“And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” – Hebrews 11:6
The Christian life involves risk-taking. Obedience to God’s word in this materialistic world will always be full of possible danger, failure or loss—the dictionary definition of risky. Living for God means lifestyle changes, foregone opportunities and hard financial choices like regular tithing. This month, one of our featured core values is irrational generosity. What does irrational generosity mean?
“And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. During a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.” – 2 Corinthians 8:1-5.
Irrational generosity does not mean that a church will manipulate you. This is not the “prosperity gospel” presented in some churches or by preachers on TV. The Christians of Macedonia gave joyfully in the midst of a severe trial, not out of their own comforts. We must remember that God’s economy is different from ours. However; if we do not talk about money, we will be robbing Christians of the blessings in his word. Jesus talked a lot about money.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.” – Matthew 6:21
The Lord knows that money can pull powerfully on our heartstrings. Knowing this, we have to ask the question, can God trust me with money?
One of the ways we can honor God with our money is through tithing. We must remember that in Malachi 3:10, God requires and mentions the blessings of tithing. God doesn’t need our money, and he doesn’t promise an easy life even when we tithe. But God has a plan for his faithful children. Tithing doesn’t have to be a strict 10% number since God wants us to be a cheerful giver. Take a percentage, give it first and increase it as your faith and means grow. Then you can begin to see God move in your life.
Obedience to the Lord—no matter how hard it is—even with the use of our money is another way to honor God. Not just in tithing, but also giving to those in real need. There will be a blessing in all this. It may or may not be a financial blessing, but God will have something better than we can imagine.
May God Bless you all.
