When I was a child, I found the word “tithe” to be intriguing. Be it the pronunciation, the mystique surrounding it – It was something the adults would mention from time to time – and the fact I love words, I knew there was more meaning to it than something financial and humdrum. Then during one Sunday School class we learned what tithe meant, and there’s this emotional and spiritual connection to it. Look up the word tithe in Hebrew and it means a tenth. Apply the many biblical references, and many Christians trust in the Lord and practice giving a tenth of their income to their church.
Tithing is not to be a burden. Tithing is done not out of surplus but of substance, out of gratitude. We are to be thoughtful givers and giving as we are able.
One reason I liked when my church launched online giving was I’d be able to set up my tithe disperses in a weekly manner and not have to write a check for the collection. And when the collection’s taken up, I can give an offering.
Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.
DEUTERONOMY 16:17
Offerings, then, include anything we give beyond the tithing. The more we give, the more we will receive. The generous spirit in which you give will be measured to you. As Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it will be given to you.” It’s in the giving of our gratitude that we are receiving God’s word.
The gifts of gratitude are a reminder for us. That everything belongs to God, and we are to give a portion back of what we’ve received. And it still intrigues me how the Lord moves our hearts to be generous in many ways.
Allow the Lord to move our hearts to generosity. And feel how much love He has for us.
According to our means, we are to be good stewards.
In Leviticus 27:30 it says, “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.”
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
ACTS 20:35
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Kimberly spent several years in communications and graphic design roles, including at a Florence church that uses ACST solutions. Before her communications roles, she managed a newsroom as a content editor. Kimberly is a cradle Catholic who’s active in church life, serving in volunteer roles and participating in Bible studies.
