2025-11-17
Brooke Strong
Sermon Text...
I remember the day that I read an article about generosity written by my friend Charlotte. In it, she talked about how grateful she was for the lessons about giving her parents taught her as a child. She learned from a very early age that she should take ten percent of everything she received and return it to God as an act of gratitude for all the blessings she received.
I realized in that moment that, conversely, I had grown up learning about scarcity. Being raised by a single mom in the days before courts ensured that fathers paid their child support, money was always tight and financial worries were always present. Church was not a regular part of our routine, so generosity as a spiritual practice was not something I’d ever heard of.
Decades later, when my husband and I had a family of our own, we decided to join a church. For the first time in my life, I learned about tithing, but couldn’t really imagine giving away ten percent of our income! When the time for offering came around, Mike and I looked at one another to see who happened to have some cash on hand. On a good day we might put a $20 bill in the plate, but more often it was a matter of what we found in our wallets: a few ones, maybe a five. We just gave God the crumbs we happened to have on hand.
After attending the church for a while, we learned that we should make a pledge to help the congregation budget and so, when the stewardship letter and pledge card arrived in the mail, we sat down and figured out what we might be able to give once all our bills were paid. Every month I would write a check and mail it to the church. It was just one more obligation to be met. We had moved from giving God our crumbs to our leftovers, but we felt pretty good that we were contributing regularly.
Then my friend Kate started talking about how tithing changed her life, how even when she didn’t think she could do it, she and her wife gave ten percent to the church. I listened with the same detached skepticism that I have when I see ads for the latest diet pill or a psychic who can predict the future. It all sounded nice . . . but hardly practical or likely to really happen.
It wasn’t until about 20 years ago when I read an article by Bill Eure that I could even fathom tithing. Bill, the husband of a friend of mine, wrote about growing up in the church and hearing tons of sermons through the years about giving generously. But, he said, it wasn’t until he was in his 20s that one message caught his attention.
The pastor on that Sunday talked about tithing and for some reason Bill decided to try it. Now, as a young man just starting out, he wasn’t in a financial position much different than mine growing up. He barely had enough money to pay his bills, or so he thought. But after that Sunday, Bill decided that every time he got paid, he would put ten percent of his check into the offering plate at church.
At the end of the first month, Bill realized that all of his bills were paid, and he still had food in his cupboard. So he tried it again the next month. Literally by God’s grace, he continued that practice every month until he passed away a decade ago. And every month, not only did he manage to fulfill his obligations and buy groceries, he traveled and enjoyed many wonderful life experiences . . . all while living from a spirit of generosity and gratitude for the blessings he received from God.
When I read Bill’s article, we were well beyond our 20s and had reached a point of financially stability. His experience intrigued me and so I decided to try it. Discussing it with my husband, however, he was dubious that we could actually afford to be so generous. We had recently bought a new car, he pointed out and had a car payment for the first time in years. That, along with kids in college, would make it difficult to give so much money away.
Or so he thought! Because I handle our finances, I chose to follow Bill’s example and give away ten percent of every paycheck. Despite Mike’s concerns, I was determined to see how this worked, knowing that if we came up short at the end of a month, I could always reduce our contribution. I shared this information in a sermon several months after making the change, and I watched as Mike’s jaw dropped while he sat there listening. In response, I just smiled and asked if he’d gone hungry lately. Of course, the answer was no.
Twenty years later, we continue to tithe. And I’ve learned that Charlotte, Kate and Bill were right. Somehow there is always enough money available, even at times when our business income fluctuated substantially. And, as Kate says, there is something life-changing about living from a place of abundance and generosity. The spiritual practice of tithing has deepened my faith in ways I never considered, showing me that God truly does provide enough.
And . . . after 20 years, like Bill, we’ve always had food in the cupboard, have traveled all over the US and the world, and live a good life. A better life, actually, because we trust God more fully and live with a deep sense of peace and gratitude.
Maybe you are thinking right now, as I did when my friend Kate waxed on about the gift of tithing, that I sound just a little over the top. Maybe you’re feeling like there is no way you can do this. But I am proof that you can. Remember, I went from giving God my crumbs to my leftovers to finally giving my first fruits as the scripture suggests.
Maybe if you are only giving five percent or less, you want to do this in a couple of steps. Try increasing your pledge by a percent or two over what you originally planned. Give that amount for a few months, then increase to a full tithe. See how it goes. You haven’t made your pledge for that amount, so you can just try it out and see how if it works. If you can’t buy groceries at the end of the month, reduce your giving a bit. But my guess is you won’t have to!
Why does all of this matter? Because at last year’s annual meeting, we had to limit the amount we budget for mission and people weren’t happy about that! I said then, and I’ll repeat it now: it wouldn’t take a lot to erase this problem. Without putting you to sleep with a bunch of numbers, think about these things for just a moment:
o Only 64% of members gave to the church last year. That means that 36% of people didn’t offer Federated any financial support. If those who never gave just donated $1000 each, we would not only recover the amount for mission, we’d have a surplus to enable us to begin new ministries.
o The average pledge last year was less than $3200. That is just 3.5% of the average income in Chagrin. If we could increase that average to 4% – less than half of a tithe – we would be in such a strong financial position that we could increase our mission, build our reserves and become an even more vital congregation!
Friends, it doesn’t take any one person doing a whole lot more to make a big impact! For those of you – and there are many – who are already exceeding these targets, thank you! For those who realize you may have some additional capacity, please consider how being more generous can not only add to Federated’s vitality, but can also strengthen your faith.
As Paul said to the church at Corinth, God loves a cheerful giver. I pray that you are able to realize the joy that comes when you stop giving God your crumbs or your leftovers and instead offer the best you have . . . your first fruits. May it be so. Amen.