![]() Dear Friend, How are you today? I’m well. Today, I would like to share how faithful He is through my finance. Tithe! It might be the most interesting subject to one, but the most uncomfortable subject to the other. Ever since I learned I should give ten percent from my income to the Lord, I started to tithe. I think it’s not giving mine to Him but giving His back to Him. And I got to learn that tithing is the only occasion where the Lord allows His children to try Him. “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My House, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.” (Malachi 3:10 NKJV) I heard some believers say they are not under Moses’ Law anymore so that they don’t have to tithe. But I learned from the Bible that tithe was even before Moses’ Law, and more importantly, our Lord Jesus put more emphasis on our hearts. He said, “Whoever looks at a young woman to lust for her has already committed adultery in his heart” in the book of Matthew. And I think we should even give back more than ten percent to Him, in Jesus’ standard. When working for the two employers in the past, I tithed. Especially in the very first payroll day in each company after the employment, I gave Him one hundred percent of my income as the first fruit. Yet, I never lacked anything when working for the two companies for almost 20 years. Not only lacking, but I found my blessings overflowing to others. And I could get to know from the interview with Human Resource Department and with one of my bosses that my salary level was top for my tier in the two companies. And I knew it was because the Lord opened the windows of heaven to me. I was seldom tempted in giving back to Him what I received from Him, but there was a challenging moment in my life. When I was in Singapore, I asked my mother to find a buyer for me who would buy my apartment in Seoul. As part of the blessings from Heaven, I could earn a lot from selling my apartment in Seoul, after owning it for over a decade. But, after realizing the earnings, I never thought that I should tithe from it. Then, one day, I was reminded of the teaching that we should tithe from “all” that we earn. Yet, I did not have the faith and courage to give it back to Him, thinking I would need the cash to pay for a new house to move to in Korea later, and I should be in budget as I would leave the corporate world for good soon. Then, right before I left the company for good, I could have a chance to go to YWAM (Youth With A Mission) Kona in Hawaii for an aquaponics workshop for about ten days, using my last annual leave. I was interested in farming and still think it is in His will. So, back in Kona, my teachers in the workshop invited me to their church on the one and only Sunday during my visit. And the pastor in the church used to be a lawyer before he became a pastor and he shared his testimony about tithing. And he specifically mentioned that he tithed from every earning from the investment on real estate, but not out of the motive to be blessed. And He always blessed him when he obeyed Him. Immediately, I felt that it was His answer to my question, as I still debated at that time as to whether I should tithe from my earning from the sales of my apartment. Coming back home in Korea, I repented to the Lord of my lack of faith and I did tithe. Actually, He gave me some wisdom as to how I could also manage my budget. A few months after that, I logged in to my Singapore bank accounts online that were still active, just to change the passwords. Then, in one of the bank accounts, I found something strange. The number in the balance looked quite different from what I remembered the last time I checked. I noticed the number of the digit was actually bigger than what it should be. Being curious, I clicked the button for details and I burst into cry. I found the huge amount of money came from my previous employer and seeing the date, I assumed it might be an annual bonus. But, before I left the company, I had a few exit interviews with the Human Resource department and my boss. Each time, I was confirmed by them that I would not be eligible for the annual bonus, given the date of my exit. I also understood it from the company’s policy. I think I was confirmed about it three times by the company. But, when I saw the amount from the company, I emailed the Human Resource team who confirmed that I would not be eligible for the bonus. I asked them whether it was the company’s annual bonus or whether it was a mistake. Shortly, I got a reply from them that it was my annual bonus, but they didn’t explain how I could get it. And I didn’t ask them how, as I knew nothing is impossible with our Lord. I just cried with a thankful heart. The bonus amount in my Singapore bank account was bigger than the amount I offered to a church in Singapore as part of my tithe. He just blew me away unexpectedly. Since I’m writing about tithing and giving, I would like to share Derek Prince’s teaching. I think it was from his book “Receiving God’s Promises: Inheriting Our Earthly and Heavenly Blessings in Christ.” He wrote about the Scripture “He loves a cheerful giver.” And he explained that the word, “cheerful” in Greek is “hilaros”, which means “hilarious” in English. Isn’t it interesting to know He loves a hilarious giver? Do you want to be the one? I want to. A friend of mine used to say that we can’t out-give Him and I can’t agree with her more. I often imagine a father and a son. The father gave his little son one dollar. One day, he wanted to see how his son would react if he would ask him to give ten cents back to his daddy. He knew his son had been collecting every coin and note in his small box to buy a toy in his mind. When the father said to his little boy, “Son, can you give back to me ten cents out of the one dollar I gave you the other day?” he didn’t need ten cents seriously. His little son was hesitant for a second, but he chose to give it back to him cheerfully. The father was happy to see his little son give ten cents back to him. Soon, he brought a box and handed it over to his little son. When the son opened the box, he found the very toy that he wanted to buy. He hugged his daddy with a thankful and joyful heart. The father already had hundreds of dollars in his wallet and he even bought a house to give his son in the future. Seriously, he didn’t need the ten cents from his little boy. So does our Heavenly Father. He possesses all things in Heaven and on Earth, and He is preparing mansions for us in New Jerusalem. He doesn’t need any dollar from us, but He wants you and me to be hilarious givers. I pray that you and I would give Him back, not grudgingly but hilariously, as we love Him so much. Have a bliss! Yunee Honor the Lord with your possessions, Comments are closed.
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