I was struck by a realization the other day. You might already have thought of this and I'm just late to the game, but it was a realization that has embedded itself in my heart and mind. I find it very comforting and uplifting.
I have been reading in the New Testament about Jesus's words and actions, including feeding multitudes with only small amounts of food. In a way we cannot understand, Christ was able to multiply small amounts of food in order to adequately feed thousands of people and still have his disciples pick up baskets and baskets of uneaten food. This is a miracle.
I was talking to a friend the other day, and we somehow got on a related topic. I recalled a story I had once read in which an early Mormon man felt he was above such things as paying tithing or felt that the Church did not use tithing funds the way he felt they should be used. This man was telling a prophet or apostle (I can't remember the names of the people involved) that the way he paid his tithing to the Lord was by reserving a certain amount of his income for charitable works and then choosing to whom he would give his money. The person he was talking to admonished him for thinking he could circumvent the law of tithing as laid out in both ancient and modern revelation.
In the Old Testament (including in Malachi 3:10), the Lord emphasized the importance of returning ten percent of all He blesses us with back to the Lord, and He made it a commandment. It is such an important commandment that He outlined the blessings of paying tithes and offerings and the consequences of not paying tithes and offerings. The blessings are miraculous. The consequences are dire--not because He is a vengeful god but because a nation that does not honor God will naturally fall, and in not nice ways (look where we are now!).
My sudden thought was that this man who decided to take tithing into his own hands was overlooking the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Christ took a small, simple offering of a little bread and fish and was able to feed thousands. He can also take our small, simple offerings of tithes and offerings and multiply the effects to bless millions. The man who arrogantly thought he could improve on the Lord's plan for paying tithes into the storehouses by making his own charitable donations was doing a good thing, yes, but he could only bless a small number of people with that money. Christ can take our tithe offerings and multiply the effects in miraculous ways--far beyond our human capacity and knowledge. If we refuse to voluntarily give back to the Lord only a small portion of all that He has blessed us with, we deny not only His authority but His ability to work miracles. We are, essentially, refusing to feed the multitudes. Unlike the young boy who willingly offered up his little lunch of five loaves and two fishes to the apostles so that five thousand people could eat and be sustained (and for which I am sure he was blessed for the rest of his life, both spiritually and physically), we are arrogantly thinking we can do better than God. Charity borne of love and humility is always a good thing, but wouldn't you also hope that your donation of time and money could be made miraculous through the power of Christ?
Until I opened my mouth, I had never thought of tithing quite in that light. I have willingly and happily paid ten percent of my income as tithing since I was old enough to earn any money, and the first thing Husband and I do when we get paid is donate our tithing and fast offerings. We have seem miracles in our lives as a consequence, but maybe someday we will be allowed to know how Christ multiplied our tiny tithe so that it could bless the lives of many more. It's not about self-aggrandizement, it's about glorying in the mercy and power of the almighty God, whom we love and serve.
I am grateful for the lesson I was given. I am always grateful that my Heavenly Father is willing to teach me because it shows me that He sees me. Lately, I have needed to know I am seen, and this moment was a miracle in my own life.
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