Since January God has been speaking to me about honor. Specifically, what it means to honor him with our lives, again, specifically with our tithing and giving.
I want to share these revelations with you to encourage and inspire you!
The first thing God has shown me is a direct correlation between giving and living well. He gave me a “sneak peak” into the lives of various people. Those who were struggling day in and day out, not just with finances, but with family, relationships, work situations, addictions… were also struggling to be faithful at tithing.
Where your treasure is… there your heart will be also. Those who did not “treasure” God first and foremost in life, who do not bring the “firstfruits of all their labor” into God’s house – did not see the blessing and overflow as God intended – in EVERY area of life.
There is another side to consider. Many tithe obediently. But obedience and honor are not the same. We teach our children to obey us. This keeps them safe and helps give them tools to be successful in life. However, there is a time when our children must learn that when mom and dad are not there telling them to take the trash out – that the trash must still be taken out. Children must grow from being childish and being told what to do within the household, to learning to honor the family and do what needs to be done out of love and respect.
Galatians 4:1 says, “What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate.”
Obedience is a great place to start. When we see something in the Word that God is telling us to do, a way to life, a heart attitude to embrace or let go of – obedience is a great starting place. However, we must learn to move past just doing what we are told, into honoring God with the attitude behind our actions.
God revealed to me in January that I was being obedient with tithing. However, I had allowed fear and doubt to creep in so that I was no longer trustfully and worshipfully giving back to him what was his. As he showed me this, my heart again submitted with honor.
That’s all for this post… more soon.
Annie
