I heard a story this weekend while I was celebrating Christmas with my family (yes, we are a little late but it was fun). This story really was an encouragement to me because I haven’t heard one like this for a long time. Here it is:
I have a brother-in-law who coaches baseball and really pours his heart into “his kids.” When a couple of his players couldn’t afford the $40 fee for a school physical (required to play sports), my brother-in-law took them to the doctor and paid the $80 out of his own pocket.
Turns out that the assistant principal has been mentoring one of the boys. When he found out about the Coach paying for this boy’s physical, he felt led to reimburse Coach for one of the physicals. Keep track of the money here: -$80 + $40 = -$40.
Shortly after that, Coach was rummaging around in his brief case and found $120 that he never knew he was missing. -$40 + $120 = +$80.
Then, Coach gets a call from the doctor’s office. They noticed that he had paid for the physicals of these two boys and refused to accept his payment. About now, Coaches head is spinning. Track the money: +$80 + $80 = $160
You may wonder why I’m telling you this story. It’s definitely a good “touchy–feely” story. But there’s another thread to this story that is underlying the whole thing.
This is the first year that Coach and his wife and decided to tithe to their church. They’ve given to special projects and events in the past, but this year they are bustin’ out and giving their first fruits to God. I’m not saying that this situation will happen to everyone, but I am saying that God’s principles never change (Mal 3:6).
Based upon this fact, you can give of your first fruits (tithe) without worrying what will happen the rest of your month. A preacher is South Carolina says it this way, “it is amazing the number of Christians that trust Jesus with their soul but will not trust Him with their wallet.” I’ve been there. I know exactly what he’s saying.
Consider this statistic: the average American gives $649 to the church every year–while spending over $900 per year on dog food and $1,000 on specialty coffee drinks.
I want to see the church prosper, but it’s not going to happen on $649/year. If you trust Him with your soul, you should trust Him with your money.
