GIVING

In Mark 12:17, "Jesus said to Jewish leaders when they questioned Him about whether it was lawful for Jews to pay taxes to the Emperor, "Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's."


In answering their question,  Jesus said that we are to pay our taxes to the government under which we live in accordance with the government's tax requirements.  Christians are not to cheat or hold back on what is due the "emperor," our governmental needs.  However, Jesus makes also clear that we are to give to God what God needs to support and grow God's body on this earth, the church.  The tithe is the minimum biblical basis to Christians.  Any less and we are cheating God of what belongs to God.


 In our giving to government taxes and God's work in the world, we are to be generous and never deceitful or evasive. God knows what God's given us to use while here on this earth.  With all we've received, how could we not be generous?


Giving is up to the giver, and no one should question another's motives or actions, for none of us knows the situations in which others live.  Yet we can all pray in thanks to God for what we have been given and return to Him what we are able.  As for me and my family, how could we not be generous?


I remember well the discussions about tithing in our family.  And we finally were made to see that we could tithe on our earnings from the year before as we had no way of knowing what our earnings would be in the year we were in.  It worked very well.


Lord Jesus, we thank you for your clear message regarding our gifts to you.  Amen.


Jo INMN