On Tithing..

Had a lesson on tithing aft my jap lesson..Big 4 Networking nite was today but din sign up for it cos saw it as a waste of my time since i already had an offer and i dun think i wld ultimately end up in auditing..even if i did, i already noe which Big 4 i wanna go so well..no pt missing jap juz to go..

Had dinner at the Quad n saw my dearez jnr--Rosa there!haha..super long nvr c her so was quite delighted to do so:)Anw, today's teaching was on tithing n stewardship..

Xingni began by asking us wat we thot stewardship meant?Definition: a practice of systematic & proportional giving of our time, ability & material possessions based on the conviction tt these r a trust fr God2b used4His service4 the benefit of His kingdom.

To be honest, I've always hada problem w tithing..many c mi as well-to-do..n i do admit tt i'm fr an above-av family..but sumhow i'm quite "stingy" abt money..as in whenever i buy anythg, i wld think twice abt the px n i wld browse ard to look for the cheapest deal..but of cos i dun really lyk to compromise quality n brand so i do spend on expensive stuff at times..

Tithe: 1 tenth. Lev 27:30. Basically, wateva we have, 10% belongs to the Lord..i guess my unwillingness to tithe stems fr young when i've been brought up w the mentality tt those were in the OT days n doesnt apply to modern times. But aft the teachg, i've come to a conclusion tt it REALLY is TRULY an EXCUSE for ppl lyk me. True, nowhere in the NT does it state tt tithing is compulsory..but juz lyk wat Xingni pointed out: Everythg belongs to the Lord. So, tithing is actually giving bk a fraction of wat the Lord has blessed us with isnt it?!

Promise fr God:
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehse, tt there may b food in my hse. Test me in this..& c if I'll not throw open the floodgates of heaven & pour out so much blessg tt u'll not hav rm enuff for it."~Malachi 3:10

In fact tithe is re-investing wat God has initially given us to bless other ppl..i understand tt there has been many scandals abt churches misappropriating the funds to pay its ministers fat pays but i agreed w wat Xingni said..tt we r aft all human beings..in e 1st place y Jesus was sent to die on the cross was cos we were sinful in nature..so Man err..it's common..y shd we fault the rest when it's 1 or 2 black sheeps in e lot?!No Man is wout sin..but if the org's doin it for a gd cause n aft dealg w the few tt were doing wrong, i think we shd ctn to support it!

Stds of tithing
Exodus 23:19 "...best..firstfruits.."
God does not look at the absolute amt but at the heart of the person who tithes..In short, DUN give God ur leftovers but give Him the best..1 of the brothers brought up the qn on wat is the best?in my opinion, the best is wat we value the most to the best of our abilities..it can b $$, time, habits etc..sth which we cant bear to let go or give..it's indeed hard to step out of my comfort zone n give my best..aft all we're humans n r a self-centred lot!But the lesson here is to put God as ur priority..

Wat really convicted me at the end was Xingni's own testimony..noeing she comes fr a not so well off family, but yet she tries her best to honour this n partitions her pay to God first b4 her family n her study loan..it juz struck me at tt moment wat a woman of God she is..i wan to become juz lyk her..but i realise tt Satan has such a bondage over me tt it's quite difficult to experience a breakthrough..i really need to learn to b more humble n put God as my 1st priority.

But i really lyk wat she told her mum when her mum questioned her on tithing..she replied, "If i dun even give God who is intangible my pay, I may even one day not even give u.." Her basis is tt nobody noes if she tithes..so she's not accountable to anyone in tt aspect but her parents r tangible beings..the fact tt she is still tithing n giving to her parents at the same time means tt she is disciplined n also responsible..I muz say i really admire her strength to overcome such a temptation not to tithe!

Seriously, b4 this teaching, I was thinkg up all sorts of excuse not to tithe..but now I do realise tt God has indeed blessed me far more..it's so true tt we can nvr outgive wat God has given us cos everythg of ours r fr Him!if God decides to give me a pay rise of $1000, n i hav to give an increase tithe of $100, altho tt's a huge sum of money but come to think of it, God has blessed me with $900 more din he?!:)

So i guess the main thing we've gotta understand abt tithing is tt God is our Jehovah Jireh. He has provided us w everythg we hav..financially n talents..He doesnt need our tithing at all!But juz tt we've gotta acknoledge e fact tt He is our Provider n we depend on Him..

of cos i do agree tt 10% is alot to me..there's this opportunity cost..lyk i can use tt $$ to buy more vcds, tk taxi etc..it's difficult to tithe since we live in a materialistic world where everythg is abt money..but yet we're Christians n thus live in Christ too..I have no idea when i'll truly learn to let go n start tithing seriously but i do want to try it out..cos i believe tt God can c my heart n ctn to bless me abundantly:)

Prayer point:Dear Lord, I pray tt u free me fr the bondage of money.Let me understand wat true giving means. I want to give my best to u n not the leftovers. Lord, teach me to give bk to u juz as how u've unconditionally blessed me. Thank u Lord for this lesson.In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

PS: I was told yest to give my tuition kid 2hrs lesson twice a wk, 1 hr eng, 1 hr maths. haha..so tt's an increase of $100 a mth for me!heh..tt's how it really got me thinkg abt the r/ship btw God's blessings n tithing:)