Spurgeon's thoughts: "This seemed to be a very important question for the king of Judah, and possibly it is of even more significance for the tried and tested Christian. To lose money is never pleasant, and when it involves principle, we are not always ready to make the sacrifice. 'Why lose what could be put to good use? Is it not possible to pay too much for truth? Remember the children and our small income!' All these things and a thousand more would tempt the Christian to participate in dishonest gain or prevent him from carrying out his conscientious convictions when they involve serious loss. Not everyone views these matters in the light of faith; and even with the followers of Jesus, the idea that 'we all have to live' carries quite a bit of weight.
'The Lord is able to give you much more than this' is a very satisfactory answer to the anxious question. Our Father holds the funds, and what we lose for His sake He can provide for us. The Lord will be no man's debtor in the end. Christians know that an ounce of contentment is more valuable than a ton of gold. The person wearing a threadbare coat over a good conscience has found a spiritual treasure far more desirable than any he may have lost. God's smile and a dungeon are enough for a true heart; His frown and a palace would be hell to the trusting soul. Let the worst become worse still, let all the talents go, we have not lost our treasure, for that is above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. In the meantime, even now the Lord makes the meek to inherit the earth, and He keeps back nothing that is good from those whose walk is blameless."
Candy's thoughts: I distinctly remember the day when Steve and I decided to tithe to our local church. We were relatively new believers, and the concept of giving a set amount to our church was truly daunting. We were living in one of the most expensive towns in the state of Connecticut, in the cheapest rental house we could find, and we had wild mushrooms growing up through the floor in one of our rooms! We also just had our second child with a third one following soon after, the business that Steve was working in was struggling (and did fail), so financially we were looking at an uncertain financial future. But Steve did a biblical study on tithing as a Christian minimum and was persuaded (and then persuaded me) that we should do this. So I said "Okayyyyyy, we'll see how this goes" and more than 30 years later I can validate Spurgeon's claim that "Our Father holds the funds, and what we lose for His sake He can provide for us."
I'm guessing some of you may have had a similar experience?
Enjoyed this so much! This is my second comment, so If this ends up in textlalaland...I will be retiring !
ReplyDeleteI loved your comment and how God provided for you, Steve and the family. We can all identify with fears of not having enough $ at the end of a work week, etc. But God....always came through. Not because we were anything special but because He is true to His promises. I could almost see the mushrooms growing in that room...:O) and remembered how Norm and I once had tree limbs growing in our pipes...which caused quite a 'mess'! But God....was there helping us to learn those valuable life lessons . It is so important to 'remember' isn't it....who He is and what He has done and will continue to do for us! So thankful...for HIM! Simone
Woo-Hoo! And for the second time your comment came through. You are a pro!!!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't believe that this was the post of the day as I had asked my husband to set aside time Monday afternoon I wanted to talk to him about a budget for tithing and other charitable giving for the year because I was giving without talking to him because I wanted to give as much as I wanted. He is not on the same page as me when it comes to giving but I knew in the end he has the final say as to how much for the year, it was only right that he be the one to set the limit and for me to stay within it. I was considering giving to Child Voice because Conrad's presentation of their mission touched my heart so deeply. Here is what came of our talk, the limit that was set I have already exceeded for the year so I was sad to realize I can give no more :( I have to throw away all those year end pleas for funds from Billy Grahamn, Ligoneer, Meals on Wheels and on and on. Also I am away from our church a lot due to travel and attend another church during those times away which I also gave tithe to. Now instead of giving extra to that church above my commitment to ours I have to split what I give to ours and give some of that to the other. At the end of our talk I felt so broken hearted but hen I was thankful. God has even in this taught me a lesson. I am learning through each of these lessons to be under my husbands authority, not sneaking around doing what I want to do, I was convicted by this. I know in my heart that the Lord will provide and He has for me, He has provided for me a good husband, faithful, hard working and committed to being my husband, God's grace is sufficient for me. I know this is different than the subject in your blog post but I do think the timing was amazing so I just had to share my experience. In all of this I am learning to be transparent I am brought out of the shadow of darkness and all my sins are being brought into God's glorious light.
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