Tithing

The definition of tithe is one tenth of annual produce or earnings, formerly taken as a tax for the support of the Church and clergy. I have heard sermons at church for several years that states an individual should give their first 10% of earnings to the church, 10% to themselves for savings and live on the remaining 80%.  Honestly I have never done that until a few months ago.

I always thought that I never had enough money to tithe.  I would give monthly to my church offering but I didn’t ever figure out if it was 10% or not.  I felt as long as I was “tithing” the amount didn’t matter.  I was so wrong.

Proverbs 3:9-10

9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

I recently watched the financial seminar Saddleback Church did in 2015 and my whole way of thinking about money has changed.  The first thing I had to do was trust God that the 10-10-80 plan worked. This is a place where trust and faith can be difficult but I took the leap and stood in faith.   The seminar emphasized over and over the 10-10-80 plan to the point I had to try it.

If you read my blog consistently you know I have told you how in 2018 I lost my largest account.  It was a significant amount of money and since I couldn’t bid on the account again for a year I took a 90% loss in my income.  That switch flipped overnight.  One day I had it, the next day I didn’t.  Money one day, no money the next.

I realized that taking a 90% pay cut meant I would have to live very frugally and cut out many things that were frivolous.  I began to carry cash so I can keep my plastic on ice and hopefully not use those cards again.  I carry $40 a week for my pocket money and believe it or not it works really well.  Cash is a beautiful thing because it never surprises me the following month with a statement with a balance due.  $40 seems to work perfectly for me although it was a very small amount I thought at first.  This is glorious!

I do want to say that I do use my credit card for gas, toiletries and household incidentals and it always stays between $300-$400 total.  My husband makes sure it is paid off monthly so no interest incurs.

You have the basic idea, no credit card use unless it’s tires or emergency purchase, only $40 week spending cash and credit card paid off every month.  I don’t have a large income, I still only make that original 10% I had outside my major client, I do make some money off speaking engagements and there is no salary from our nonprofit.

Genesis 14:20

And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” He gave him a tenth of all.

I guess what I am saying is that my incoming funds are so small I wanted to implement the 10-10-80 plan because it wouldn’t mean much cash at this point.  Let me give you a few examples.

After watching the seminar, I picked up my paycheck from my sales job mid September and being on commission I pretty much know what my sales were and what percentage I make.  I figured this paycheck would be $300.  That was easiest enough to figure 10-10-20.  I would tithe $30, save $30 and live on $240 (so to speak-it would go in our family account).  My mind was made up I was going to stick to this plan.

My boss handed me my paycheck at our staff meeting and as I looked down I saw it was for $374.  “Wow” I said, “That’s a lot more than I thought I was getting paid.”  As I was driving home I was thinking about the total.  I knew for a fact that I only had $300 due to me so I pulled over to check the paystub.  It was correct somehow a payment got posted the same day I ran the customer’s credit card and that NEVER happens.  It always take 3 days for our funds to appear for credit card payments.

I sat and scratched my head how after 13 years in this business can that money fund in less than 24 hours?  Also as I looked at my check that was $374 instead of $300 I realized another odd thing.  If I tithe $37 (10%) and save $37 (10%) that left me exactly $300.  The amount I thought I should have.  I definitely thanked God for showing me that my obedience to do the 10-10-80 plan would benefit me.  It was not luck that posted that payment so quickly and blessed me with exactly what the tithe and savings should be.

Another example that blew me away was I did a speaking engagement and made $110.  I tithed $11, saved $11 and put the rest in our family account.  This was my second time following the plan and again something unexpected happened.  Lexie and I had several events we did over 7 days time and we always have a bank for anyone to contribute loose change or dollar bills  to and I had coins, a few dollars and also had a $5 bill and a $10 bill in it.  I know this because when I come home from events I put it on my bar area and empty it weekly to deposit the money in our nonprofit account.  The bank has a glass front to I can easily see what’s inside at a glance.

Last week after the events my husband and I were getting ready to leave on a long weekend and I pulled the bank off the bar and noticed someone had added a $20 bill to what was already in there.  I took the back off and saw the $20 wasn’t a single bill but several bills inside a $20.  I literally stood in my kitchen dumbfounded that someone cared so much about what we are doing with our nonprofit that they would gift this money to us. It was a significant amount.  I broke down and thanked God again immediately (as well as over and over the next four days of our trip).  I have shared this with no one but you until now.

I am blonde and sometimes it does take a few minutes for me to comprehend things but this I understood instantly.  When I am obedient to God and do as He asks He will always provide.  God loves to shower us with blessings as I can attest to as I have shared.  I look at tithing as not an obligation but as another way God offers His love to me.

If you are deep in debt or have never tried the 10-10-80 plan please try it for one month and see what happens.  I am sure your obedience will pay of too.  I don’t ever want to be in debt to my Heavenly Father and plus having some savings in the bank is nice.  Please don’t be fearful of trying it God wants His children to be provided for and He want’s to be the Provider.

I am grateful as always that you have joined me here and I pray that you are blessed daily by God’s love for you-LoLo

Leviticus 27:30

A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.