Growing up, I had a strong testimony of tithing. Basically, I was certain that when I paid 10% of my gross income, I'd be blessed financially and in myriad other ways I didn't know, such as my washer wouldn't break down like it may have done had I not been paying my tithing, or I could avoid getting sick if I payed paying, that kind of thing. Every time my husband or I got a raise over the years, I made sure to tell him that I KNEW that it was because God was blessing me for paying tithing on my half of our income.
Well, as you may have read in my previous post, on Monday I got to work to find I had received an unexpected 10% raise. (Could the 10% be a coincidence??) Because, you see, I haven't paid tithing in a year. When I updated the Employee Raise Log I keep, I saw that since October of last year, I've had three raises that total more than a 20% raise. That doesn't include some generous bonuses I've also received in the last ten months.
Monday after work, I drove to the bank to deposit my (now larger) check. As I was driving out of the bank drive-up, my son called, asking where I was since practice just ended and his friend who gets a ride from us needed to get to voice lessons. I looked at my gas gauge that had been below empty all day, and realized I didn't have time to get gas like I had planned. I figured I could drive the four miles to my son's friend's house and would get gas at the station near his home.
Halfway there, my car began sputtering and I knew the worst had happened. For the first time in my life, I actually ran out of gas.
Perhaps I should have paid my tithing. What a pain in the ass.
11 comments:
Bummerrrrr. Hate it when that happens.
Withholding tithing from the Lord = Best 10% raise I ever gave myself. But to be honest, I was never very good at tithing which I now take as just another sign that I never really believed. I mean, I could I have? You don't honestly believe while simultaneously cheating the big baddie in the sky ... not if you're sane you don't. No, I was just very confused about what it meant to be honest about belief.
So what I really got was not a 10% raise but a huge reduction of guilt. Priceless.
I will trade an episode of running out of gas for a 10% raise any day.
LOL I have yet to run outta gas but I've come darn close.
I'm with BR.
mwah,
~EF
I'm thinking it was the blogging gods knowing that we needed a good story.
Mel, that's funny. You were so smart. I hate thinking of all that money I gave and for what? Doing the math really depresses me.
BR, no doubt.
EF, you can be sure that's the LAST time I ever ran out of gas. From now on, that quarter tank mark is my "empty" line to me.
Cele, sorry I've been pretty busy and had nothing to write for a week. :)
I had hard times and better times when I paid tithing, and since I stopped paying tithing I've had hard times and better times. It seems to make no difference whatsoever . . . except to the Morg, whose angels cry whenever the coffers are depleted.
I love crying angels. Don't you?
I was always bad with tithing. I figured I needed the money more than god, who from what I've seen of the pictures, doesn't even have pockets or a wallet to hold the money.
SML:
I too, bought into the idea of tithing in my youth. But when I read the Godfather for the first time I began to see that tithing is just God's protection money. Of course, the Don is real, and so are the unfortunate things that will happen to you if you don't pay up.
My friend told me a lot of ways to get a car that is "out of gas" to go farther... you crank it again as you push it, I think was one. He says he's driven at least fifteen miles after a car died before.
To be honest, I have no idea if I pay my tithing or not. My wife takes care of that I haven't told her to stop. But since we haven't been to church in a few months, I guess she hasn't been paying.
I agree though. I think I would take the 10% raise and deal with running out of gas.
/paranoidfr33k
Coincidences like that always make me want to bang my head.
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