I recently finished teaching a series on “Kingdom Parables”. A few weeks ago I was meditating on the parable of the “Woman & the Lost Coin” (Luke 15:8-10). This is one of the lost-and-found parables of Jesus. There is truly more joy in heaven when a lost soul is restored to faith in Christ. But something else occurred to me from this story. Practically speaking, what did the woman really loose? One coin out of the ten was probably equal to a day’s wages. I suppose that could stress a person out. But I think there was something deeper in her panic. The tenth coin that she lost was her tithe! And, according to Malachi 3 with the tithe goes the blessing.
Now, I understand that tithing is a controversial subject. I don’t see tithing as a command to new covenant believers. The New Testament command is to love – God, you, believers, neighbors and enemies. That encompasses just about everybody, don’t you think? Tithing is an expression of love for God and everyone else! The servant of the Lord owns nothing. Everything belongs to the Master. Regular, consistent tithing supports the local church that provides ministry to your family and others. Giving the tenth portion of our increase is a guideline that expresses we understand that all we have is our trust of the kingdom of God, and that we are answerable to Him for how we manage 100% of these kingdom assets. In the new covenant the tithe is an expression of commitment and faithfulness to the Lord. Whether Old or New Testament, God rewards expressions of faithfulness!
Then the next question to be answered is this. Where did she lose her tithe? If she can find it, the blessing of God can be restored to her. I suppose, when she retraced her steps, she realized the tenth coin was lost in her house. Now, I have heard people say they can’t afford to tithe; that is to make a commitment to regular consistent giving to the kingdom of God through the local church. Truth be told, I will be the first to admit, we have made just about every financial mistake in the book, but we have always made a concerted effort to maintain the tithe as an expression of our faith toward God.
When I started to think about losing the tithe in the house, the thought occurred to me how wasteful the American Christian is. We leave the lights on, waste gas, through food away, over eating, over spending, pay exorbitant interest rates on credit cards. Not to mention that we are gluttons for entertainment and high tech gadgets. Ask yourself, “Could I find the tithe, if I removed the movie channels from my cable subscription, or cut the cable all together? Could I find the tithe, if I planned my meals and ate out less? Do I need to keep the gym membership, if I don’t go? Etc.” We need to get back on a reasonable household budget until we find the tithe again. Try paying your tenth first, than live on the rest. And don’t forget to save for your financial future.
When the woman in the parable found the tithe, she had a party! There will surely be a party in the house of God when 100% of the believers give 100% of the tithe! The local church is struggling today with only 20-30% of the membership faithfully contributing. Think of what we can accomplish for the kingdom of God when all believers bring the entire tithe into the “storehouse”. When we prove ourselves to be faithful with the little that we have now, God will be able to trust us with more. Would you count it an honor to garner our Lords trust?
