11/18/2009
I feel so much
more freedom in my own blog to write about things
that may offend some of my friends on Facebook.
Yeah....loving that.
Let me preface this by saying that I would never stereotype and put all of ANYTHING in the same category, but this has just been my observation. I've been a part of the Black church my entire life and there's one thing that I've noticed that really bothers me.
We are taught to pay our tithes, no matter what. Before you pay your rent, your light bill, your car payment, your car insurance, etc. So then people come to church and praise God that even though their lights have been turned off, they've still got Jesus. I used to praise and shout to God with them.
But as I got older, I realized--where's the testimony in that? Where is the witness in saying that you're a saint of the Most High, but you're living in darkness (literally and figuratively speaking)?
As I began to look further into it, I saw that many of people I grew up knowing, that had been tithers all of their lives were still living paycheck to paycheck, still having their phones turned off, still having their cars repossessed, etc., but still praising God because they paid their tithes. Am I the only one that sees that something is wrong with this picture?
When I think about those that tithed in Biblical times, they were prosperous, fruitful. In many of our churches, that's not the case.
I remember one year I ended up owing the IRS some money because I had underpaid my federal taxes, so I called to make payment arrangements with them. As we went through my financial status and I shared with the representative my monthly expenses, we got to "charitable donations" section. He asked me how much I gave monthly, and at that time it was close to $400 a month to my church (you know--tithes, offering, building fund, etc.). The man actually laughed in the phone and said "ma'am, you can't afford to give that much to your church." So of course he wouldn't agree to the monthly payment I was asking for. In my deepness I told him "sir, you can't tell me what I can and cannot not afford to give". He chuckled again.
When I got off the phone, I was so angry. In my mind, those traditional words came back to me that I had heard in the church for years: "some people will tell you, you can't afford to tithe; you look back at them and tell them you can't afford NOT to".
But somewhere, somebody is missing something. If you've been tithing for 20+ years, and you're still struggling financially, something isn't right. I don't have the answers, nor am I trying to find them. I just know that there is definitely an imbalance to this principle.
I want my life to be a light, a living testimony to others of the benefits of making God first and foremost in your life. That's my focus. My focus is living a good life, blessing others as much as possible, doing all that I do in excellence and integrity, managing my finances to the best of my ability, sharing God's love with others and encouraging those that are feeling down. I believe God is pleased with this.
Am I a consistent tither? No? Do I commit my finances, my time and my gifts to others? All the time. Do I think I'm cursed? No. Do I think God is pleased? I would hope so. To me, I have found the balance, but it's up to each one of us to find it in our own lives.
Let me preface this by saying that I would never stereotype and put all of ANYTHING in the same category, but this has just been my observation. I've been a part of the Black church my entire life and there's one thing that I've noticed that really bothers me.
We are taught to pay our tithes, no matter what. Before you pay your rent, your light bill, your car payment, your car insurance, etc. So then people come to church and praise God that even though their lights have been turned off, they've still got Jesus. I used to praise and shout to God with them.
But as I got older, I realized--where's the testimony in that? Where is the witness in saying that you're a saint of the Most High, but you're living in darkness (literally and figuratively speaking)?
As I began to look further into it, I saw that many of people I grew up knowing, that had been tithers all of their lives were still living paycheck to paycheck, still having their phones turned off, still having their cars repossessed, etc., but still praising God because they paid their tithes. Am I the only one that sees that something is wrong with this picture?
When I think about those that tithed in Biblical times, they were prosperous, fruitful. In many of our churches, that's not the case.
I remember one year I ended up owing the IRS some money because I had underpaid my federal taxes, so I called to make payment arrangements with them. As we went through my financial status and I shared with the representative my monthly expenses, we got to "charitable donations" section. He asked me how much I gave monthly, and at that time it was close to $400 a month to my church (you know--tithes, offering, building fund, etc.). The man actually laughed in the phone and said "ma'am, you can't afford to give that much to your church." So of course he wouldn't agree to the monthly payment I was asking for. In my deepness I told him "sir, you can't tell me what I can and cannot not afford to give". He chuckled again.
When I got off the phone, I was so angry. In my mind, those traditional words came back to me that I had heard in the church for years: "some people will tell you, you can't afford to tithe; you look back at them and tell them you can't afford NOT to".
But somewhere, somebody is missing something. If you've been tithing for 20+ years, and you're still struggling financially, something isn't right. I don't have the answers, nor am I trying to find them. I just know that there is definitely an imbalance to this principle.
I want my life to be a light, a living testimony to others of the benefits of making God first and foremost in your life. That's my focus. My focus is living a good life, blessing others as much as possible, doing all that I do in excellence and integrity, managing my finances to the best of my ability, sharing God's love with others and encouraging those that are feeling down. I believe God is pleased with this.
Am I a consistent tither? No? Do I commit my finances, my time and my gifts to others? All the time. Do I think I'm cursed? No. Do I think God is pleased? I would hope so. To me, I have found the balance, but it's up to each one of us to find it in our own lives.
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