THE SMALL BIG THINGS #2 - TITHING MOMENT!
- Alex Yeboah Sasu
- Apr 7, 2021
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 16, 2021
In part I of this series, I did mention as a foundational point that every big thing – whether good or bad – starts small. I also mentioned that this entire series would be based on the research Dr Howard Hendricks did about some 246 men of God who fell to moral decay within 2 years. This article will focus on one of the reasons why they fell, and that is, each of them had ceased to invest in a daily personal time of prayer, Scripture reading, and worship.
As I keep growing in the faith, I have discovered that as you get to know more about God, you can easily begin to take certain fundamental things for granted, one of which is spending personal quality time with God on a daily basis. In Teens Aloud Foundation (TAF), the ministry where I serve, we call it quiet time. However, in this article I will call it TITHING MOMENT!
WHAT IS TITHE?
21 “I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting… 23 It is the Levites who are to do the work at the tent of meeting and bear the responsibility for any offenses they commit against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites. 24 Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord. That is why I said concerning them: ‘They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’” 25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 “Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering. (Numbers 18:21-26-NIV) [emphasis mine]
In simple terms, a tithe is the 10% of your earnings that you willingly give unto God as an appreciation for all He has done for you. I believe that the first and greatest tithe we must give to fulfill our call to love God with all our hearts (Matthew 22:37) is quality time with him. And it should be our best too. Check out this scripture below:
Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best (Proverbs 3:9-The Message) [emphasis mine]
Give God your first and your best? Wow! Actually, looking at it literally, a tithe of a day (24 hours) is 2 hours, 40 minutes. This means that that’s the minimum duration we are to spend with God daily. But the question is, what happens to the remaining time? Does it mean we can do whatever we want? Of course not! Point is, you must be intentional about making your personal relationship with God a priority. Because, irrespective of how much tithe and offering you give and how often you do so, God is more interested in you giving your life to Him (Romans 12:1). Why? Because when you surrender your ENTIRE life to God, your money will gladly follow too. Let me proof this expectation of God with a scripture:
These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me... (Isaiah 29:13-NIV)
Undoubtedly, one way to express love is time – what you invest your time doing. Although I talk to my fiancée daily, she loves it when I decide to make time for her not necessarily because we have to talk but because I want to! And the conversation is even more interesting that way. And that’s exactly what we must do to prove our love for God and to grow to know him more
One thing I have realized is that the more you get involved in doing the work of God, you might be tempted to think that it’s a replacement your personal relationship with Him, but it’s not. It is actually very easy to focus on DOING the WORK of God, while ignoring a growing consistent PERSONAL relationship with the GOD of the WORK as illustrated in Luke 10:38-42. And this trap is what I believe caught up with all the 246 men.
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42) [emphasis mine]
“…but few things are needed - or indeed only one?” hmmm may God help us all, Amen!
As I meditated on the research findings, I discovered that analyzing the findings from a different perspective reveals a truth that has the power to transform our lives forever. Given the reasons for which they fell, it would be safe to conclude that they would have lasted in ministry and impact if they had done consistently the exact opposite of what they did (and failed to do). In order words, if they had a consistent tithing moment, their stories would definitely have been a different one.
In my few years of working with young people, I have discovered that many of them have not yet developed a habit of spending daily quality time with God for various reasons: some have no idea what it’s about; others do but lack the motivation to remain consistent; others also are clueless on how to go about it, others think it’s enough to listen to sermons from their pastors etc. Bottom line is, such a scenario is not a good foundation to build your faith upon. I gave my life to Christ in June 2009. It’s been almost 12 years now and by God’s grace, I have maintained a consistent tithing moment, which all began after I joined TAF. Now, I serve as the Country Director of TAF Rwanda, and God is using me to help many young people experience what I experienced during my foundational season as a Christian.
I will now dedicate the rest of the article to giving you practical tips on how you can keep a consistent tithing moment. My focus will be based more on reading/ studying God’s word because I discovered that once that is catered for, prayer, worship and other activities that can connect you to God will be ripple effects:
A personal relationship with God! Making time for a tithing moment is an act of love that can only spring from the value you place on your relationship with God. And that cannot happen if you don’t have an existing relationship with God (Matt 22:37)
Make a visible description of who you are (or who you want to be) as a child of God and look at it as often as possible. I discovered that what you do (your habits) are a reflection of who you believe you are!
Make time for it and plan the exact time and place (quiet) just as Jesus did in Mark 1:35). It’s a date. It’s a meeting. It’s a scheduled event so you can only MAKE TIME for it! I also recommend mornings. The earlier the better!
Be consistent (Col 2:6). You may miss one day but don’t miss two. And in case you do, don’t miss on the third day! Spending 10 minutes daily in God’s word is much more profitable and important than spending 6 hours once a month!
Write down what you are learning or what God is teaching you (Habakkuk 2:2)
Personalize what you receive. Don’t write as though you are preparing a sermon for others but rather a sermon is being preached to you – from God Himself (Isaiah 6:8)
Share what you receive. No good news is good if it’s kept. It must be shared to be good. Also, the more you share, the more you understand, and the more likely you are to implement!
Don’t rely on your feelings. They are not smart. Lead them instead of allowing them to lead you.
START AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, perhaps NOW!!!
This seemingly “small” act is the seed you need to bear “big” fruits in your life and ministry. Watch out for part 3 soon! God richly bless you!
*The Small Big Things #1 (https://sayinspires.wixsite.com/website/post/the-small-big-things-1-intro)
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