fact that our life is not our own. We declare that all we have is the Lord’s and He owns it all. It sounds good when we sing and it certainly is impressive when we give testimony.
But do we actually know our heart? The Lord undoubtedly knows it, but the question is, do we know? And how can we be certain that we know our heart accurately?
I find statistics fascinating. The following are a sampling of the most updated metrics we have concerning giving and tithing within the Christian community:
- Tithers (those who give 10% of their income) make up somewhere between 10% and 23% of most normal congregations. Smaller churches tend to outpace larger churches in percentage.
- 80% of American Christians are giving on average 2.5% of their income. During the Great Depression it was 3.3%.
- When surveyed 17% of Americans report they tithe, when in fact 5% is a more accurate researched metric.
- The average weekly giving per person in America based on local church attendance is $29.63.
- 10% of Christians contribute 70% of all Christian giving.
(Just a parenthetical observation. Apparently the “anti-tithe” position which states that we are freed from the principle of tithing by grace does not necessarily demonstrate a greater generosity either. More on that later.)
So, the question remains…
How can a person really know their heart?
I would suggest through the practice of the tithe.
The famous tithing verses beginning with Malachi 3:8, starts by the Lord Himself announcing that He has been robbed. The rhetorical response is, “In what way have we robbed You?” The Lord answers, “In tithes and offerings”. This seems incredibly simplistic, but to “rob” someone means that you took something from them which was theirs and not yours. This leads us to principle 2:
We RETURN the tithe, not give the tithe.
Giving implies it was mine to let go. Returning means I am bringing back that which was someone else’s.
Tithing became less consternating in my life when I realized it wasn’t mine to begin with. Imagine if you will, a friend giving you an automobile to watch over for a short time while they were away on a trip. Upon arrival back, they said, “Hey, I appreciate you watching my car while I was away, but I need it back.” How incredulous would it be for you to say, “The car is mine and I am not giving it to you.” The owner might respond, “I understand you had it in your garage for a short time, but it’s now time for you to return it.”
You respond, “No, I don’t think so. You gave me the car and I have some important plans for it, so I think I’m just going to hold on to it.”
The owner responds, “But it was always mine and just because it came through your garage for a short time doesn’t mean it is actually yours. I am asking that you return it.”
“Well”, you respond, “I’ll pray about it and see if I should give it to you.”
“GIVE it to me”, the owner replies, “You should RETURN it to me”.
You reply, “Well, it must be mine because it’s in my garage”.
Finally the owner responds after an incredible time period of bantering, “You have robbed me”.
And with your last counter you say to yourself, “How legalistic and graceless to expect me to release to you what is obviously in my garage.”
Maybe not the perfect illustration, but I think the point is made (at least it was with me). The tithe is the Lord’s. It is a simple act of obedience which clearly demonstrates the reality of one’s heart. The Lord blesses a person with life, breath, resources, income, finances, family, friends, and the list goes on. We say, “Lord it is all YOURS.” We sing the songs of total consecration and how the Lord rules over every aspect of our life. And how do we know if that is true? The return of the tithe is one of the indicators. It is HIS. We are literally putting HIS money where our mouth is.
The story of the Rich Young Ruler has always been a fascinating account for me. The story is familiar as a wealthy, young man who desires to follow Jesus asks what is necessary for him to do. Jesus asks if he has kept the commandments, which the young man replies affirmatively. Then Jesus challenges him to sell all he has and give it to the poor. It is at this point the young man walks away because he was very wealthy. I’m sure many points can be extracted from this story. But for me, there are two blinding points:
- The young man was not being asked to do anything the other disciples had not already done. (Remember, some of those disciples left businesses, careers, and family to follow Jesus and in so doing demonstrated their hearts.)
- The young man was unwilling to trust Jesus’ command and rely solely upon Him. (In fact, I have always wondered what amazing thing the Lord might have done had for that young man if he had just trusted the Lord.)
You see, the “wealth” the young man was clinging to wasn’t really his anyway. His mouth may have said, “I will follow You (Jesus) anywhere and do whatever You say”. But his heart couldn’t follow through with the action.
When it came to tithing, the Lord wasn’t asking me to sell everything I had and drain every bank account to zero. He was simply asking me to return what was His and keep my heart before my eyes. To not play verbal games with true spirituality. To not say one thing, but actually be another.
Tithing for me…
Keeps it real.
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