We recently hosted a yard sale. My wife worked ridiculously hard getting everything ready. She spent over a week sorting, pricing and deciding what could stay and what needed to go. I did the really hard stuff like going to the newspaper office to place the ad and posting the signs at the nearest intersections. We agreed when it was over, that anything that didn't sell was either to be donated, sold at our parents' upcoming sales or thrown out for good.
At the end of the (rainy) day, we were down several boxes of junk and old clothes and had a few bucks to show for it. My wife and I loaded up the minivan with bags and boxes of clothes for the Salvo and put quite a bit at the curb for l'hombre de refuse. The remainder is still on our front porch and there it will likely stay until my in-laws have their sale in a week or two.
A funny thing happened while we were getting ready. I predicted it might. My eight year old had some reservations about many of the things we were looking to liquidate. His reaction varied depending on the item, ranging from mild concern to righteous indignation. So much of this stuff he hadn't seen or played with in several months. Still, once he was reminded of these lost treaures, he got it in his head that he couldn't live without them.
He also explained to me that he expected that he would be given the proceeds from everything we sold that belonged to him. I explained that it wasn't going to work that way, and the idea for this installment took root.
Everything he has came from us, or from family. At this early point in his life, there really isn't anything that he owns that he got for himself. Everything good he's got came from someone else. We're like that. Apart from God, we have nothing. God gave us everything.
Wait a minute, Damon. God didn't give us life. My mother gave me life. Well, sort of. Mom didn't come up with the idea all on her own, and I don't mean that it was all your father's idea, either. In fact it was all your Father's idea. God created everything, including the miraculous mechanism by which you entered the human race. So, will all due respect to Mom, you really owe God the greatest debt of gratitude for your very existence.
But what about my job and the money I make. Isn't that mine? Nope. No one exists in a vacuum, my friend. All that education and training you got in order to get and keep that job of yours: You guessed it. It all gets traced back (however indirectly you care to make it seem) to the Almighty. Even the guy on a desert island who ekes out his existence by collecting rain water on palm fronds and spearfishing in the surf owes it all to God, cause God made it all and sustains it all.
See, I've been working on tithing. In the past, we haven't given much to the church. Practically nothing, if you want to know the truth. But now, I am convicted to be more generous and diligent about giving back to God a portion of the blessings He bestows on me and my family. It all comes from Him, so it is right that we give back as much as possible. This idea goes waaaaaay back. Genesis 14:20 actually. Abram (Abraham) gave Melchizedek, a godly person who served the living God while living in the land of Canaan, a tithe (tenth) of the spoil collected from his enemies to give thanks to the Lord for helping him defeat his enemies. This example preceded the Mosaic provision for thithing, re-established centuries later in Leviticus 27:30.
If I'm being honest, Ihave to say that the idea of giving ten percent to the church bothered me for some time. It seemed like a lot, especially at times when we were just getting by. How much does the church really need anyway? Well, a lot, actually. If you look closely at the overhead of just about any church, I think you'd be shocked at what it costs to keep one going. There's the building with mortgage, upkeep, etc. There are the utilities, electric, gas, water, sewer, phone, internet, etc. There are salaries, wages, and benefits for the employees. It's kind of overwhelming when you think about it. Then, there is the critical work of missions and outreach programs. There's so much that goes into doing the Lord's work. Ten percent hardly seems enough.
God really wants us to give Him our whole lives. He lets us use some of His resources. He provides us with what we really need. If we choose to go after more, we really need to examine our motives and methods. Is it God's will that we run out and by that flat screen TV on our credit card? Probably not. And someday, when that flat screen ends up in our yard sale because we bought a bigger and better one, will we remember to give back a portion of that which He has given us? Probably not.
When our yard sale was over, we counted up our profit and set aside a portion for an offering to God through the church. I also gave my kids a portion. God gives us a portion. Can we learn to be content with His provision for our lives? We need nothing more.
