Reva Lachica Moore
“There’s just no way I can give ten percent of my money to the church, Mama,” Adam protested.
“But the Bible says the ten percent of our earnings belongs to God, and not to us. And the tithe is holy to the Lord.” I was giving my sixteen-year-old his first lesson on tithing.
“I just can’t do it. I worked so hard for my money,” Adam blatantly objected, shifting his body back and forth. He was hoping that this lesson didn’t apply to him.
After school has ended, Adam landed his first job at a fast food restaurant. He was saving up for a new CD player and speakers for his future car.
For two years Adam prayed for a car. When his Dad finally gave him the okay to start looking, he studied used car magazines conscientiously. Each time he spotted a sports car, he asked for my prayers. He also prayed for his Dad to decide quickly, so as not to lose the car to someone else. He spent weeks praying. In the months that followed, the excitement on his face would turn into a serious, begging look, then into total
despair—the sports car they’d checked out the day before was sold! This was repeated again and again. In total discouragement, Adam gave up looking.
“Ask God to look for the car for you, instead of you doing the looking,” I encouraged him one day.
I prayed with Adam and assured him that if his Dad won’t decide right away, God’s chosen car will not be sold to someone else. As a mother of two teenage boys, I begged God to back up every Bible promise and show my children His faithfulness.
The next day on our way to the mall, I spotted a white Mitsubishi Galant with a sunroof and a good price sticker in bold numbers on the windshield. I pointed it to Adam who concluded it must have high mileage to be such a bargain. Again I reminded him to trust God, for He knows best.
The car’s owner lived in another state but after a month of frustrating negotiations, Adam finally got his low-mileage and almost new car. After new tires were installed, and Adam’s washing and waxing service, the car sparkled just like its new owner.
But after two weeks, Adam had his first disappointment.
He started to hear a rattling noise. He took the car to a mechanic shop to have the oil changed. After he arrived home, he saw that the oil was leaking profusely and the rattling noise had worsened. They forgot to remove the old oil filter! Adam was quite upset.
That night as I tried to convince my son about giving tithe, he was scared that if he did not give tithe, he’d be cursed. He was thinking about his new possession.
“No, not cursed,” I assured him. “God said He will bless you and rebuke the devourer for your sake—meaning He will keep you from spending unnecessarily.
After several minutes of struggling, Adam asked me to pray with him. He wanted to give his tithe ungrudgingly. With a smile, he gave me $80 of his hard-earned money.
The following morning he took his car back to the shop.
That afternoon he could hardly wait to show me the bill—“transmission changed, etc. totaled $1,100.00.” And his charge was “zero.”
“Mom, the tithing worked!” Adam was ecstatic. “I didn’t have to pay a penny!”
That was ten years ago and the lesson I instilled in Adam about tithing made a great impact; today he still believes in giving what belongs to God.
Likewise, when I was a child, I, too, received my first lesson on tithing from my mother. She always reminded me that 10% of what I make belongs to God.
When my mother lived here in U.S. back in the early 90’s, her only income was a small amount, which she received from Social Security. At 70, she treasured every dollar of her money.
She gave to the needy, and she used the rest to buy her grandchildren Christmas presents. Later I found out that she wasn’t paying her tithe because she thought since she was receiving such a small amount, she didn’t have to.
But one day, Mother had a dream. In the dream she was standing outside her house and in a far distance she saw a bright light that seemed to be coming toward her direction. The bright light kept coming closer and closer. A few minutes later, the bright light had reached her. It was a “being” but she couldn’t see his face because of the bright and blinding light. The “being” was clothed in white garment. To her amazement, the
“being” placed a white envelope on her hand. Then he disappeared. She looked at the white paper. It was a “tithe” envelope!
“God, I didn’t know that you still expect me to tithe my small earning of $300 that I receive from Social Security,” Mother cried. Then she woke up.
With a thankful heart, Mother went back to tithing again. Her dream made her realize that no one is exempt from paying tithe.
Malachi 3: 10 says….Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.”