“ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

When we drive by a gas station, and see gasoline at $5.00 or more a gallon, we experience a range of emotions from anger, to disbelief, to concern. Those who make a living with diesel powered trucks and equipment are even more emotional. A shortage of baby formula, bare shelves, inflation is up and hurting us all.

As we ponder and pray about the times that we are facing, we think about how to curtail our spending. Some are rethinking vacation plans or canceling them all together. Others bundle their trips out to save on the amount of fuel they have to purchase. There was a recent news article where it was revealed that some would cancel vacations, work from home when possible, not attend social events and stop attending and giving to their church.

This last tidbit of information should be concerning. What you give back to your local church is between you and God. The Bible does direct us to give 10% of our tithes back to God. (Leviticus 27:30)

The question we have to ask ourselves is this; does God withhold  what’s truly important from us? He doesn’t withhold His mercy or His grace. Do we give Him 10 % of our tithes, time and talents? Many do give 10 % or more of their tithes and that is awesome. If we gave God back 10% of our time every week, we would have to give solely to God, 16.8 hours a week. Do we spend 16.6 hours a week in prayer, study,service or worship? Do we use our talents in service to God?

Some reduce their  giving out of concern of having enough money to pay their bills. I get that. It’s when others quit giving all together because economic or other reasons is when there should be a concern. Remember everything we have belongs to God. Our time, our tithes, our talents are all His. When we withhold those things from God, you are doing more than hurting the ministry of your church. You are doing a disservice to God and are depriving yourself of a blessing. 

This is not a televangelist ploy that I am sharing today. It is reminder that giving back a portion of what God has given you in itself is an act of worship.