First Fruits

Yesterday, Bryce and I made leek and potato cakes (without the ham) to take to our family's Sunday dinner. They were excellent.

This morning, washing the pans and bowls from the weekend's cooking, I washed a bowl I inherited last year. This bowl was part of a processor set, re-gifted because the older relative replaced it with a newer model. It was offered because the newlyweds already had a processor and didn't need the ancient artifact.

When we got the contraption home, we found its quarks and the reason it was donated. I must say this experience reminds me of the year I worked with World Concern, sorting clothing donations to send overseas. The saying is: Kids say the darnest things. The reality was: Why do people donate unusable junk? Almost every session of sorting uncovered an item (or a bag full) that was complete garbage - rotted, moldy, dusty, in pieces.

In his book, The Hole in Our Gospel, Richard Stearns brings up the unpopular subject of tithing. Personally, tithing is a direct challenge to my statement of trust in God. If I say I believe in and follow Him (also known as loving Him), I will do what He commands (Jn. 14:15). Leviticus 27:30 says: "A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD." The first ten percent, not the last, not the diseased, not the unusable.

Stearns goes on to paint the reminding picture that Israel was a nation of subsistence farming. Giving the first ten percent of the crop was a HUGE act of faith (pg. 211). In the past year, I've done a lot of gardening. It takes most of a day, sometimes closer to a week, to get new crops in the soil of my little patch. My trip to the grocery store is so far removed from the idea of tilling for my food, trusting the seeds are good, that rain will come, hauling water around when it doesn't, vigilantly watching for pests and their larvae. I am a long way from supporting myself on what I can coax from the ground.

My situation is different than ancient Israel's, yet, my taste of raising crops and the work it requires sharpens the faith it takes to tithe. Perhaps that's why only about five percent of American Christian households tithe at all. The average American church goer, in 2005, gave of a whopping 2.58% of their income (use his web reference). Of that 2 percent, the average American church doles out only 2 percent to overseas missions.

I don't know about you, but I need God to break my stubborn heart. It's so tempting to keep His blessings to myself; but I am meant to use my blessings to bless others. World Vision's founder, Bob Pierce, often prayed that his heart would be broken by the things that break God's heart - that he would be filled with God's compassion and perspective.

But we can be forgiven and transformed. If we humble our hearts, He is faithful and will heal our land (2 Cor. 7:14).

And: Thank you for thinking of giving to people in need. I certainly testify to the relief it is to Give Away, declaring that my Stuff has No Power over Me, declaring my dependence on the Only One who is worthy of Glory and Honor and Power. However, when donating, please evaluate whether the item is actually usable, or if it belongs in the trash.