Three Sticks — Personal Development for Christians

This past Sunday, during services at Elizabeth Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA, our pastor, Pastor Craig Oliver announced that the church had collected only half of the money necessary for the church’s renovations. He then mentioned that he uses 1500 donors to calculate the request amount from each member of the congregation for any given initiative. He stated that only 1500 members give regularly to the church. I was shocked by the low number. Elizabeth is growing in leaps and bounds. We currently have 3 services on Sunday and due to the popularity of the church, Pastor Oliver is adding another service on Saturday evenings beginning in April. I conservatively estimate that we have 6000+ members / regular attendees any given Sunday. This means that less than 1/4 of the membership / regular attendees give or tithe.

I will freely admit that I have not always tithed regularly. Like many others I thought that tithing was all about making a sacrifice for God. Over the last year, I have undergone many changes and as a result I’ve adopted a mindset that makes giving and tithing a privilege rather than a sacrifice.

A New Mindset

Changing my mindset enabled me to become a cheerful giver and tither. This took time and was painful because of my unwillingness to let go of material pleasures and pride born from my talents, abilities and accomplishments.

Many people Christians and non-Christians believe that their abilities define their reality. It’s any easy trap to fall into especially for those who have achieved a tangible measure of success. That success breeds resistance to doing God’s will and instead we want to do our own will. The problem with doing our own will is that our will is limited by our current level of awareness. It often puts us on paths that fail to bring us peace or happiness. I am a clear example of someone who resisted God’s will because I thought that by doing my will and resisting God’s that I would be happy. I reveled in my academic and career successes. I thought that they were creations of my own doing rather than God’s preparation for later tasks. Because I tried to use my talents and abilities to accomplish my own agenda I lacked the sense of security and peace one has from following the path that God sets for you. Instead I suffered from a sense of restlessness deep in my soul that could not be satiated with material success.

For a long while, I drifted a in sort of limbo where I was unwilling to submit to God’s will, but I was still unhappy. My resistance was so ingrained that I had to lose everything that I had obtained on my own before I was able to let go and submit. It was a difficult period. It required me to let go and to have faith. Once I decided to let go and do God’s will, everything changed. Whole new doors opened up for me. By submitting to do his will, I discovered that what he wanted me to do gives me more peace and happiness than I have experienced in a long time.

An example of something he wanted me to do is create this blog. He is completely, responsible for me creating this blog, developing it and evolving it. You see, last year about this time, I attempted to launch this blog on my own. Unfortunately my passion was lacking and the site was more of a diversion for me. I lacked a sense of purpose for a reason that I couldn’t put my finger on and as a result I was unable to motivate myself to make the site a success. After my submission to God, it seems that I can’t stop myself from coming up with new ideas for articles, writing, reading and promoting the site. It’s an amazing feeling. I am careful to remember that he is the reason for all of this and that doing his will is what made this possible.

Submitting to do God’s will has also put in me a desire to constantly thank him and praise him. There are many times during the day that in my excitement from doing his will forces me to stop and pray or just praise him out load. I realize that tithing and giving is privilege that give me back more than I give in return. I don’t mean financially or materially, many times what I get back is a greater sense of empowerment and passion to make the world a better place and help to bring forth God’s Kingdom on Earth.

7 Additional Reasons for Giving and Tithing

1. Tithe to put God first in our lives, Deuteronomy 14:22 - 23

2. God has given you many blessings that you should share with others, Matthew 10:8

3. You reap what you sow, 2 Corinthians 9:6

4. More will be given to allow you to help others if you give generously, 2 Corinthians 9:11

5. Giving is a natural expression of love, 2 Corinthians 8:7

6. Free yourself from the limitations of the material world, Mark 10:17 -31 (A personal favorite of mine)

7. As you bless others you will be blessed, 2 Corinthians 9:1

Although, I only listed 7 additional reasons for giving and tithing there are many others. I hope that this article helps you to think about why you may not give or tithe as much as you should and encourages you to put God first, give, tithe and reap the benefits of a happy and more fulfilling life.

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