I’ve been a Christian for over 40 years, and so thankful for that. (Been with Sylva FUMC for 7+ years.) I had a strong childlike faith when I was young, but my family drifted when I was in my teens. When I was 20 turning 21, I was graced with a radical turnaround in my life to live for the Lord and serve the Lord. I was blessed to be in a church community and a family where I had good spiritual mentors and teachers. One thing I was taught early in my Christian walk was the importance of tithing (giving a tenth of your income) and giving as a form of honoring God, worshipping Him, and giving thanks.

Some things I have learned over the years:

• The old well pumps had a lever which you pumped the lever by hand to get water out of the ground. Many of them had to be primed with a cup of water before the pump could pump the water from the ground with the action of the lever moving up and down. I have heard it said on many occasions that giving to God is a way of priming the pump of His blessings.
• This works not by getting God to give us more (God already gives us lots of blessings!). Instead, it opens us up to a deeper gratitude for what God has given us.  Truly, tithing and giving is a small way to give thanks, small in that what we have is so little in comparison to what God has and can provide, a giving of thanks that brings great returns for us, and others!
• God has a bigger shovel; we cannot out give him, but it sure is great to partner with God.

Some practical things on giving:

• In these days of electronic financial transactions, it’s so easy just to set up something as an automatic deduction or automatic payment every month and forget about it. But I think our spiritual giving is much more than that.
• Before the COVID shut down, I would always physically write a check for my monthly tithe to the church, as I wanted it to be an act of intentionality and an opportunity to thank God for what he has done at the beginning of each month. I would always try to make this the first transaction of the month, just a little way to say God you come first. (Often, this was the only paper check that I would write in a given month.)
• Since the COVID shut-down has come, and I get my mail at a post office box which I go to infrequently, I have resulted to going online and sending a check to my bank via bill pay, so that I know it gets there as soon as possible and not delayed by me getting to the post office infrequently. But it’s still an act of intentionality.
• I love to give offerings over and above my tithe, but I’ve learned also to be disciplined in this matter, as I do have to live within a budget, meet my financial obligations, and pay my debts. So even though I would like to give more, I have to be careful and disciplined about what I do give, and make sure it’s going in the right direction. I do look forward to the day when I have no financial debt, and that I am freer to give more.

In summarizing, the first and foremost thing I see is that our giving is a form of worship and thanks. Something we can rejoice in, and be glad for no matter how little or how much we have to give!!

A great big Thank You to our Eternal Daddy !!