Bible Question: I know the Bibles says to tithe.If your wages are cut and you can't make ends meet does that me I am cheating God and I wont' be saved? |
Bible Answer: From 2Cor.9:7 Giving should come from a right heart. a. Our giving reveals the purpose of our heart; where our treasure is, our heart will be also. b. God doesn't want our grudging gifts; He looks for cheerful (the Greek uses the word from which we get our word hilarious) giving! c. True giving also gives us a happy heart. i. The poet Carlyle said that when he was a boy, a beggar came to the door when his parents were gone. On a youthful impulse, he rushed to his room, broke his piggy-bank and gave the beggar all the money. He said that never before or since had he known such sheer happiness as came to him in that moment. ii. Ananias and Sapphira: examples of giving for the wrong reasons, not out of a cheerful heart. d. Remember that God's giving of His grace is the complete opposite of grudging and forced; He delights to give His love to us i. "It is not difficult to suggest why God delights in the cheerful giver. He himself is such a giver and desires to see this characteristic restored among those who were created in his image." (Kruse)(from blueletterbible) On the other hand, what would happen if you lost all of your wages? Are we looking to our Father in heaven to meet our provisions, or we trusting in ourselves? You are saved by God's Grace(Rom.3:24). As the commentary above says, God is developing our characteristics. "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poure into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:37-38 (NIV). God bless |