On Sunday I heard a wonderful study about what the true gospel is in it’s simplest form. In case I missed certain parts for the first two services, by the third service I had it ingrained in my mind. [If you’re thinking I’m uber holy because I stayed at church for all three services, I’m not. The guest speaker was just so HOT and I was entranced by his piercing blue eyes, I had to listen over and over. Annnnnd he was my husband, so I stayed to show my support.:)]
In short, the bible could be wrapped up into three sections: 1. Love God with all that you are, 2. Love your neighbor as yourself, and 3. We are blessed to be a blessing to others.
That’s it. It’s clear, simple, sound. We charted through Genesis, then Isaiah, then Matthew, then Mark. It was a whirlwind tour through the Old and New Testament revealing the principle that God blesses us so we can bless others.
The driving topic wasn’t tithing or giving our resources away, but I couldn’t help but marinate in the phrase, Blessed to be a blessing. Each time I heard the study, I drew more and more parallels to my finances.
Tithing and giving back are important aspects to my personal faith journey. Because of cynicism and pilfering in the Church or religious organizations, I know tithing and giving aren’t popular terms or concepts with people my age. Our generation doesn’t want to give money away without knowing where it’s going. Many millennials have trust issues with organized institutions, the Church being one of them. I don’t blame my friends for being skeptical. But being skepticism doesn’t excuse our response of withholding blessings. If God blesses us, we are blessed to bless other people. Plain and simple.
It’s important to remember we are managers—not owners—of our finances. God owns everything. Giving back [to the Church and others] reminds us of these four principles:
- First, it shows we understand that God is the one who provided.
- Second, it is saying, God, I believe you will continue to provide for me.
- Third, it breaks the power of money in our life.
- Fourth, it allows us to acknowledge God has provided enough and we are able to be generous with others.
I received a questions about tithing last week via the facebook page. I’ve blogged about this topic before and followed up with a vlog. I posted the video here to give a bit more background on the subject. Feel free to ask questions, post stories, or share your experience when you’ve blessed to be a blessing.
Long-term arousals could win seriously the [b][/b] was on the market, the bilirubins said.