A Stewardship Journey (continued)

Part 4

Well, I left off here, with Isaiah being born and my heart being broken and reshaped by the Holy Spirit to the point of tithing. This was just the beginning of our journey of being stewards of our treasures.

When it comes to the stewardship of money for me, hindsight is always 20/20 and I truly believe that is the way God designed it to be so that we can reflect back on our blessings. In Luke 6:38, God says, "Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (ESV) We have witnessed this in our lives over and over again.

Following the car accident we were involved in, we received a fairly large settlement as compensation for our losses. I remember laying in bed one night, thinking again of our blessings (family, home, health) and feeling compelled to tithe our settlement. This was no small amount, but I was certain, this is what God desired from us. Steve agreed.

Within a week after we had made the commitment to give the tithe to the church, we received a call from our attorney. He told us that they finished the negotiations with the health insurance companies and we would be receiving an additional check for almost the same amount of what we had just committed giving to the church.

Now, let me be clear. I do not believe that God "gave" us that additional money because we committed to tithing the amount of our settlement. However, I am a firm believer in 2 Corinthians 9:7, "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (ESV) We gave the tithe, because it was what we had decided in our hearts, not because we felt we had to.

Tithing is one of those things that once you start, it's hard, if not impossible, to go back. The Lord started our stewardship journey back then and is continuing it today.

To be continued...