Tithes and Offerings

Friday, April 27, 2018

How many times have we been in a church service and heard a prayer regarding the "tithes and offerings?" Have you ever thought about the difference between the two? It's really quite simple. All of God's children are instructed to give a tenth of their "firstfruits" to the Lord. That is a tithe. Giving above and beyond that is an offering.

Why give a tenth off of the top?

• It is an act of obedience to the Lord -- and He typically knows what He is doing.
• It is an act of faith -- that the rest of the money is going to be enough to make ends meet.
• It causes us to be better stewards of our finances, having to live off of what's left.
• God blesses the tithe and the tither.

Sometimes tithing hurts. Especially when you consider the following possible scenario.

• $1000 earned
• -$100 tithed
• -$300 paid in taxes

So for every $1000 earned, only $600 goes to the family's expenses. That's why it's important to make a budget and to plan for this from the very beginning. It means only spending what you have and not running up a big credit card debt. (What's the old saying? I've stopped preaching and gone to meddling.)  

This coming Sunday, April 29, we are doing something interesting at First Baptist in Richmond. We are passing the plate twice in each worship service. One is for the regular tithe and the other is for a special offering. The church has an operations budget which depends on the tithes of its members to cover. The special offering this week is to pay off the debt for the church building. We are amazingly close to being debt free and we are hoping that this little surge will get us there. Imagine what we could save for and what we could accomplish financially if we didn't have this ball and chain around our neck anymore. 

I think once we make it, we should collectively call Dave Ramsey and give a big cheer, "We're debt free!"

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