Sept. 6

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

I heard a joke once about a man who was in church with his wife and the offering plate came around.  The gentlemen put in a 20 dollar bill then looked at his wife and said "Oh No, I made a mistake, I only meant to give 10 dollars.  His wife looked at him and said, "Yes, and God knows that too".

The bible has a lot to say about money, and a variety of other topics as they pertain to our financial and spiritual lives.  When I first started to give, I have to admit -- I had nothing to give. The whole concept made no sense to me as growing up "giving" was a dollar amount that was a burden but at the same time an obligation to belong to the temple so that my brother could have his Bar Mitzvah.  When I gave my life to Jesus and had no finances to tithe, so I began by giving God my time. I "tithed" 10 percent of my time daily to reading God's word.  I divided my tithe time in the word over the course of the day from early when I got up in the morning till I went to sleep.  Somehow I started to have a little money to contribute as well, so I gave what I could.  Paul explains that when people who had little gave to the church, they gave as much as they could but they gave themselves first of all to the Lord. In Psalm 44:21 we learn that God knows the secrets of our heart. I began to understand that it wasn't how much I gave, God certainly doesn't need my money, but it was more how I gave. I learned that God was interested in the condition of my heart perhaps even more than how much I put in the offering plate.  We will read in the next chapter of 2 Corinthians that each of us should give what we have decided in our hearts to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (9:7)  Paul talks about the willingness to give which makes the amount acceptable according to what you have. I learned in the financial class that working our way to tithing the full 10% is a goal, God wants us to pay our bills and be responsible with our money (Mat. 22:21). My guess is God wants us to check our hearts before we write our check.

Randi