Can't Ministry Be My Tithe, God?



God always brings this up, lol.  This time it was through the message during the high school service (no I'm not in high school, I'm just a leader and intern with the high school ministry haha).  Today, one of the other leaders shared about the sacrifices he has made in his walk with Jesus and how God desires for all of us to live sacrificially that we may experience a more full life with Him.  Since it was directed more towards high school students, his challenge to them was to find something that they need to sacrifice in their lives that is hindering their relationship with Jesus.

During his sermon though, I began thinking about how I haven't tithed lately.  In the Old Testament, the Israelites were required on several occasions to give ten percent (tithe=one-tenth) of all they owned to God.  Of course, Jesus's life, ministry, death, and resurrection was the fulfillment of the Law, so though we are no longer required to tithe, we are called to set aside a portion of our income to help support the church (actual church building) and the Body of Christ (church attenders) [1 Corinthians 16:1-2]--which the modern day church has adopted the one-tenth figure from the OT as the portion of income urged upon by Paul.  The overall lesson though is that we need to give back to God and to the Church, whether it be time, money, etc.
Before I graduated college, I told God that if I got a job I would tithe regularly.  So once I got the job at the food safety lab I work at, I was super excited to start giving back to God in that capacity.  As life got busier though and I began to realize how much life costs, my tithing began to decrease.  Instead of twice a month, I would only tithe once a month...and soon that turned to once every two months....until eventually I stopped tithing to the actual church because I was spending so much money on personal ministry.  I got to the point were I actually told myself, "Hey Josh, it's ok to not tithe to the church because you're spending money in other ways for ministry...that's your tithe!"  Thus, I have been operating with that mindset for the past few months...until today.

God broke into my thoughts and asked me, "Why don't you tithe to the church anymore?"  Of course...I was a taken off guard by that question/thought...so I began making up excuses like, "GOD!  You see how much I spend on gas every month to give rides to students!  You see how much time I take out of my day to hang out with these kids!  I really don't think I need to give back to the church because of that" and blah blah blah.  Then God responded that's all good, but then asked me if I still believed that He's working through The Bridge (which is my church), and if I do, then why don't I give back so that those who are helping to keep The Bridge open (e.g. as paid staff) are able to live out their calling and keep expanding the Kingdom through the ministries at The Bridge?

I was convicted...and even more...I felt ashamed because I had fallen into the lie that my own personal ministry was doing much more good than the ministries at The Bridge; therefore, I didn't need to give back or tithe because it's not worth it.  I realize that I wanted to keep my ministry as my tithe instead of letting it become my sacrifice to God.  The money I receive from my job at the lab is a blessing, thus, who am I to keep it from blessing the ministries of God?  Just because I'm in ministry, why do I get a free pass to not sacrifice while I tell my students they need to sacrifice?

I have realized that in this life, God is worthy of anything and everything I can give to Him, whether it be my money, my time, my gifts and talents, or my whole being.  God calls me to give so that the church may be supported financially, but even more, God calls me to sacrifice the comfort and security of my life that I may know Him more fully and that I live in such a way that points only to God, never to me.  I want to get to the point in my life where everything I do--whether it be tithing or hanging out with my students-- none of it even seems like a sacrifice or an expectation anymore, but it simply is just me giving my life and resources fully to Jesus and the coming Kingdom.  Jesus laid down His life and all that He had so that I may live, why can't I do the same?

Jason Upton - No Sacrifice
http://youtu.be/xrODLPqMWTs

Sidewalk Prophets - I Lay Down My Life For You
http://youtu.be/KXVZsMnL7Y4

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