Tithing!

Opened my eyes…in the early hours of the morning…aahh, I have to praise! I lay in bed for quite some time, trying to figure if I still had some extra sleep left! Trust me; I still battle with having to get up in the morning! Sometimes I wish God would just say, “Go back to bed girl! I was just kidding!” 

Yesterday I received my monthly allowance from my dad as usual! I went out to the mall with my sister and with so much excitement spent almost all of it! Well I can’t say that I spent it on unnecessary stuff because I bought books, placed some in my grocery card, tickets and all that but the way I spent it was careless nonetheless! I got back home feeling like a looser, then eventually…I remembered, oh…there’s a God! A God who blessed me with this money, a God who can even help me manage my finances! I sat flat on the ground, leaning against my wardrobe, opened my bag to see how much money I still had left! I was left with only a hundred rand and a few cents!  I opened my bag wider, turning it on every corner, shaking it, if I had a pair of scissors with me right there I swear I was going to cut it off! Still there was nothing! Now I really felt like a looser! I knew that the last hundred rand I had was for tithing! It was a very stressful and discouraging situation for me! How does one spend money in a few hours, it’s not a lot but still, it is enough! I thought of various ways I could just bribe God and not tithe! I did good things with my money, trying to convince myself! I’m only left with a hundred rand; maybe I shouldn’t tithe just this once! This mentality was not taking me anywhere! I sat there feeling bad and defeated until I asked God to intervene! I know I messed up, I know I was irresponsible, I know I didn’t do things right, but instead of running away from Him, rather run to Him for advice, He knows all this! My sweet friend Holy Spirit led me to the famous chapter about tithing Malachi chapter 3! Verse 10 God says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.” God was not changing His mind! I thought He’d say, okay my child you have done a great job with your money, I understand that you were careless, it’s okay don’t tithe! But no, God means what He says from verse 8-9, “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you? In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me.

With a convicted heart I decided that in the morning I would go to the grocery store and withdraw the money I put in my gift card! God is serious about tithing! After making that decision, I felt really light! When God blesses you, He WANTS back the least that belongs to Him, it is not a punishment, but for your good! With excitement revived, remembering that I am celebrating five months with Him the next day, I even decided to add some extra money on the tithe! Now I’m not boasting or trying to brag, tithing is something that every Christian should do, it is like worship! You have to talk about it, you have to practice it and you have to encourage others to do it! Celebrating my fifth month anniversary with my King, I’m adding on some extra cash to the tithe! Every month on our anniversary I’m always asking Him what present He has for me! I’m always expecting Him to do something for me! But now I realise that this is a two way relationship! If I can expect something from Jesus, can he also expect something from me? It is no longer about what God can do for me it’s about what I can do for Him! 

“Opened my eyes…in the early hours of the morning…aahh, I have to praise! I lay in bed for quite some time, trying to figure if I still had some extra sleep left!” As I lay there still playing wishy washy games in my mind I received a phone call from my mom! “Heelo”, pretending to be asleep! On the other end, my mom excitedly exclaiming, “Titi, titi! I have money! I will send you two thousand rand so that you can buy yourself clothes! I will send it! I will send it!” She was so happy! After we spoke for a while, I didn’t hesitate to get out of bed and praise my God!!! All of a sudden the sleep was not there anymore!! This was a very good lesson for me, never underestimate the power of God! “ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” These past months have been really hard for us financially and I was already accustomed to the fact that we don’t have money anymore! We’ll just survive with what we have and be hopeful in God! I am not much of a giving person or so I thought! But you know there are people who can give freely and whole heartedly, and honestly, I was not that kind of person! But during this time where I didn’t have much, God challenged me to give! I have a housemate who spends his money carelessly on alcohol and friends and lives all his days with nothing to eat! My sister and I usually dished up for him because we felt sorry for him but there was a point where we were fed up! But one night after my sister dished up for me, God told me to share my food with him! I was thinking about the next day…what will I eat, how I will survive, but God reminded me not to worry! I don’t want to say anything that seems as if I’m boasting, trust me; there is no good in me! I just want you to understand that God can do what He says He can do!! “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” 

I have known God as my Saviour for the past five months! I have known Him as my healer! But today I know Him as my provider! I was so excited this morning and told my sister how excited I am! She just said, “oh just cause of the money you’re excited huh!” Nope! My happiness goes far beyond money! I hoped and trusted in God before I even got the phone call from my mum! Money is just a cherry on top! As we tithe we are planting a seed! “I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty.” We might not see it now, but it will manifest!! I think if we can give God our money and understand that it is not about the pastor or the church, but about you and God, then you have reached a new level of spiritual maturity! Money pays all things!!

“You have the awesome honour of gazing upon the riches of your Father’s wealth! God often withholds blessings and prosperity from us for a season in order to temper our character or to correct flawed behaviour! Then when the blessing comes, we will be mature enough to handle it!” Pastor TD Jakes!