Okay God I'm 3:10 All In... Now What?

With an approximate $35,000 reduction in annual household income due to layoffs and job changes, my husband and I have had no choice but to rewrite our budget to include only major bills and basic living expenses. That meant that there would be little to no money leftover to pay on all the credit card debt that we had racked up while we were 'living large' and basically mis-managing our finances.

We tried to negotiate with our creditors to significantly lower our payments and some have chosen to work with us while others have not. Some have filed lawsuits against us in small claims court. Fortunately, each time this happened, we were able to negotiate a payment plan in writing and then file it with the Court as our agreement. One particular creditor, however, basically laughed at me when I told them what we could afford for monthly payments. I wasn't too worried at that time, because I figured I knew how this would go. The creditor would get an attorney involved as had the others and when they saw that I was not moving from my proposed monthly payment plan, we'd file a written stipulation with the Court.

In June, the creditor's attorney had filed a small claims complaint against us, as had the others. I sent the attorney a letter explaining why we could not afford to pay more than what we had originally offered and asked him to sign an enclosed proposed written stipulation for lower monthly payments. However, instead of just signing and filing the agreement as I expected him to do, he told me that there was no way that their client would accept our proposal. We would have to go to Court and let the judge decide what we could afford for a monthly payment. Now, at this point and out of necessity, I'm going to skip around a bit in my story. Just keep tracking with me and you'll understand why.

Fast forward to a Sunday morning at The Journey Church in Rochester, New Hampshire. We had been attending the Journey faithfully since Easter, and one thing was for certain; after ten years of turning my back on church and my faith, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I LOVED my new church family; and for the first time in a very long time, I found myself truly desiring to be more than just a warm body in a seat on Sunday mornings. But I digress.

So on this particular Sunday, our Pastor challenged the congregation to give God the best of ourselves in every area... service... worship... and last but not least... giving... or rather, tithing. Well... service and worship was an area I was already willing and able to give my all... but tithing? OUCH! With our financial circumstances we were already giving to the point where it hurt! No way could we afford to tithe! But then as I was silently arguing with God about the matter, God pricked my heart, "so you trust me with everything else in your life, but not your finances?" I immediately bowed my head in embarrassment, "How can I call him the Lord of my life, but only submit to his lordship and trust him in the areas that I'm 'okay' giving up to him?" Needless to say, I chose to commit to the '3:10 all in' challenge even though by basic human reasoning, that would mean even greater shortfalls in our budget. Or so we thought.

For those of you who may be asking, "What is this '3:10 all in' challenge you speak of?" It's basically a modern day challenge to Christians everywhere concerning tithes and offerings that is based on God's promise of financial blessing. Give tithes (one tenth of your gross income) for three months and see what happens. "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." -- Malachi 3:10

So there I sat, holding our tithes and offering envelope, silently praying, "Okay Lord... you know our financial situation. I do not see how I can possibly make this work without foregoing payments on even more bills and expenses than I already am. But... I trust you... so here goes." I nervously dropped the envelope into the plate. I believe I even filled out a prayer request that same day, pretty much reciting what I had already prayed.

As I sat down with my weekly budget and checkbook the following Friday, which now included my tithe commitment, I wasn't all too surprised to find a $100 deficit. I wrote out the checks anyway as I nervously chuckled and moved onto the next order of business, making out my weekly grocery list which on average, totaled $225-250 per week (I had 4 teenagers at home). I chatted with God for a minute as I looked through my barren cupboards and fridge, finishing up my list. I told him that if I had to go hungry to make sure I fulfilled my tithe commitment to him, that I would, wryly acknowledging that I could stand to lose a few pounds anyway. With list and coupons in hand, I headed to the store.

When I arrived and grabbed a shopping cart, I was more than prepared to sacrifice a few of the items on my list so that I would not have a deficit in my budget that week. However, something told me to just shop as I normally do, because to do otherwise would not be trusting God to provide for me and my family as he said he would in his word. "Do you trust me?" I felt the words nag at my conscience. "Okay" I said humbly under my breath, "I trust you."

So, I shopped as I normally did, choosing the brands that I had coupons for, picking up items on sale and loading up my cart. Nothing out of the ordinary. After unloading everything at the checkout and handing the cashier the coupons, I mindlessly watched the items go through the scanner and got out my debit card to pay. I looked up at the screen and did a double take when I saw my total. I shook my head in disbelief thinking that I must be hallucinating, until the cashier confirmed the total by saying, "that will be $134.62, debit or credit?" She actually had to repeat herself as I stood there trying to figure out if I had forgotten anything on my list or if she missed scanning something. "Debit or credit?" She asked again. "Oh... um... debit."

After I loaded all the groceries in my car... I frantically scanned my receipt thinking "this is nuts! She had to have missed something!" Nope. Everything accounted for. "WOO HOO... PRAISE THE LORD!" I shouted as stunned passersby looked at me like I had lost my ever-loving mind. I smiled and nodded as I put my car into reverse and left the parking lot singing and shouting to the Lord all the way home.

The following weekly expense and bill paying session consisted of more of the same, as did the weekly grocery trip. I was overjoyed. God was taking care of us and meeting our needs. My budget still consisted of some shortfalls... you know... those expenses that aren't really a weekly or even monthly thing... but they're still there year after year. Real estate taxes, heating oil, clothing, gifts, etc. I just left all those expenses off the budget and told myself I'd add them in after things turned around for us.

Fast forward to Sunday the October 10th. I requested prayer via our connection card for a hearing coming up on Wednesday with the creditor and their attorney who refused to work w/ us over the summer. The judge would be reviewing our financials to determine our ability to pay and I was afraid that he would question our tithing as an unnecessary expense. I knew he would. I'm a paralegal... we sue people... I've seen it before. I prayed that the judge would not take away our tithe. I asked my church leaders to agree with me in my prayer.

Late Tuesday afternoon... the day before Court... I was preparing our financial affidavit (and formulating an argument on my religious right to tithe) when the attorney called me to advise that their client changed their mind and he signed the stipulation I sent them back in July and had filed it with the Court, so the hearing on Wednesday would not be happening. It didn't. Coincidence? I think not. God is good.

Rewind to Monday when I had balanced my checkbook and realized that I had made almost a $300 error against us. I had found the error, which was that I had added a transaction that I should have subtracted. I had no choice but to take the money that I had been squirreling away for our very empty oil barrel and put it back into the checking account to cover the shortfall or we would be overdrawn. I would be remiss if I did not remind you at this point, that nothing has changed for us income-wise. In fact with our 3:10 commitment, our bills and expense budget had greatly increased. In short, the following week's budget would be just as short as it had always been, plus there would be NOTHING leftover... let alone any money to buy kero. "Oh well. He gives and takes away." I thought to myself as I re-deposited the kerosene money into the account.

As the days passed and the temperature began to drop, I felt my resolve waiver a bit. The enemy began whispering to me, "see... if you weren't tithing then filling your oil barrel wouldn't be an issue and you wouldn't be seeing your own breath in the morning." I immediately replaced those thoughts with scripture on God's promises to care for us (sidebar, this is a key area where staying grounded daily in the Bible comes in handy.. listen to your leaders when they tell you to read your Bible everyday) However, even though I knew I would not falter on my commitment to God, I did find myself wondering if I needed to educate myself more on the principles and blessing of tithing, rather than just focusing on bringing the tithe itself.

In doing some studying on tithing and good financial stewardship, I came across a website that focused on core biblical principles and truths on tithing: www.aftertithing.com. After reading some of what was provided on the website and referring back to my Bible, I decided to rewrite my budget to include all of our shortfalls... the bills and expenses I would pay if and when God provided a way for me to pay them. Based on what I had read, God needed to know that I was ready to receive the blessings he desired to give me, in that I would be responsible with his blessings. I also decided to move "tithes" up in my budget spreadsheet to be at the top... the very first thing to be deducted each payday instead of the last. In other words... I did not remove anything from my budget... I added to it... and I made God first.

One week later, or yesterday to be more exact, I sat down to pay this week's bills. As I was writing out the checks and making the deductions in my checkbook register, I saw that my balance was significantly higher than it should be. "Ohhh no... not gonna make that mistake again." I said aloud, laughing nervously as I re-did the math. Yet again and again I was showing that we had several hundred dollars more than what we should have had. I quickly looked over my spreadsheet to see what I had missed because there was no possible way that all of our expenses for the week and our usual shortfalls could be covered with enough money leftover to buy 100 gallons of kero for our tank. Especially considering what had happened when I balanced the checkbook the week before. That money was gone. It was allotted to my mistake. Or was it?

I screamed to my husband in the next room, "Honey! Come here... QUICK!" Fingers trembling, I showed him our spreadsheet, then the checkbook register and whipped out the calculator to show him the deductions and the end figure. "Am I crazy babe or are you seeing this too?!" He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, we are tithing and have been trusting in God. He's obviously making it work for us."

"WOW-WOW-WOW" was all I could shout as tears of gratitude streamed down my face. "Thank you God, thank you so much for whatever it is that you're doing here!" I excitedly messaged my pastor about our latest 3:10 miracle and then danced my way into the kitchen with my pad of paper and pen ready to make my grocery list.

I began looking through my fridge and cupboards as I usually did, in order to make a list of everything we would need for the week. Remember now... I live with teenagers aka wasteful, bottomless pits. I started with all the usual items in the fridge that are always gone inside a few days of shopping. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the gallon of milk I purchased the previous week was still almost full. Hmmm. That's odd. I shook the coffee creamer containers... still full. "No way!" I said to myself. Eggs! Surely we would need eggs! Johnny has two everyday for breakfast! I peered into the egg carton... 10 eggs left. "Okay what the heck is going on here... am I being punked?!" I asked in disbelief.

At this point, I was floored. I mean... all the things that we always have to buy without fail, every single week were still there, appearing to have been barely touched even though I knew we had all been using this stuff up. I shut the fridge door and opened the freezer door. Frozen pizza? Still there. Ice cream... surely we would need ice cream... can't keep that around for more than 3 days tops. Nope. Still had almost a full half gallon. I began frantically running back and forth through the kitchen flinging open cupboard doors and laughing hysterically as I found item after item that did not need to be replaced. Vic walked quickly into the bathroom to check laundry detergent and the toilet paper situation. Still had almost a full bottle of detergent and the t.p. supply was full. We headed to the grocery store with our very short list purchasing a few items that would be needed for this week's dinners, laughing and praising God as we made our way through the aisles.

Christians... to some of you I know how crazy this all probably sounds. Believe me I do. But there is just no way I can explain my recent financial experiences with mere logic and reason. It is impossible by scientific and mathematical standards. In fact it is not just impossible, it completely flies in the face of reason. But then again... God is God and so much more. He is a God of wonders beyond our wildest imagination. He is faithful, and nothing is beyond his ability. Nothing. "Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." -- Matthew 19:26

My recent financial blessings may be especially puzzling to those who are faithfully bringing their tithes each week or month yet are still drowning in a pool of financial uncertainty... or struggling under the weight of a mountain of debt. I know because a long time ago when I was an active (sort of) Christian, faithfully tithing yet still struggling, I always questioned why God would bless others, but not me.

Maybe (and please just hear me out), you need to take a step back and instead of asking yourself whether or not God is faithful, ask yourself if you believe that he will be faithful to you? Are you standing on your faith in his word? Or are you giving into self-fulfilling prophecies such as "My finances are way too messed up" or "I just don't make enough money" or worse, "God will never be able to bless me" If these are the questions you are asking, then suffice it to say that if you were a contestant on heaven's version of the game show, Jeopardy! Gabriel would be saying "I'm sorry, that is incorrect." God fulfills his promises people! His word endures forever:

"And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you,even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." -- Matthew 6:28-29

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." -- Jeremiah 17:7-8

Something else that faithful tithers who are still struggling may need to consider as I too had to seriously consider in taking my 3:10 challenge to a higher level is on the subject of obedience; are you obeying his word regarding all of your finances... you know... the 90% after tithes? Do you have a written budget and do you adhere to it? God expects us to be good stewards with all that he has given us... not just our tithe. "Unfortunately, many tithers have sabotaged their own increase by not making good decisions with their money. Poor management of the remaining 90% will nullify the benefits of tithing. In short, poor money management trumps tithing." (www.aftertithing.com).

Some other tough questions you may have to ask yourself, as I have also had to ask myself based on my previous church-going and tithing experience, concerns the attitude towards giving. Do you give begrudgingly or regard it as a chore, instead of it being your honor to give back to God a mere pittance of what he has given you? God loves a cheerful giver. "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." -- 2 Corinthians 9:7. I used to cry out in anger to God about how I was being faithful yet not seeing a return like my pastor at the time said I would. Yet in being honest with myself, when I look back on my previous tithing experience, I distinctly recall writing out those checks each week while complaining to myself about all the awesome things I could be spending that money on if I didn't have to give it to the church.

Or perhaps, as quite recently was the case with myself, you aren't bringing the full tithe (or tenth) of your income. Yes, times are tough. You may not even be working and barely getting by on unemployment, or you're disabled and living on a meager social security benefit. You may see no possible way you could tithe. Go back and read my testimony. This is where the rubber meets the road, and it comes back to having faith in God's promises. I had no way to bring the tithe either. But I stood on my faith in God's word, let go of what I thought I knew and just jumped in the 3:10 challenge with both feet.

I truly hope that what I've shared has stirred something within you concerning tithing. Let me close by saying this, if the faithful givers at Granite United had not been faithful, the Journey Church in Rochester, NH would likely not exist. And if the faithful givers at the Journey Church had not been faithful, I would most likely not be sharing this incredibly wonderful testimony with you right now. When you give to God.. you are ensuring that there is enough 'food' at his table to be able to invite more guests to it. Please... listen to your pastors. They aren't instructing you to give as God's word says to give so that they, themselves will be blessed. They are instructing you to give so that you can be blessed and so that others that may not know Jesus can be blessed. Isn't that supposed to be the purpose of a church? To make it so the whole world has the opportunity to hear the good news of our Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ? So, bless God by blessing your Pastor, leaders and church family. Bring your tithe. "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." -- Malachi 3:10.

In his love,
Robin