It's easy to imagine folks sitting in church this Sunday, looking glum and starting to fidget in their seats soon as the offering bucket (or plate) appears like a hungry, wide-open mouth chewing its way toward them from the end of the aisle.
I can picture a succession of folks sitting in the same row wincing as they take the bucket in hand, staring down inside and wondering, How much is already in there? before passing it on to their neighbor.
I also imagine a handful of those same people shuddering and clenching the nearest seat-back, glancing around and wondering who else might have noticed they'd passed the bucket without adding weight, before closing their eyes and silently explaining to God, I know that's the second week in a row I haven't tithed, but don't you watch TV or read the papers?
Haven't you been keeping up with the economy? Don't you already know times are tough ... and right now I can't afford to tithe.
So stop making me feel guilty!
Seems like Tough Times would be Prayerful Times, the times we embrace our faith and trust in God and give thanks more than ever. But somehow Faith and Trust take a backseat when we feel compelled to go to God in prayer, asking for either a financial "bail-out" because it's the end of the month, or because we need a tithe "credit extension" just as the offering bucket comes near.
After all Lord, you don't want me to fall behind paying my charge cards or do without my premium cable channels or my broadband connection, do you?
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Crashing Markets and a World-wide Credit Crisis? Bank Insolvencies and Financial Storms on Wall Street? Who's taking care of our assets ... and how do we know our savings are safe?
God's seen bigger perils and calamities than those ... and he's still sovereign. God is not asleep at the controls, didn't step out of the office to talk strategy with his broker and he hasn't turned his Prayer Line over to an automated answering service to save money ... no matter what new disaster the nightly news describes on TV.
Nor is financial uncertainty causing him to tighten his blessing belt or cut back on his plans for expanding the kingdom.
God's not hoarding his cash under a heavenly mattress either, waiting till the economy improves so he can get back to business. Our Father doesn't do "Cut-Backs" ... and neither should we when it comes to tithing.
Especially because, bad times or not, he commands it.
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
If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it.
- Leviticus 27:31
