Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Stories abound in Mormon lore of people receiving specific blessings after paying their tithing. I am blessed in many ways, but I don't have a story that I can directly link back to being a result of my tithe-paying.
I pay tithing because it's a sign of gratitude for all I've been given. Each month, Brock and I cut a check, hand it to the bishop, and that's that. I have faith that those tithing dollars are appropriated, well, appropriately--but sometimes, just out of curiosity, it would be cool to know that $X helped buy pews for a new meetinghouse in Rio de Janeiro, $X paid for the apartment of a young missionary in Ghana, etc.
Tithing is a way for me to show gratitude for my blessings. My health, my husband, my loving family, the country I live in, etc. But somehow in that mix, I forgot that there really only one blessing that I'm paying for: My redemption.
I pay tithing because it's a sign of gratitude for all I've been given. Each month, Brock and I cut a check, hand it to the bishop, and that's that. I have faith that those tithing dollars are appropriated, well, appropriately--but sometimes, just out of curiosity, it would be cool to know that $X helped buy pews for a new meetinghouse in Rio de Janeiro, $X paid for the apartment of a young missionary in Ghana, etc.
But today as I was reading in Exodus 30 (oh yes, I was reading IN THE OLD TESTAMENT...are you impressed??), I figured out what each tithe I give specifically "pays" for, in a sense.
From verses 15-16:
15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.
16 And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.Atonement money.
Tithing is a way for me to show gratitude for my blessings. My health, my husband, my loving family, the country I live in, etc. But somehow in that mix, I forgot that there really only one blessing that I'm paying for: My redemption.
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