Using Cash as Kindling ...

Building a fire has always been a bit of an art.  Before the invention of accelerants like gasoline (highly dangerous), and even when you have matches to get it started; you still need to use something to allow the fire to catch.  Small sticks, or dried out shrubbery, or paper – the stuff commonly referred to as kindling.  The idea is that once enough of the kindling catches fire, it will begin to catch the bigger stuff on fire, and so on, until it is burning the big logs in your fire place.  The goal is not to make a “huge” fire, but a controlled fire.  You want something that will safely burn for hours without too much tending to.  And most of the time, if you do it right, you only need the use of matches, and kindling, once; at the beginning of the fire when you are just trying to get it started – not constantly while you are trying to keep it going.

For those that prefer paper as their kindling, magazines, or old news papers work just fine.  But could you ever imagine using cash money instead?  Besides being illegal to destroy US currency (through any means), it would represent the epitome of waste, to literally burn money, for no other reason than to attempt to get a fire going.  A billionaire may not feel the loss as much, but it is a loss none-the-less.  And for most of us, who are far from being billionaires, we would feel the loss quite keenly.  Ask the person you just happen to be close to any moment in time if they have “enough” money, and the answer is nearly always a resounding “no”.  No matter how much money we have, we could always benefit from more.  If we had more, we could give more to the church (a common refrain).  If we had more, we could get out of the debt we are in (though there is even less evidence to support this; the same financial decisions that got us in debt, are the same ones we make when presented with more opportunity to do so).  And for the slightly more honest among us, more money would allow us to get that “thing” we reason we cannot do without.  Few people would refuse more money.  And only a crazy person would burn it, for the sake of starting a fire.

But there are more gifts we are given, some of them directly from God, that we treat like burning cash in response.  It is easy to say our health falls into this category.  We are given health, then we eat things that over time will ruin it.  We take drugs (prescribed or not) that over time do us harm we cannot predict.  We have to breathe the air we have, and drink the water we have; but our choices to protect these resources are less than our greed very often, so our environment becomes toxic, while our wallets get a little fatter.  We are slow to exercise, and quick to sit around.  And then to top it all off, we still do the crazy things from time-to-time that risk our life and limb.  No, I am not talking about rollercoasters, or theme park rides that make you think you are near death.  I am talking more about the stupid decisions one makes when driving their cars, because they “have” to turn left or right, even though they are three lanes away from their destination.  Going another block or two just seems intolerable.  So the crazy driver decides to make that turn, or run that light, or speed up to 20 mph past the speed limit, for whatever reason, and they in turn risk their own lives, as well as yours and mine.  Though most of us are guilty of this at some point or another in our own driving histories.  Causing angels to work overtime.

There is something else our God has given us besides our health.  A gift beyond salvation, and even our health, and ironically just as precious.  He has given us His church.  To be a part of His body, is meant to be a gift to be treasured.  To serve that church, to uphold that body, is akin to a sacred trust.  Yes it is serving others, but what that services does to you, when you love, like He loves, is life transforming.  It brings you a joy, that words are hardly adequate to enumerate.  To be blessed enough, to be able to participate in the redemption of another, has eternal consequences.  Imagine being the little light (where Jesus shines His love through your demonstration), enough to spark an interest in one who knows not the love of Jesus, but because of what they see in you, determine themselves to know more.  Pointing a person to the transforming powerful love of Jesus that changes lives, is the highest pinnacle of service you can perform.  When that person walks the golden streets of our Lord’s city called Heaven with you, they may realize their journey all started because you were able to demonstrate real love, in the face of their real rebellion of it.  And for an infinite number of years, you will both be able to glorify God, for He led you both because you let love flow through you.

That is worth more than cash.  That is the most precious treasure our God has to offer, the lives of you, and those you love, even of those you dislike and the ones that hate you completely.  It is human treasure our God measures, counts, and gave His life for.  It is human treasure that matters most in His kingdom.  His church then, is the place where the human treasure is cultivated.  His church is the organization where the body chooses to cling together, to uphold each other, to share love where it is easiest.  His church is meant to be the place where those with little knowledge can be brought to learn more.  We are to experience more of His love within His church.  Turning that institution, into a weigh station on the highway to hell, is more than burning cash, it is burning lives; God’s treasures.  And it only takes the lack of love to see it done.  When gossip is juicier than consolation, when back-biting more natural than tolerance, and accusation a normal part of combating sin – we make His house a place of burning treasures instead of polishing them.

This is not new to us.  It is one of the devil’s oldest tricks.  But he has not let up on it, since the days of the first church, until the days of our own.  Tempting us, with feelings of righteousness, that we are “better” than our brothers, or even our leaders, and therefore entitled to call a spade a spade, sin by its right name, and take over as judge, instead of allowing God to keep His role.  In our arrogance we take over the mantle of Pharisee and increase the destruction tenfold; for we have both the Old and New Testaments and still we misuse what scripture we have to judge and destroy the treasures of God, instead of loving them out of their current conditions (without judgment ever falling from our lips or eyes).  And in our destructive course, we burn the cash of heaven itself, and position ourselves for an even greater burning realization – instead of a little light of Jesus shining through us – we have become the stumbling block that keeps people from seeing the love of God.  We claim the name, and have no concept of who He is, or what love means.  And this did not start with us, but could it finally end here?

Jesus longs for us still.  He told the first story to us and our Pharisee forefathers in our previous study.  But in case one story was not enough, He will offer another.  In case we could not discern His clear truth to the leadership of His church (and any of us who know Him, and wish to work in His vineyard, are leaders by default), He will tell another of redemption and possibility.  So Matthew in his gospel in chapter twenty-one picks up again with the words of Jesus Himself in verse 33 saying … “Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:”  Here Jesus tells us in story form, in parable that is, of how we are where we are.  It is God (the householder) who plants the vineyard (His church) and puts up a protective hedge of love around it so nothing from the world can get in.  He puts a winepress in it, so what grows inside the church, can continue to grow and serve an even greater purpose.  And finally, He puts a watch tower in it, so we can see beyond our walls, and provide a beacon of example for those looking who may have lost their way.  This is how His church begins.  The vineyard (or church) is then let-out, or entrusted with, a husbandman, or set of church leaders.  Then our God focuses His attention far away, perhaps looking to build other such vineyards across the world, like ours.

He continues in verse 34 saying … “And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. [verse 35] And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.”  Here is where we go so horribly wrong.  It is time for the harvest.  The grapes can be pressed into wine, growing in their usefulness, their experience, and perhaps ready to travel to where the owner of this vineyard is now.  So servants of our God are sent back to His vineyard (His church), to gather up the fruit (us, the ones ready from the harvest), to be sent back to our God.  But the husbandmen (or group of church leaders) do not readily receive the servants of our God.  Instead they beat one of them, kill another, and stone another.  This is what happens when power, does not like the truth told to it.  The husbandmen is more interested in keeping absolute control over what happens in the vineyard, than to part with any of the fruit that should have been made ready within it.  Control does not breed growth, it inhibits it.

So to keep control, the servants of God who bring news of the harvest, and of the work beyond the walls we erect, are beaten for their truth.  Killed when they will not shut up.  And finally stoned or killed as heretics to the faith.  The husbandmen proclaim to what they believe is “their” church, that “outside” influences must be kept out of the church to keep it pure.  In so doing they reject the servants of God, and the truth those servants are sent to proclaim, to the church which God established.  This was the history of the Israelites to the prophets sent by God to the Kings and church of older days.  And it is the history of the Catholic church to the reformers sent by God to the leadership of that church.  And it is the present-day message of current church leaders to their flocks to avoid the lies of “other” denominations even today.  Death, and hate, espoused to heretics, even till today.  That response so categorically different than love which would rather die in the effort to redeem and reconcile.

Jesus continues in verse 36 saying … “Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.”  This was not just a single occurrence that happens only once in the life of God’s church.  It happens over and over again.  Because the mission of our God is to redeem, even the misguided, or wicked church leaders that have arisen in His body; He longs to restore them still.  But the response continues to be the same; a message of hate and death to those outside of the click, to those beyond the walls.  Control over what is inside must be maintained by those who believe they have it.  And messages beyond the borders of what we believe must be kept outside so they never permeate the thinking of the members within.  And history repeats itself, again, and again, until blood is more our record, than love could ever be.

Jesus continues in verse 37 saying … “But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. [verse 38] But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. [verse 39] And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.”  This is of course a direct reference to Jesus Christ Himself.  God sent His only Son to us.  And we cast Him out of our church, and slew Him, thinking to take all that was His.  And before you cast the blame of this backwards to those Pharisees who accomplished these feats, take a hard look in the mirror of our modern Christian churches today, who would rather legislate their own ideas of morality than to love like He loves.  Still we seek our power, only now we cloak it in political aspirations, and disguise the message as having the church under attack.  In our defensive postures we take up arms.  We “fight” back, not in submissive messages of Christ like love, but in messages of strength bathed in political affirmation, just like our Pharisee forefathers, and our Catholic forefathers after them.  We seek to unite church with state to take on the power of the state, when power is not what we need, or should want. 

It is only His love than can transform our hearts, but that message is beyond the walls of separation we have erected.  We praise doctrine over tolerance (sound familiar), and we tread the same roads the Pharisees paved, and the Catholics walked for nearly 1200 years.  And somehow we think the current course is different?  It is not.  The true Church of Jesus understands that His church belongs only to Him, not to us.  It is for Him to defend.  It is for Him to judge or not judge.  Our work is one thing alone, to love each other as He loves.  In that we would be known as His.  Not in the vastness of our structures, or collections of our art.  Not in our gospels of wealth and ease, but in our gospels of absolute love, even for those who are still trapped in their sins with no desire to get out.  It is in our embrace of sinners, our love of sinners, that may ever cause in them the notion of escaping their sins.  We need not join them in their behaviors to reach them.  But in loving them, while living in the way Jesus teaches us to live, that His love might one day reach them.  Pursuing a course of political power, so that we might instead legislate what we think He wants, is not a pathway to redemption, it is a cement highway of rebellion away from Christ.  It slays Him once again, this time in reputation, name, and purpose, thinking to take what is His.

Jesus continues in verse 40 saying … “When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? [verse 41] They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.”  Jesus asks what is to be done with His church leadership.  And while Jesus would still redeem us.  We in our human response, in our response that has no thought of redemption, turn our hate upon ourselves, answering we should be destroyed, slain, killed.  And the vineyard handed over to other more worthy husbandmen who would be obedient to their Lord.  The Pharisees are quick to answer this, taking no thought they condemn themselves.  We are no less judgmental even today.  But death is not the way of redemption, it is the result of refusing it, time after time after time.  The mission of Jesus was not to come and kill us all for what we deserved, but instead to redeem us all from what we deserved, and transform us from the slavery-of-self, to the freedom-of-serving-others.

Jesus then recites scripture to these leaders to bring home His point saying in verse 42 … “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?  [verse 43] Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. [verse 44] And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”  The church must be taken away from the Pharisees.  The leadership must be taken away from those who prefer power and control over absolute love.  It was taken from the Catholics and spread throughout Protestantism.  And it will be taken from us once again, if we cannot let go of our desires of power in any form, and instead seek love above all.  The cycle of repetition can end here in the last times, if we but heed the call of His redemption.  We must fall upon this rock, and be broken by it.  It is Ok to be broken.  It is OK to become someone else, to let His salvation remake us from who we are today, into who He intends us to be.  We will not be the same.  And this is OK,  It is more than OK, it is what it is needed

But to reject that process, to cling to pride, to the notions that we are already “good” enough.  Will find the weight of perfection grinding us into power.  There can be no true obedience outside of “being” in harmony with the laws and character of God.  That harmony is not self-made.  It is created only by the power of the Creator.  We cannot and will not achieve it, yet it can be achieved by Jesus within you, re-creating how you think, how you love, and what you decide.  The response of willingness to allow it, is perhaps humiliating, but also perfect in its wisdom and love.  The response to reject it leads to the only place it can inevitably wind up leading.  To death.  The desired death of the Creator, and the actual death of ourselves.  The final escape, and the solution least desired by our God.

Matthew concludes this story by recording the responses picking up in verse 45 saying … “And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. [verse 46] But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.”  The church leaders sought to kill Jesus in response to His Truth.  Are you certain we are not doing the same?  Ask yourself how passionate you are to see Christian politicians in power and Christian judges on the Supreme Court.  To what end?  To have living witnesses of the love of Jesus by example to all the nation and the world.  Or to have legal protections enacted that further the Christian ideals, and protect His church, making your particular ideas of morality become the law of the land; instead of the law of our hearts.  When transformation is our goal, we will be broken, but we will be remade.  When we believe we need the power of the state to protect us, we have already lost the battle.  For the power of the state has never been able to change the hearts of men, or improve their motivations of anything other than fear.

But the efforts of Jesus to redeem us in story were not over yet …

God and Money ...

Organized religion is good at one thing – taking your donations. It does not matter which denomination, which belief system, or even which god is being advertised; open yourself a 501-C3 non-profit and you are off and running. Televangelists seem to be known first and foremost for the lavish presentations and pension for offering collection before any other characteristics. One such minister actually claimed God would kill him if he failed to raise one million dollars for his church. He lived. Since Christ has returned to heaven, why would He ask us to give our money to “His” work, could He not provide the funds Himself? Why does God seem to want our money, or does He?

The Bible states … “the cattle on a thousand hills are Mine” - loosely interpreted this passage shows that God considers Himself the rightful creator and owner of this world’s natural resources, beauty, and wealth. So why would He institute systemic giving of our wealth to His ministries or causes? The practice of tithing is first recorded by Abraham who gave ten percent of his increase to a priest of the Lord named Melchizedek. The minor prophet Malachi seems to reaffirm the practice much later in his days not long before the Messiah arrived. When Christ did arrive, it was common practice for the Pharisees and Sadducees to give even more than ten percent of their income towards tithing. They saw this as a business investment counting on God to return their monies with interest accrued, and they were not generally disappointed – despite their motives.

One could argue that since the tribe of Levi was faithful to God during the Mount Sinai incident, He sanctified this tribe as His priesthood. They would get no inheritance in the land of promise, but instead would receive 10 percent of the increase of all the other eleven tribes as their income. 110% if the math holds. But Levitical rights ceased at Calvary, and since then members of the Church have been the messengers of the gospel. Christ never really setup an organized church leadership, as He reserved this role for Himself. Christ said … “I am the shepherd, and you are my sheep.” Despite Catholic claims to the contrary Christ never set any one apostle above another, nor did the early Christian churches act as if He had. Differences and disputes were resolved in councils, sometimes agreeing to disagree. Religious hierarchies then are a creation of man, developed to organize great numbers of believers and increase the efficiency of our missions, but creations of man none the less.

When Israel left Egypt, they took with them the wealth of Egypt as payment for their slavery. Jewelry, golden statues, and other precious stones went with them into the desert and were maintained by the families there. When God gave directions to Moses on how to build a temporary sanctuary, Moses went to the people to ask for donations. The response was overwhelming. People brought so much gold, linen, and stones, that Moses had to ask the people to stop. When was the last time you saw a congregation give this much? And when was the last time you heard any preacher as you to stop giving, that it is more than enough - two things almost never seen in the modern Christian era. One might argue that this was easy for the Israelites to give up, since the items did not really belong to them anyway. They were ill-gotten profits for back pay. But this would not diminish the willingness of the Israelites who went most of their lives in poverty, to shed the little gold they had in service for the sanctuary of God.

And many generations later, David set about to do the same thing. His plans were more ambitious, and would require more of the people’s wealth. And true to form, the Israelites came through again. So much so, that David, like Moses, had to ask the people to cease giving. It was more than enough. Solomon who actually oversaw the construction of the Temple of God did such excellent work that this building became famous around the world. The Queen of Sheba came to visit it. The King Nebuchadnezzar came to raid it a bit, and then came back to destroy it after yet another unsanctioned rebellion by the Jews. But my question remains, why was Israel so willing to part with the golden wealth they had come by in service to God?

At the birth of Christ, Kings gave valuable treasure to His parents. It was this treasure that allowed Joseph and Mary to flee and live in Egypt while Herod sought to kill Jesus. Kings thought it a good idea to bring the best of what they had to offer, to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Later the early Christian church was organized around a communal philosophy that everyone gave everything into a central pot for distribution to those who had need. This was 100% giving of everything, not the 10% tithing we are familiar with today. And early Christians, like the Israelites who preceded them, willingly gave all they had.

Perhaps the secret to the willingness to part with this world’s wealth is found in proximity to Jesus. The closer one grows to Christ, the less gold holds any value at all other than what it can accomplish as a gift. It would appear the opposite is also true, those who are reluctant to give of themselves, tend to be far less Christ oriented than those who do. But perhaps the greatest secret of all was the one God knew, the real treasure of this world is not in its resources but in its people. His children are His greatest treasure, He values them above all else. Not just above all else in this world, but above all else in the entire Universe. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son ...” Immortal words of promise that define the meaning of love to the Universe. God gave it all. More than enough. Everything of greatest value was given to save His erring, obstinate children. There could have been no higher price to pay for our redemption than the one God our Father gave on our behalf. Gold He uses as cement, but your life was worth the torture and death of His only son to redeem you from evil.

So if people are what God values, then why does He continue to ask for our money, which He is not so crazy about? It has to do with building faith and trust. It makes no sense to give money to God, it is not logical, it is financially irresponsible, it probably does not even get used in the way He would really want it to. There are many reasons NOT to give. There is only one TO give; because He asked us to. Despite the lack of logic, despite the unwise usage of our precious funds, despite the suffering our families put at risk in order to give – we are asked to do just that – give Him back 10% of our increase, and then free will offerings over and above that. No emissary from God has yet emerged with a message saying we have given enough. We have simply not been released from this request. So why you ask?

The first reason is that every time you give, God gives back to you so that your needs are met. You do not go hungry. You do not go without housing, clothing, and the things you need. You may believe that giving God His due will cause you to lose all these things, but His blessings prevent it from happening. Over time as you are continually tested with the facts of financial discipline, and then confronted with the miracles of God’s methods – you build faith. You begin to see that God is faithful to every promise He makes us. He does indeed take care of us. He is indeed, the one responsible for if we eat or not. We begin to learn that He is in control, despite what logic may say and despite what accountants may recommend. God cares for us, His children. Now He does not do this BECAUSE we give. But we are able to see it demonstrated BECAUSE we give. We appreciate a bit more the fact we are eating when we know that we should not be, because we should be out of money by now. We appreciate a bit more knowing that God intervenes with us, because we put it to the financial test of His intervention. Demonstration makes faith a reality, not just a concept.

The second reason we are asked to give, is the change that occurs within us when we do. We begin to share God’s secret that the only real wealth in this world, are its people. Giving a dollar to a homeless man despite how he may use it, teaches you charity without judgment. Before long, you begin to realize the pain of the homeless man more acutely and begin to want to do more for him. That is the awakening of Christ within you. It is not natural to sacrifice your own wants, needs, and security to meet the needs of others; especially when they do not seem “deserving” of your help. Yet this is precisely what our Savior does for each of us, and we are ALL undeserving. Giving to meet needs can become an all-consuming passion, and at the same time be the most rewarding fulfilling experience of your life. This change can ONLY occur when you actually follow through and participate in systemic giving.

All the rationalizations, all the excuses, all the valid reasons in the world NOT to give, do nothing but perpetuate your own selfishness. Giving breaks the hold. Giving resets the attitude. Giving is the beginning of a new consciousness the world will not understand. Sometimes, our self-motivation and instincts for self-preservation are so highly developed we are not now willing to give. If this is our lot, we must take our stubbornness to Calvary and ask God to melt our hearts so that we can give. He will answer this prayer. Sometimes our instincts are only to give as a business investment, sure in the knowledge that we cannot out give God. If this is our lot, we must take our greed to Calvary, and let Christ replace our thirst for gain, with a thirst for serving others. Christ is able to give us the proper mindset to see the wisdom of giving. Are we then willing to ask for it?

Remember the next time you write out a tithe check, or give a poor person something of yourself – it is the changes in you that are the first priority of God in what you do. Your benevolence then goes to a place where it is needed, and God watches over how your money is spent and used. This is of less concern to us, as we are not asked to watch how the money is spent, just to give freely. It is in this giving that we become a new person. It is in this giving that the world becomes changed as well. Giving is intended to free us from the bonds of our selfishness. It is the only reason why God still asks us to give him of our money. Giving; is His gift to change us for the better.

What Else is Important ...

When a baby is born to new parent the first question that usually comes to mind is … now what? For nine months the eager couple has waited in anticipation, undergoing changes in their bodies and minds. They have dealt with strange food cravings, disciplined breathing exercises, weight gain, and uncertainty about how a wife’s body morph’s over time to accommodate the new family member. But now, it is finally born. The baby has entered the world; so again, now what?

Christians who are born again go through a very similar process. We are introduced to the gospel of Christ, the idea that an all-powerful omniscient creator God has an interest in freeing us from the pain of evil we have been slaves to. He dies in our place, and is resurrected to conquer our death. His life of perfection is traded for our life of failure. And we are given the reward He is entitled to while He takes on our punishment. We marvel at this picture definition of love showered on us as individuals. We are drawn to the foot of the cross and in humility accept His strength for our weakness, and in so doing, find all things truly are possible because of God. It is liberating. It is exhilarating. It is freedom. And like the new born baby who enters the world … now what?

Are there other truths that are important in our lives past the submission of our will to Christ? Do these teachings or truths lead us to a better understanding of the character of our God? Do they affect our salvation, or influence it in some way or another? Or have we learned all that is truly important, and none of the rest of it really matters? Yes ,,, and no. We have indeed learned all the is TRULY important in that the process of saving us from evil and redeeming us to our loving Father God is by far the most important thing we need to know. Through our submission to Christ, He leads us to His truth, in His time, in His way – so no, we are not done learning yet, there is more for us to know, just nothing more important than the basis of what we learn in “how” to be saved. For if we do not submit our will to Christ first; He is unable to lead us. When we lead, we do a lousy job, so it is most important to submit first in order that we can be taught.

So what are some of the truths that Christ will lead you to His time and in His way? There is no one right answer. There are many. And some will be more important to you for your personal growth in your relationship with Christ than would matter to me in mine. Salvation is highly individualized. For instance, there are some who desperately need to learn the lesson of tithing. This practice God setup from as far back as man can remember. The patriarch Abraham gave ten percent of his increase to a priest of the Lord whose name was Melchizedek. Keep in mind that the children of Israel did not exist when this took place, so Melchizedek was not an Israelite let alone a Levite. He was likely a Canaanite who still chose to serve the living God in ministry. And Abraham did not record exactly how he was given the instructions for tithing. Malachi was the most prolific writer on the subject and he would not enter the scene for almost 2000 years. Our best guess then, is that God directed the practice from Adam by word of mouth to Noah, and then to the succeeding generations, until Moses formally recorded it on scrolls.

So we know tithing is a very old practice, but this does not address “why” it was setup. Obviously it was NOT just to support the priesthood as a formal Levite tribe dedicated to the service of God in His temple did not exist during the first instance of the gift. While the funds did support priests, God did not set it up to make His servants rich. Nor did He set it up to make His obedient followers poor. You see it just does not make sense to pay tithe from a financial perspective. Often if a person truly gives God ten percent of their earnings (whether before or after tax), on paper they become insolvent. They are budgetarily unable to pay required bills and still pay tithe. One could argue that this is due to Americans over extending themselves in debts they should not acquire, but even the frugal can face hard choices when it comes to paying tithe. God does not need the money, for the scripture says … “the cattle on a thousand hills are mine.” So since He owns everything anyway what is the point of us “suffering” in order to follow His directives?

The answer and the lesson is faith. It takes faith, or trust, to value the directions or word of God more than logic or common sense. It does not make financial sense to pay tithe. But those that do ALWAYS seem to meet their bills and find a way to manage their money. They never quite know how. For it is not a logical practice, yet it does not cause the hardships one would expect to endure over it. Faith over what appear to be facts teaches us that our God is greater than our imaginations, greater than our logic, greater than our reality. For us to give what He asks teaches us to prioritize money properly. Yes we need it to survive, but no it is NOT our god. We freely return to God what is already His and we are liberated in the process. We are set free from the bondage of the pursuit of wealth that can never be achieved. We find rest in His assurances that everything will be OK, it will all work out, even though it does not seem clear right now. When we see the effects of our faithful giving result in a ministry that brings another soul to Christ, another repentant sinner who now stands under the foot of the cross as our new brother in the faith; we can hardly restrain ourselves from wanting to give even more to the cause. We become like Oscar Schindler at the end of the war who now finds no value in his jewelry and wealth, only in how many Jews he might have saved through the sale of them.

You see just a simple practice like tithing can take on deep and profound meaning in our lives if we let Him lead, and examine truth for more than just a mere physical obedience. While all of us need these truths, some of us need them now, more than others do. The naturally charitable who give of themselves all the time still need this truth, but perhaps not as critically as the one who has never spent a dime on anyone but himself. The truth may apply to both, but may be needed by the latter more than the former.

Does tithing then affect our salvation? No. Does it influence it? Perhaps. The truths of tithing are revealed to us to begin the process of changing our character from the self-absorbed to the service obsessed. While we rebel against the idea of changing who we are, we prevent God from freeing us from the pain our selfishness inevitably brings to our lives. While we selfishly cling to the illusion of control of our funds, we remain in bondage to the pursuit of acquiring them. We are never made free from the stress of survival. We worry incessantly over having enough, and never know the freedom of giving what we cannot afford to give. Can God still save the person who cannot bring themselves to pay tithe? Yes. But that person lives a life of pain and forgiveness, rather than one of freedom and joy. The end result may be the same; that God forgives his erring servants their greed, but the journey is RADICALLY different here on earth. Those that embrace the truths of tithing become deeply blessed, and freed from much self-inflicted pain. There is no substitute for this, only choices that lead to freedom or misery along the way.

We are not saved or lost based on our tithe and offerings. We are not condemned by our theft of them from God any more than we are condemned by the remainder of our character deficiencies. We can still claim forgiveness even for the sins we know we commit. But clinging to sin is like clinging to cancer. We poison ourselves with our selfishness instead of freeing ourselves through submission of our will to Christ. Change is not a natural phenomenon, but is a reality when we submit to Christ. Christ can take our heart of stone and break it on His rock, the Cornerstone of our faith. He can shatter our heart of stone into a million pieces, and then make for us a heart of flesh once again. He can restore our ability to feel each other’s burdens and delights. He can help us take care of each other. He can free us from selfishness and liberate us into His service to others. And in so doing, our journey home to heaven becomes one filled with joy instead of sorrow. Our lives become something wonderful as we embrace the kingdom of God in the here and now.

I cannot possibly tell you all the truths that Christ so desperately wants to reveal to you in your life, and in your journey back to Him. I do not know them all. No one could. But I know your process is meant for you, your journey is real, and we will spend all of our lives – not just in this world, but in the world to come – learning at the feet of Jesus that which He would have us to know. Learning is an infinite process that begins now. No matter how far we get, we have miles to go. And no matter where we are, we are richly blessed for being led to this point. For our part then, we must remain open, humble and willing to be led. We must focus on the message not the messenger. We must embrace truth, even the kind that causes us to change our thinking, motives, and behaviors by submitting our will to Christ. And in this everything will matter, and our lives will carry meaning we have not even dreamed of to date.