Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

Touchy Subject

Yesterday I taught on a "touchy subject" at church: tithing. Tithing refers to offering 10% of our income to God. The average American believer spends roughly 92% of their monthly income on debts and other obligations and gives 2.1% to the church, missions, and the poor combined. Maybe that's why we're touchy about tithing; most of us don't even come close to a tithe in our normal giving.

After the service, there were several interesting comments at the door. There were the standard "good sermon" comments. (I'm sure that sometimes people just tell me this, not because it actually was a good sermon, but because they feel like they have to say something.) But then there were some more intriguing comments. Things like, "That was brave." "If I were you, I would have been sweating bullets all week thinking about that sermon." "I don't think you'll be fired."

All of these comments were given with a gracious smile or a wink, so I knew where these folks were coming from. Nevertheless, it was very interesting that this topic could elicit these kind of thoughts from our people.

I actually was not worried about my message yesterday. Maybe it's just youthful naivete, not realizing how sensitive this topic really is. Or maybe I'm learning to trust in God more and more and to worry about things less and less. I'd like to think it's the latter. After all, this series that I'm preaching on giving is entitled, "In God We Trust?" I hope I'm answering that question with a resounding "YES!" in my preaching, in my giving, and in my life.

Oh, and if you're interested, you can listen to my "brave" sermon on our website. Go to ameliachurchofchrist.com and scroll down to the message entitled "Trust=Tithe…and then some."