The Tithe

 Today we look at these verses in the One Year Bible:

Song of Solomon 5:1-8:14
2 Corinthians 9:1-15
Psalm 51:1-19
Proverbs 22:24-25 

Let's look at 2 Corinthians. Paul is laying it on pretty heavy here, but he brings up a good subject that I rarely talk about. He talks about giving money. In this case, he's talking about the people of Corinth giving money to him and his fellow travelers. And I'm sure Paul needed it, as he was spreading the gospel throughout the known world.

One thing I love about the church is that they are clear on how we should give. Five percent to our local church, to keep the lights on and the grass mowed and the pastor fed, and five percent to the poor. So what I try to do is carry some gift cards to places like McDonalds and Subway, on me all the time. When a homeless person asks for money, I give them a gift card. That way I feed their belly and don't have to worry about supporting their drug addiction. There are lots of creative ways for us to give, both to our church and to the poor. Here are some other ways to help the poor in a real way.

God, thanks for teaching us to support our church, and to help the poor.