altar of Quietness
Loving Each Other With Our Tithe
June 10, 2013
God does not need, nor want, our money.
We are told in the beginning that, "In the middle of the Garden were the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil [the potential of Corruption].”
Jesus says, "I am the Bread of Life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst." However, the bread which was chosen in the Garden, was that of corruption, instead of that of life.
Therefore, our world operates according to the curse in Eden: "By the sweat of your brow you will earn your bread." The bread of corruption established a system of trade based on corruption, always prone to corruption and a perpetual temptation to men.
The Enemy seeks to control.
The Enemy seeks to control through its corrupted system of trade, "By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned."
Because we chose corruption, we chose to WORK to simply SURVIVE until our DEATH.
God seeks to fellowship.
God intends for us eternal life in unrestricted fellowship with Him, as the eternal habitation of His rest and self-fulfilling purpose of creation.
Jesus told us "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."
This proclamation of love by our Savior has been perverted into a 'Prosperity' Gospel preached by countless churches, even though we are plainly told by our Savior that our treasure is NOT HERE. Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world."
He explicitly tells us, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
When we tithe, it is for the purpose of SOWING.
Our Savior then tells us how to survive in this world destined for death, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness." This means We are to be Kingdom-minded, we are told to collect treasures in heaven. We are told to wholly devote our mind to Christ's Kingdom, which is NOT of this world. This means that every second of every effort should be intended toward HIM.
We have been taught by our Savior, "To gain life you must lose it."
People are consumed with their 'lives' here and now, day to day, which is the very thing that Christ tells us we must LOSE. ALL things are to be held accountable to Christ---ALL the time and in EVERY way. We should be consumed by Christ and our endeavor toward His Kingdom, NOT consumed with our selves and the things and ways of this world. In so doing, we reflect Him and how He spent His own life on this earth.
Truly we are told this world is destined for destruction, "The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare." Choosing the world is choosing death.
The Enemy deceives men into wasting their lives to pursue death.
God warned that the eating of corruption would only end in death. What a comprehensive and absolute truth, for not only would we die, but we would also be forced to pursue it with vigor. The sort of vigorous and purposeful pursuit in which to produce sweat upon our brow as we diligently, yet blindly work according to the design of deception, rather than God's design of perfection.
The Enemy seeks to keep us in spiritual and physical DEBT.
The current system of the world is based on a system of DEBT, prone to CORRUPTION. Prone to men falling into the temptation to seek power and control and to exploit each other for their own selfish gain.
God seeks to REDEEM us, wholly and completely.
God's Kingdom is based on a system of GRACE, with all accumulated debt having been paid once and for all by Christ. Understanding of God's Kingdom must be based on the fact that He loves us, even though and in spite of our incapability of ever paying Him back, nor is it even within His nature to expect such.
The two most important Commandments, as given by Christ, are:
I. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul."
II. "Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these."
With a heart and mind consumed by love for God, the tithe of a Believer includes far more than the flawed system of currency used during our present darkness.
It also, and more importantly, includes the giving of our time, our praise, our attention, and ourselves, which ultimately breaks down to the sacrifice of our own 'lives'-- the life of selfish desire sought among the ways and things of this world. The requirement of eternal life, is the death of our 'self' in the world. It is the circumcision of our own plans, ideas, wants, needs and desires and the subjection of them entirely to Christ. It is the perpetual communion which was intended for men to have with God--- Who already knows the minds, hearts, needs and desires of all men--- and He knows them from a state of utter perfection with the ability to fulfill them with overwhelming abundance to spare.
With a heart and mind of obedience to love others as ourselves, the tithe of a Believer is to be done with a joyful heart and the hopeful longing to serve.
Because our present reality is, in fact, anchored within a system of monetary currency, the payment of needs and services is an absolute necessity, for Believers and un-Believers alike. Bills must be paid, the needs of survival must be bought-- all of this requires money. Therefore, because the Body of Christ is set-apart from the ways of the world, we are to look forward to our monetary tithes with a clean heart and the eager anticipation of having done our part to contribute to the help of someone else-- whether the continuation of preaching the Gospel message by the pastor, who must pay for not only his own needs, but also those of the church, or whether providing a month's worth of groceries for a family in need--- and we must anticipate this in the simple faith that our Father will disperse the tithe where He sees fit and with the simple intent for our effort to bless someone else, which ultimately serves to bless His kingdom.
Unfortunately, because our monetary system is based on corruption, it is subject to corruption---by everyone---including Believers.
And because we are responsible for the working out of our own salvation with fear and trembling, we are each responsible for our own actions of obedience or disobedience, which means that our obedience is not to be dependent upon someone else's disobedience, or vice versa. Meaning, the abuse of one person is not to be an excuse for the other. And although our choices affect all those around us, our choice to obey is personal and our accountability to God is individual. And although our relationship with God is personal, our purpose is to be the collective service and support of each other which brings true function to the Body of Christ.
Only when we serve each other, do we not only collect the imperishable treasures of heaven, but we also sow the seeds to grow the Bread of Life.
"Jesus said to him, 'If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.'
But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.
And Jesus said to His disciples, 'Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.'"