“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.” — Romans 12:2
In sports, playing time is everything. The ones who get it are highly valued for their skills, while those who don’t are many times cast aside. People of the world tend to think in terms of things being very limited. They see an amount of something and that is the amount there is. Whether it’s soda pop, candy or even things like money, what we see is all that is there when we look at things in the way of the world.
Thankfully, God doesn’t think like the world thinks; God doesn’t view the world and His creation the way this broken world does. The world views a half-full soda bottle as half full; God views it as something that can be more than we see, something that can be greater than we believe. All it takes is us allowing God to shake up our viewpoint, with the resulting reaction being blessing that flows out upon us and others.
The following verses relate to tithing and giving. While they are of great value when discussing those ideas, we’re going to instead look at these verses from the viewpoint of how God can work with limited means, showcasing His faithfulness to people who believe in Him and allow Him to work in them.
“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.” — Proverbs 3:9-10 (ESV)
God repeatedly commands believers in the Bible to give Him a tenth of their overall income. Seems like a reasonable request; seems like a reasonable idea. God asks us to do that, and in response He says He’ll do this. Talk about something you wouldn’t expect.
The ways of God are so contrary to this broken, selfish, indulgent world we live in, and we all get caught up in it. The world sees the idea of accumulation, of getting more and having more and keeping more, because all that I can have is what I see. Instead, God is working in the lives of those who are faithful to Him to bless them and work in their lives. It is promised that when we give to the Lord God, faithfully and with love in our hearts, we will receive blessing.
In essence, when we trust in God by returning to Him a small portion, according to His commandments, it is promised that we will reap blessings. We allow God to shake up our viewpoint, shaking us from the way the world thinks, and instead we allow Him to focus us on Him and what He can do. Praise God that His blessings overflow when we allow Him to shake us from the world.
— Jon Oglesby
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