Got Fruit ?

Tithes and or offerings, which I tend to view as one and the same; was a spiritual issue that I wrestled with for a while in a not too distant period of my renewed walk with Christ.  For a time, I would spend hours several days of the week, researching the subject; mostly via Internet resources, trying to find concrete Scriptural evidence to the question of whether we as Christians are bound to the "10% Rule".

The search wasn’t one of trying to find a loophole to refute tithing nor to even validate the claim.  At the time,I think that the root of my problem was that I was approaching my relationship with Christ from a legalistic vantage point, thus the spiritual turmoil if you will.  I was viewing tithing as "I think that I have to give 10%, so let me find out so that I can make sure that I’m not docked any Pious Points with God".  Like most if not all spiritual matters, the underlying issue is that of the condition of one’s heart.

As months went by, I found solace in the fact that I was prioritizing tithing as a spiritual habit and regardless of what amount or percentage offered, I was cheerful to offer, though in the back of my knucklehead mind I felt as though I could "do better".  Now, I had "heard" the expression "God loves a cheerful giver" before, however I’d never sought to confirm the notion with scripture, that would come later.  The important thing for the time being, was that I wasn’t beating myself up over the "10%" issue;this I think is a case of God working on my heart by providing me with a short-term resolution to a perceived problem or issue.  In the course of writing this post it occurs to me that perhaps God’s Holy Spirit was waiting for the time when I became more spiritually mature.

So here goes the part of the post where we play Connect The Dots.

About a week, maybe a week and a half ago, longtime friend & co-worker "Rono" and I are chatting it up.  As usual football is always discussed, the conversation eventually turns and we are discussing the statistics of tithing (something briefly touched on by my pastor maybe 6 months ago).  Apparently, among Christians in the West, statistics indicate that under 50% of regular attendees tithe, and of that percentage, the amount of their income is somewhere between 4% and 7%.  So that chit chat session ends and I go on, not reflecting on anything said at the time.

Note: Don’t quote me on the stats, the figures used are for illustration purpose and are really not relevant to the gist of this post.

This evening I read my devotional from Sparkling Gems which was over the burial of Jesus Christ, specifically His burial by two friends.  Though a bit long (the pot calling the kettle black) as he sets up the climax to his message; you can read the devotional by Sparkling Gems author, Rick Renner here.  For those not interested in reading yet another long entry [referring to this post ], the heart of Renner’s message is this:

Jesus taught, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” Matthew 6:21. When these two men used their wealth to bury Jesus, they illustrated that their heart was with Jesus. He was their highest priority, so they invested their assets in showing their love for Him. They literally sowed their money into the ground when they bathed Jesus in one hundred pounds of those rare substances, wrapped Him in an expensive cloth, and then buried Him in a rich man’s tomb.

If people were to look at the way you spend your finances, would they be able to see that Jesus is the highest priority in your life? Do you treat Him with honor and respect in the way you serve Him, or is He the last priority on your list? According to the words of Jesus, what you do with your finances really does tell the truth about what you love the most. So what would He say that your finances reveal about how much you love Him?
-Rick Renner

After reading the devotional,still no connection is yet realized.  The final link would "happen" to fall into my lap later in the evening.  In my desire to become more familiar with the Old Testament, I turned after devotional time to reading from the book of Leviticus.  Progress went only as far as chapter 1, "The Burnt Offering" which begins:

Leviticus 1
1 The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting. He said, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any of you brings an offering to the LORD, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.

I understand that with Scripture the context of what is written must always be taken into account (Who, What, When, Where, How, Why,Culture,Circumstances etc;).  What’s shared is simply what I consider a revelation(deeper understanding) of Scripture by God’s Holy Spirit, the idea of which was alluded to earlier (last sentence of Para. 3)

In reading the 1st chapter of Leviticus here’s a few of the literal or obvious:

• the burnt offerings are an atonement to the Lord
• there were 3 acceptable offerings: from the herd (a bull), the flock (a sheep or goat), or a bird (dove or pigeon)
• In the case of the bull, sheep or goat, they were to be male and free from defect
• the burnt offerings were, made by fire, their aroma pleasing to God

After some pounding of the noggin on the desk, and rereading the chapter several times, there finally appeared  something deeper, something connective. I was so fixated on the details of the burnt offerings ritual as they were being described by God to Moses, that I missed what the burnt offerings were. A recollection of a verse from the book of Romans, finally got the gears in the ‘ole noodle cranking along.

Romans 12:1
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship.

The animals were sacrificed, they were…  in the Old Testament literal sacrifices, but there appeared now the understanding that they were a metaphor as well!   See?  I think that from one perspective the burnt offerings was about giving our Lord our best in everything, but also, about having that desire to sacrifice for the sake of the Lord.   I think that these ideas turn to action in our lives when we remember that all that we have is because of the Lord.  It’s then that we express to the Lord, that it is He, not what we materially possess that is cherished most (missed in Romans 12:1); and this last thought is the revelation on tithing.

Grace and peace be with you.