Around this time last year, I took a challenge and made a personal commitment to God in the area of my finances. After a frustrating period of financial drought, I decided to run with God and follow his prescription for biblical abundance. I am referring here to a 3000 year old practice of the ancient Jewish people – tithing. When I first wrote about it last March (you can read it here) I have in mind to do a review a year later, if it’s just to see if this principal really does work in ways that are measurable. So here I am, trying to be as honest and fair as I can be.
A brief recap of the story – By Jan ‘08, my savings account was completely depleted. I had no personal debt, except for my share of our housing loan which was payable through my CPF, so that wasn’t a problem. There was no emergency fund. My cash flow was almost always a negative. I had some form of investments but the amount wasn’t substantial enough to make a big difference. They were invested for long-term returns anyway, so I couldn’t liquidate them. For as long as I can remember, I have lived on my savings and working income alone. I was completely clueless about personal finance, much less investments, and have a certain fear of money and numbers. At that point in time, I had already stopped giving tithes regularly. Yes, there was a time when I did and we got along well and good. Not living in luxury but comfortable enough. Then my husband’s financial woes started coming to light and I started fretting over having to shoulder more of the family’s expenses. I didn’t feel I could still keep up with the tithes. For a period of over a year leading up to Jan ‘08, I gave almost nothing. Occasionally there would be an offering made to the church or to other charitable organizations but they were different from tithes given consistently every month. I simply could not figure out how I could give when my monthly cash flow kept recording a deficit. So I stopped and that was the beginning of my undoing. I was frustrated and angry with myself for not seeing it coming and it certainly wasn’t difficult for me to push most of the blame to my husband. He was the one who was greedy and irresponsible and got himself into debt time and again and kept us in the dark. He was the one who couldn’t hold down a job. He was the one content to sleep his time away for months on end instead of actively looking for alternatives. I had felt completely justified in blaming him for all our troubles.
BUT God did not say to tithe only when your cash flow is healthy. He did not say to tithe only when your investments are making money. Tithe to show that you honor Me. Tithe to show that you trust Me. Tithe to show that you believe I am alive and a rewarder of faith. Tithe because that opens the way to true prosperity. Tithe in spite of your lack because you cannot afford not to. And so I did. It wasn’t an easy choice to make because it was so counterintuitive. I had to silence that rational part of my brain every time I send in my tithes.
Although my problems could hardly be called a crisis compared to the thousands who are in a much worse fate in the current financial famine, it nevertheless scare me enough to force me to reevaluate my priorities and the way I had handled money. I moved from denial to anger and blame, reflection and repentance, acceptance of my own guilt and stupidity in this situation and finally to faith in God that He will see me through if I will just hang on, trust Him and be obedient. During this time God led me to several people and resources that helped get me back on my feet. I was introduced to an independent financial advisor who happened to be a lay pastor. He made an assessment of my financial health and offered some advice. At around this time, I stumbled onto Suze Orman’s show on personal finance while channel surfing one afternoon and began my journey towards financial literacy. Feeling that I needed to learn more at a slower pace, I brought home several of her books and a few others from the local library and began pouring over the pages, learning as much as I could absorb. Compound interest and mutual funds, balance sheet and budgeting and deciphering the many unfamiliar financial jargon was very helpful but the greater wealth came from discovering the Laws of Money (Suze Orman) and the spiritual nature of money (Daniel Lapin). A very unusual book was Rabbi Lapin’s Thou Shall Prosper, where he demonstrates how the unique genius of the Jewish way of life, based on 3000 year old tried and tested wisdom of the ancient Scriptures could directly affect the bottom line in today’s world. They were all excellent materials but would be meaningless if our heart is in the wrong place. This brought me to yet another necessary read – Money, Possessions and Eternity by Randy Alcorn. I am only half way through the book but I could already feel its vital role in bringing everything I have learned about money into perspective. Alas, if my goal is to lay up treasure for myself here, then all is meaningless and chasing after the wind.
I have only started keeping records of my cash flow from Feb last year, so I am unable to make any comparisons with the year/s before. I couldn’t tell you how much of my income and expenses increased or decreased in proportion to the tithes. All I can tell after tabulating the figures from last year’s records is that my savings grew from nothing to 12% of my total income. I had thought I could not tithe without going into debt but God had shown me not only was it possible to give away 10% of my gross wage every month but it was also possible to have 12% surplus to set up an emergency (savings) fund. The sum may still be small but this little victory has greatly increased my confidence in the wisdom and faithfulness of God. May I be so blessed as to have the Lord’s favor and blessing super abound in my life this year and the years to come, so that I may have the privilege to sow even deeper into His kingdom and His purposes in the years to come.
As I shared in my earlier post, everything happened in a very natural way. I didn’t have anyone come knocking at my door and telling me that God wanted them to give me a love offering of a sum of money. I have heard of such stories many times but it wasn’t like that for me (and I suspect for most of us as well). I did not win the state lottery or lucky draws of any kind. Instead, God directed me to people who inspired me to make some changes to my lifestyle; people like Seth Barnes and Eugene Cho who wrote with such conviction and passion about simplicity and our call as believers to resist the pull of materialism so that we may serve God’s purposes more effectively. By allowing me to reach the point of desperation, God woke me up to the realization that continuing in my ignorance (about financial matters) is not only irresponsible, lazy and stupid but also robbed me of my ability to be a better steward of the seeds God puts into my hand. It was a lame excuse considering the times in which we live, where there is no lack of learning materials.
It was no coincidence that as this post was still in draft, pastor preached an excellent sermon on the same subject today, drawing insights from the story of Joseph and the famine of Egypt in the time of Pharaoh. The entire message can be summed up in this – in times of famine, the way out is to sow. The law of seed time and harvest is as certain than the law of physics. Throughout the entire two hour of the service, I felt like God was confirming His word in my heart. There was no feeling of hesitation about it, just a sense of peace and jubilation.
Sow, for we cannot afford not to.
2008 Chart: Tithes, Savings, Expenses
rk
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February 9, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Russell Earl Kelly
I have rebutted Randy Alcorn’s tithing viewpoint very thoroughly.
http://www.tithing-russkelly.com/id57.html
February 10, 2009 at 3:49 pm
rk
Hi Kelly, thanks for dropping by and sharing your views. Alternative views are always welcomed since we are all in a learning journey together. I have not reached that chapter on Alcon’s book on tithing yet but I have an idea of what to expect from what I’ve read in your rebuttal. Clearly I am in no position to rebut, neither do I feel the need. I understand where you’re coming from. I am not overly concerned about arguments for or against tithing. At the end of the day, all I can say is that I have found tithing to be good for my soul; it enlarges my heart and helps remind me that God is the ultimate giver. If more people are blessed, God’s work and purposes are supported, His Kingdom expands, He gets the glory. Why not? As long as people don’t get legalistic about it and start condemning those who give less or couldn’t give, why not? Whether we call it tithing or giving is immaterial. I guess technically, anything less than 10% shouldn’t be called a tithe because a tithe means a tenth. Neither the one who gives a tenth (or the one who gives above that) nor the one who gives less should feel superior or inferior. Free-wil giving suggests that some giving are not voluntary, whatever the amount. That is where the problem lies. Perhaps there are some who think of tithing as something mandatary. That’s not me, neither does my church advocates that, so I can’t speak for them. If one day I should find myself unable to provide adequately for my family I will not hesitate to adjust the amount of my giving. I recommended Alcon’s book because of it’s eternal perspective on money and possession. I just finished a chapter he wrote on God’s ownership and our stewardship and found it very enriching. Even the nonreligious can reap the benefits of giving away a portion of their income as demonstrated in Lapin’s book, Thou Shall Prosper: The ten commandments of making money (I think it was in the second last chapter). If seed time and harvest is a law, it should work irrespective of a person’s spirituality, just like the law of gravity. A believer’s motivation for giving may be different from a nonbeliever but both reap from their sowing. What they reap and where they find their harvest depends on where and what they sow. I know you are not against giving. It’s the idea that a tenth is mandatory, or at least the starting point, that you’re rebuting. I don’t have any disagreement with that. I personally used a tenth as a benchmark to start with and see how it goes from there. So far, we’re doing fine (by my standard, that is). We had to change our lifestyle and forgo certain luxury but nothing too drastic so far.
February 10, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Russell Earl Kelly
The sow and reap principle is “giving” not “tithing.” When you finish Alcorn’s book take a look at mine. It began as my PHD dissertation. There are many theologians who agree with me such as Martin Luther and John MacArthur. I am definitely not against supporting the work of God’s church. I am merely against calling such suppoort “tithing.”
Although money was common in Genesis and essential for sanctuary worship, money was never included in tithing texts covering Leviticus to Luke.
February 13, 2009 at 1:16 pm
rk
i have been thinking about what i wrote in my earlier comment. i feel the need to retract some statements. i find them a little misleading. what i meant to say was that although I do not hold to the belief that giving tithes is mandatory (ie. a direct command from God) for new covenant believers, i do believe that it has great value and significance even for us today. it makes great sense to me that since all we have belong to God, giving back a tenth to show our recognition of our dependence on Him is not only right but it should be the posture we seek to adopt. today we give because it’s a great privilege and we give out of a heart of worship, not compulsion. but i do agree we shouldn’t call it a tithe if our giving is anything below a tenth of our income. i know there is much more to it than just an issue of numbers; the old testament tithe was for a specific people, for a specific purpose, in a specific period. to me, it is the spirit and the principle we draw from that is more important. i do however, believe that there is great significance in a tenth. why didn’t God ask for a fifth or an eighth, why a tenth? i don’t have any scripture to support that. i figure since that was where God started with his first covenant people, why not start with that?
February 13, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Russell Earl Kelly
The truth about tithes is very easy to discover if one makes an effort. Although money was common even in Genesis and essential to sanctuary worship, money was noticeably absent in 16 texts which describe the contents of the tithe over 1500 years from Leviticus to Luke.
Remarkably, Jesus, Peter and Paul did not qualify as tithe-payers because their job did not produce food inside Israel. In the Bible legitimate tithes could only come from inside Israel and were rejected from tradesmen and Gentiles.
Nothing Abram did in Genesis 14 is an example for Christians to tithe (1) only pagan spoils of war, (2) only once recorded, (3) not from his own property, (4) he gave the 90% to the king of Sodom and (5) he was probably obeying pagan Arab tradition.
While it is true that all we have belongs to God, that is never used as a reason to tithe 10% of food increase.
It is a great privilege and we give out of a heart of worship, not compulsion. NT giving principles are motivated by love, not law, and should exceed any OT requirement —but tithing was only an OT requirement for farmers inside Israel.
Since tithes and firstfruits are never the same tin the Bible, it is wrong to tell people that tithes of income should be given first. According to 1 Timothy 5:8 our first responsibility is to our family. Medicine , food and essential shelter must come before freewill giving.
February 17, 2009 at 1:11 pm
rk
i don’t see why we need to choose between tithing/giving and providing for our family. this presupposes that God has to rob us to bless others, that he is unable to provide us with enough to be a blessing to his kingdom. in my earlier comment, i wrote that i will not hesitate to adjust the amount of my giving if i should find myself in a position where i am unable to provide adequately for my family. if such a scenario does arise and i know that i have already done all i could to simplify my lifestyle (not living in poverty) and was responsible with my money, then perhaps, yes, this might justify a reduction in giving because i am aware of my responsibility to my family. but most often than not, all it takes (especially for people in affluent countries) is giving up some “nice to haves” but “can live without” plus some serious education.
February 18, 2009 at 12:16 am
Russell Earl Kelly
2 Cor 8:11-15
11 Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.
12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
13 For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened:
14 But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:
15 As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.
KJV