Tithing

I have been greatly enriched by what I have learned about the radical nature of giving that was opened for the disciples of the early church. The freedom that we have in Christ to give as we are led leaves so much room for growth and intensity in our relationship with Jesus. We are never dictated any percentage. We are never given directives beyond having a giving heart in general. If anything the early church view of giving was attached to the principle give until it hurts, but don't give so it kills.

We are all mandated to take care of our family. We need to make sure the needs of our immediate family are met and that we can keep established households. It is God's intention that we live as family, provide for our family and teach our young ones to be responsible so they will do the same in the future. Yet there also is a feeling that we need to keep an accounting of how well we are doing and in the midst of prosperity we must remember others.

It is as if the blessing of giving from our resources is the promise that it won't overtake us. We won't strain so hard on what we have that we kill ourselves continuing to reproduce it. As the saying goes "Too much of a good thing kills." So I think it is important to remember it is not how much should we give, but how much should we spend on ourselves.