I was reading some statistics recently on the amount of debt that we as Americans are incurring on a daily basis. We save an average of -3% of our income each year! Not only are we not saving anything for the future, we are going further, and further into debt. Our materialism has spiraled out of control, to the point where we no longer have any plans beyond the satisfaction of our immediate desires.
This is a sad condition for our country, but the real tragedy is this same materialism has taken hold of the American church. According to the Barna Research Group, the average church has 6% of its members tithing. These numbers represent an alarming philosophy of our personal finances. As Christians, we should recognize that we are merely stewards of the money God has given to us. We may claim that we “earned” the money at our jobs, but who gave us the health to perform that job, and the mind to excel?
The tithe is a physical representation of the surrendering of our lives and resources to God. It is a way to demonstrate our money is not our own. In reality the church does not need your money, when God moves He provides, and if you are lucky enough to attend a church where God is moving, He will provide the resources to continue in obedience. God certainly does not need your money, and I hope our pride has not allowed us to believe that we are doing God a favor by tithing, or that we expect something in return for our “sacrifice.”
The tithe is worship, and when we are so overwhelmed with debt and materialism we are not able to tithe, we rob God.
