“Growing Edges”
Leviticus
27:30-34
Matthew
22:15-22
In
Greek school, we had to translate large portions of text and be prepared to
read the text in Greek during class.
Some days I was more prepared than others, and I dreaded the day when I was
not as prepared as I should have been.
On those days, I would sit low in my chair and advert
my eyes from the professor thinking that if I did not see him, he would not be
able to see me and not call on me to read.
But, of course, it never failed that the day I was not as prepared as I
should have been, even though I tried to make myself invisible, I would hear my
name called to read. I did well in
Greek, but I had to work at it. It did
not come easy for me like it did others.
There were others who could pronounce the words correctly, understood
the grammar, and grasp the nuances of the Greek language without much
effort. They had a sense of the bigger
picture when it came to learning Greek.
The
Gospel is much the same way. There are
those people who just seem to have it together, who
have a sense of the bigger picture of what the Gospel is about. They are able to pronounce the words,
understand the grammar, and grasp the nuances of the Gospel without much
effort. I have to work at it, study it, immerse
myself in it, and there are still days when I’m not as prepared to live it out
in my daily life as I should be. Being
faithful and obedient is not easy. The
Gospel challenges us at every turn. It
challenges us to see things in a new way.
It challenges everything we have come to believe and understand. It challenges us to be different people.
The season of Lent is to be a time when we are challenged
by the Gospel as we walk along on the spiritual journey with each step moving
us closer and closer toward maturity.
Lent calls us to be open and honest about ourselves and examine the
quality of our faithfulness and devotion in light of the Gospel. Up to this point, I have been prepared for
each step along the way. I have been
prepared for what the Gospel challenges me to do and who the Gospel challenges
me to be, but today is a different. I’m
not as prepared for this step of the journey as I should be, mainly because any
discussion about tithing challenges me at a much deeper level than I’m normally
used to being challenged.
I
will readily admit to you that the tithing is one of those topics that I have a
tendency to not want to have to think about as part of my faithfulness and
devotion and spirituality. It’s like
sitting in Greek class and sinking down in my seat hoping that the professor
won’t call on me, that just maybe I can get by and not
have to be confronted with it. But no
matter how much we try not the see it or deal with it, the Gospel still calls
us to stand up and read in front of the class.
Tithing is a part of what it means to be faithful that we cannot avoid
or wish would go away. The Bible makes
no bones about it. The practice of
tithing is mentioned some 45 times throughout both the Old Testament and the New
Testament. Tithing is what God’s people
are supposed to do. God’s faithful
people are to tithe. I know that and I
still struggle with doing it. Some of
you have no trouble with it at all and are in fact giving more than tithe, and
for that we are grateful. But tithing is
still one of those spiritual growing edges that I need to work on. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m working
towards it.
Maybe my struggle with tithing is because the Church,
especially the Presbyterian Church, has not talked about it enough. Other denominations don’t seem to have that
problem. I was talking to a friend of
mine about tithing and he said to me, “We talk about tithing just like we talk
about anything else. Every member is
expected to tithe. It’s just what you
do.” The practice of tithing can become
legalistic and lifeless, as we all know, but it seems that we have swung too
far the other way. Instead of
considering tithing as any other part of our practice of faith, like prayer,
Bible study, worship, and loving one another, we seem to shy away from any talk
about money by either not talking about it at all or only talking about it
during certain times of the year or when there is a capital campaign or when it
is time to review the budget.
Maybe
the real reason why the Church has not talked about tithing much is because it
makes us so darn uncomfortable, and we don’t like to be uncomfortable. Any talk about tithing has a tendency to hit
us too close to home, because it puts right in front of us that area of our
life we have a hard time letting go of, that area of our life we still cling
onto in a last ditch effort of control.
After all, doesn’t the saying go something like, “My money is my
business, and no one will tell me what to do with my money.” I don’t know about you, but I work hard for
my money, and I want to be the one in control of it. It’s my money. It belongs to me. Of course, if I am truly honest about it, I
know that nothing belongs to me, not even my money. Everything in our life, including our money,
belongs to God. After all, isn’t that
what the Bible tells us?
Maybe
my struggle with tithing is that I don’t always remember to keep God first in
my life. I have a bunch of other
Caesar’s all claiming dibs on a percentage of my money, and I have a tendency
to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and then give to God what is God’s as if
they are equal. So I end up paying my
bills first and then give God a portion of what is left. Presbyterians, on average, make more money
than any other member of another denomination except one, but on average, we
give only two or three percent of our income to the church.
But
the Gospel challenges us to reconsider our priorities, and to remember to keep
God first in all aspects of our life.
Caesar and God are not equals. We
don’t belong to Caesar, we belong to God.
God is to be our first and foremost priority. Belonging to God means that we are supposed
to give God everything we are and everything we have, not just what we pick and
choose to give, not just what we have left over, but the first fruits of
everything.
By
keeping God first in our life and giving to God our first fruits we make a
claim about what we believe and in whom we believe. In this way, the practice of tithing moves
from being an obligation to a statement of faith, a statement of faith that
says I believe everything comes from God, a statement of faith that says I
publicly declare that my loyalty and devotion is to God first, a statement of
faith that says I belong to God before I belong to anyone or anything else. In our affluence we have neglected the
demands of our faith, but like I said, tithing is a spiritual growing edge for
me. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m
working towards it.
But do you want to know the real reason why I struggle
with tithing? It’s because I’m afraid to
trust God that much. I try to be a good
steward with my money, some times I do better than at other times, but I always
try to make sure that my money is spent wisely, because I don’t have a lot of
disposable money. I pay $905 a month for
mortgage and taxes. $241
a month for my van. About $250 a month for utilities. $200 a month for the credit card, and then
there are groceries, baby food and diapers, gasoline, school supplies,
insurance, and whatever else comes up.
Before I know it, the money is gone, and that can be scary, so you can
understand why I struggle with truly tithing.
I’m afraid to trust God that much.
I’m afraid to trust that God will provide my family and I with what we need.
I’m afraid to let go of that part of my life and truly give everything
to God. It’s like the man who was
hanging onto a branch on the side of a cliff calling for someone to help when
God called down and said let go of the branch.
The man thought for a minute and then yelled back, “Is there anyone else
up there who can help?” It’s scary to think about what might happen
if I were to truly tithe. Will God catch
me or will I fall?
The problem is that I too quickly forget my own
experience of life. In those lean times
during Seminary without a full time job, God provided. God provided through the generous hands of my
church. God provided through the
generous hands of my parents and Jill’s parents. God provided through the generous hands of
people who I had never met. God
provided, and we did not fall. Maybe I
shouldn’t be afraid anymore. Maybe what
I need to do is just be willing to trust God that much more, and take that next
faithful step on this spiritual journey even though I’m not as prepared as I
should be. Tithing is a spiritual
growing edge for me. I’m not quite there
yet, but I’m willing to work towards it.
After all, isn’t that what it means to be faithful, that we are willing
take that next faithful step on our journey, in spite of our apprehensions, in
spite of our excuses, even in spite of our fear, willing to trust God that much
more each step of the way?
Therefore, today, in the response of faith for what God
has first done for me in giving God’s very self in the person of Jesus Christ,
I will overcome my apprehension, and excuses, and fear, and I will take that
next faithful step. Several months ago,
when I received my pledge card, I made a pledge to the church for how much I
would give back to God each month and I turned it in. Today, I will publicly re-new my commitment
to God and this church that I will increase my pledge by taking a step closer
to a full tithe of my monthly income. I
have to start somewhere, and so do you.
Even if you have to start with just a small percent increase, that’s
okay. You will be taking that next step
and before you know it you will be able to do more and more. The more we commit ourselves the more we will
be able to grow in the fullness of our generosity.
Here is a covenant I will make with you today. This fall, I will report to you about how I’m
doing in moving toward tithing, and I hope that you will covenant with me and
be willing to tell me how you are doing as well. After all, we are in this spiritual journey
of faith together and we are supposed to work on all of our spiritual growing
edges together, aren’t we? If the answer
is yes, then my own next step toward tithing will be that much easier. Amen.