Tithing-Giving Credit Where Credit
Is Due
By Rev. Linda Sanchez
 The law of tithing is simple. Give 10%-30% of
all increase to the person or place from which you receive spiritual
nourishment about what tithing is and why you participate.
Through spiritual education you learn that you are a spiritual
being and not the body. Just as you are bound to obey the legal law
of the land or get jailed or fined you learn about the laws of spirit
known as the Golden Rules. These are the laws that keep you in touch
with the mind of prosperity, health and wellness on all levels of the
physical, mental, spiritual and financial.
Upon receiving spiritual education a very special process begins
to happen. You wake up! A wise teacher, like a wise man, can reach
past the sentry guard on duty or the survival mind that holds on to
everything, and reach through to where you live in spirit and shake
you awake. This begins to fan the embers within your subconscious
mind that has been covered over by the soot of human consciousness.
These underlying embers are the gold dust droppings of your soul
memory. You begin to remember the law of your being. And even though
it appears that the spiritual teacher is presenting a new principal,
he is actually waking up and bringing to life the awareness that has
been asleep in you. Therefore, when you hear the truth, you know the
truth from the inside out! The truth rings out loud and clear, like
the Liberty Bell! When this happens you begin to see the world within
your mind and the world without in a very different way.
Just like PG&E supplies electricity to all our homes, you
recognize that the Supreme Being which is the source, the big power
center, which flows through every person, place and thing in your
life, including your body, mind, soul abilities, talents, education,
experiences, job profession, acquaintances, friends and family. When
you recognize this, you begin to give credit back immediately to the
Supreme Being for all that He has given you. This keeps you flowing.
And this is the beginning of the two way rapport between you and the
God of your heart. In other words, the phone was ringing and you
picked up the receiver and said "Hello!"
You recognize there is more going on than meets the eye, there is
a force Supremely Being. And this Supreme Being guides by a distinct
set of spiritual laws. Spiritual law is a set of laws that rule
spirit. They are the laws that keep you aware that you are a
spiritual being and are there to keep you intact so that you don't
squander your life-force energy. Take for example the law of gravity.
It exists and we are affected by it in our physical body. We only
have difficulty with this law when we try to change it or go against
it. For example, if you were standing on a bench and stepped up on to
thin air you would be rudely awakened as you fell down to the ground.
That is what it is like with spiritual law. If you try to change it,
you can't. If you go against it, you have difficulty. Once you are
made aware of the law, you check yourself to see if you are complying
with it. If you are not complying with it, you take corrective action
to do so. If you have difficulty in your life you look to see where
you are not in compliance with the laws of spirit. This is where you
begin to navigate in your own life; become a captain of your own
soul. And when you go off course, your conscience lets you know.
Here is where the law of tithing comes into the picture. The law
is, Malachi 3:10, "Bring all the tithes into
the storehouse, that there may be food in mine house, and test me
now, herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you
the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing, that there
shall not be room enough to receive it."
Once you are aware of the law of tithing it is then time to take
action. This is how you begin the process.
Proverbs 3:9 "Honor the Lord with thy
substance and with the first fruits of all thine
increase."
Once you have recognized the Supreme Being is the Source of
everything you have in your life, you begin to give big thanks for
all you have been given. You take an assessment of everything you
presently have in your life&emdash; an inventory. Put a value on it,
in other words, its worth or what it would cost for you to replace
it. And from this total, you give 10 to 30%. If you have emotional
attachment or feelings of resentment, clear them from your heart
before you hand it over. This is called first fruits. This is
something you do because you recognize the value of having the
Supreme Being first and foremost on your mind. This is your
invitational request for the Supreme Being's consciousness to guide
your life and to flow through your mind, body, and affairs. This
prosperity consciousness is the blessing that he speaks of.
Exodus 20:3-4, (The Law: The Ten Commandments) "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me. Thou shalt
not make unto thee any carved image, or any likeness of anything that
is in heaven above, or that is in earth beneath, or that is in the
water under the earth."
If you are always concerned about money and you are reading this,
this is how you check yourself out. Do you have thoughts going
through your head like, "I don't have enough money. I am just making
it as it is. More is going out than is coming in, there just isn't
enough to go around and I have to rob Peter to pay Paul. The
subconscious mind is riddled with these untruths. But they have
nothing to do with you as a spiritual being. Through fear and a tight
fist money has become your God. So you constantly have to keep your
attention and devotion on money through fear and worry. You are
living in your survival chakra and you are worshipping money. More
exactly you are consulting your thoughts and beliefs about money
instead of asking the God of your heart to provide you with the state
of mind where you imagine you already are wealthy and ready to
collect that wealth. Even if you are begging God for money, this is
the case because money is a man made invention. It is just a way of
keeping track of the worth of a product or service. Bottom line money
represents your energy. The more money you have available to you, the
less you have squandered your energy. As well as the less money you
have available to you, the more your energy has been depleted.
After you have performed the "firstfruits" offering is when
tithing really begins. You now present the 10&endash;30% of your
pre-tax (gross) income to the place or person who is educating you
about tithing.
The law of tithing has been practiced for all times. The ancients,
those people who walked with God knew to give back the first and the
best of all that they received and increased. They had God first on
their mind, at the top of their list. It was a way of life. Every
ancient nation that abided by the spiritual law of tithing was very
wealthy. When they grew away from the practice of tithing, or keeping
God first on their mind, they became impoverished.
Matthew 23:23 "Woe unto you, scribes and
pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin,
and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy and
faith; these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other
undone."
The attitude which you hold in mind about tithing is very
important. It is a private and personal thing between you and the God
of your heart. He knows every foreign vibration that is held within,
holds back his qualities in you like rocks blocking a river from
flowing. Tithing is not done to show off that you are tithing or how
big or great your tithes are. It is an agreement with the God of your
heart to see where you are at with Him.
Philippians 2:5 "Let the mind be in you
which was also in Christ Jesus."
This mind is filled with all bright ideas, and the truth about
spirit is sewn within every body. It is called the soul memory. It
needs to be awakened so it can rise like Atlantis from the depths of
the ocean. This is the raise in consciousness we are looking for. It
is better than any drug. It must be awake for us to even begin to
believe we have a desire to follow spiritual law of tithing. It is
the realm in which the God of our heart resides and we are in
contact. It is the God of our heart that does the tithing. It is this
consciousness that picks up the head of the body and delivers the
tithe. It is important to understand who is doing the tithing.
My Experience With Tithing
By Donna M. Himot
It has been three months since I started tithing. I heard about
tithing before, but it was not a part of my religious upbringing.
When I listened to the tape on Tithing from your church, I knew in my
heart that it was right for me to take this leap of faith.
My family history around money has not been easy. Even though I
grew up in an upper middle class neighborhood, my family beliefs were
there was barely enough money and that life was hard. It was not that
we lacked anything but the thought form existed that life was a
struggle. My clothes were not the ones I really wanted to wear. This
was embarrassing and shameful to me. I always had just what I needed,
but never had a surplus of anything material or the belief that this
was possible.
As a business consultant over the last seven years, I have worked
with nonprofit organizations and entrepreneurs in the early phases of
their business or organization. As their finances are often unstable,
their ability to pay me equal to the value I brought to them was
precarious. This, coupled with my student loans from graduate school,
started a cycle of debt which caused me to turn to God.
I have been praying for financial abundance for three years. Even
though my debt has grown during this time (partly because I am in
school again pursuing doctoral studies), my life has gotten better in
every other way. There is more peace of mind, love, health and
harmony than ever before.
During the time I was growing my business, I financed it
creatively - mostly from gifts and loans from friends and business
associates. I was not in a position to take out a business loan and
this was a viable, yet unconventional alternative. While it was
difficult to ask for money, I believed enough in what I was doing to
think that the contribution I will make will be significant and my
debts repaid.
There were a few days when I literally walked into restaurants
without any money and asked if I could eat and pay later (and I did
come back and pay them). There were days when a bill was due that day
and I did not know how I would pay it.
Reflecting back on this time, I realize that even though our
culture advocates financial independence, I believe that I was giving
other people an opportunity to give in a way that was not the norm.
Even though I will repay all of my debts, I believe their willingness
to give was a gift to them as much as it was to me.
There are friendships I have made that I never would have made if
I had not reached out in this way. I exchanged information and
resources with people that would not have taken place had I not asked
them for money.
In a sense, there was a kind of synergy (when the whole is greater
than the sum of the parts) created by this situation. Granted, it
could be created in a many other ways. It helped me to see that
whenever this "synergy" exists, more life exists - more good - a
greater sense of community, of wholeness - and love.
As an organizational development consultant, I am interested in
developing this "synergy" in our cultural, educational, social,
political and industrial systems. Call it God, good, love or the
cooperative spirit. This, I believe, is what the world is yearning
for.
After I started to tithe, my cash flow became more consistent,
people seem more receptive to my ideas and the "flow" in my life is
increasing.
I now charge more money for my services as I now value my
contribution more. This increase in self-worth happened at the same
time I started to tithe. I now read books on financial abundance and
use these new principles and practices whenever I can.
Last week I called a friend to whom I owed $50. She forgave the
debt. I walked into a restaurant to repay them and they forgave the
debt. And then I called a previous landlord to whom I owed I
substantial amount of money. He said, "Donna, there are other people
who owe me money, but you have been the most conscientious. You do
not have to pay the whole thing. Just make me an offer." That same
week, I had a medical bill of almost $400 forgiven.
Last week I owed the IRS some money and when I called them, they
renegotiated my entire repayment plan so that my monthly payments
were lower. This is a miracle, which I feel came about because of my
desire to give first to the Giver, to serve others and to clean up my
finances.
I feel that I am living a new life. I know that new opportunities
for creativity, growth and prosperity await me. While I am still
clearing some issues from my childhood, I feel freer and happier and
know that, through faith, prayer, and tithing, there will be a day
when I am financially free.
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