To give as part of worship or not to give: that is the question. Wise men come to worship Jesus with accompanying gifts and get more than they bargain for. But my “educated” accountant says it’s unwise to think I’ll have more by giving some away - “the numbers just don’t add up”. That’s human math. However, with the last few morsels of desperately needed food we know that, when it was given to Jesus, He fed some 20 thousand hungry people and collected 12 big bushel baskets of leftovers after the people were full. That’s Jesus math right there; that’s how Jesus does His multiplication tables. But, is Jesus still in the miracle business today?
This week, one of our life group members needed a box spring for her bed in her apartment. Her manager forbids bringing in used furniture that wasn’t in a tenant’s previous home. He’d had a bad experience with bedbugs because a tenant brought in furniture from a questionable source. Another member of our life group somehow found a box spring, still in the original plastic wrap, that someone was giving away for free. This box spring was the exact size needed and the man who was giving it away only had it because someone had given it to him, suggesting that he might run into someone who needs it. Coincidence or Jesus math? Our friend received more than she could afford, at least according to world math.
Personally, I give in the tithes and offerings as part of my worship. I also participate in local league sports, sitting in the locker room next to professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and accountants who have given me needed advice that otherwise would have cost me money. That’s Jesus math. God gives me a better quality of life with less of my income than I could give myself with 100% of it. But that doesn’t even begin to describe the joy in my life that comes when I share with others. We all need joy for our personal well-being and health. And God pours out joy abundantly when we’re generous in our worship of Him. That’s God math. That’s a modern miracle that we couldn’t afford ourselves with even 100% of our income.
God forbids we put Him to the test, except for one, and only one thing:
“Test me in this (tithing),” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. Malachi 3:10 NIV
