I've been thinking about money lately. My church will finish up our Stewardship campaign this coming Sunday, so I'm thinking and praying about what my commitment will be.
I know the Bible talks plenty about money and what our relationship to it should be, like Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
I guess this is one of the first times I've really had to deal with this in this way. This is the first church I've been in long enough to make a commitment to. Come to think of it, I probably should have been giving more in the past year, but I can't change that now.
So how does one decide what to commit to? I mean I know pray and all that, but there have been no flashes of light across the sky saying "you shall give ___ amount." 
What is the balance between being realistic and trusting God. I mean I don't want to make a commitment that I can't keep, so I look at my budget and think about how much I can afford. But at the same time, I don't want it to be all me, I want to trust God to provide and remember it is really His money.
Oh, God, help me to follow you.
Money
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4 comments:
have you considered a technical tithe ... you know, 10 percent? it's funny but whatever you decide to give (even if you think it might be too much) things always work out in your life without that money.
I have, but that wouldn't leave me with much left after my bills for things like gas and food and such...
Right or wrong, I'm just not sure I have enough faith for that even though I know lots of people say it will work out...
I guess my thinking right now is half of a tithe, 5 percent. I think I can swing that, it will be tighter than it is now, but still reasonably practical.
I like what our pastor has told us every week during this. We are supposed to pray, make a decision, stick to it, and be happy! I probablly need to remember that more, just decide and then be happy with whatever decision I make. I just tend to over think any kind of "major" decision.
I know that a church needs money/cash for so many things, but it's also important to give of your time. And think of the time that you give your church -"free time", not getting paid for it, but your time, just because you love being involved. That is worth "money" for a church also, I would think.
Think of the people who give money but not their time. Are they really giving what they can?
I would think that giving of your time is giving what you can right now, and then maybe in the future you will also be able to give more of your money.
mom is right. giving time is a powerful commitment in the life of a church.
i think, concerning the money, give what is appropriate for you. and don't overestimate because if you can't make it, it would make you feel guilty which is not what God wants. if somehow you find you have more than what you promised and want to give more, that's always an option.
i like the pastor's advice about being happy with your commitment. makes me think of the whole don't let your right hand know what your left hand is doing...
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