LOVE COSTS MORE
I heard a message on tithing once. The preacher was discussing how many people often say, “Nowhere in the New Testament does it say we have to tithe 10%; that’s Old Testament, and we aren’t bound by those laws anymore.” I liked his message on it. He simply said, “No, nowhere in the New Testament does it say you have to tithe 10%, but it does talk about loving others as yourself and seeking the Kingdom of God first; In fact, God loves us so much that He sent his only son so that whoever receives Him can have eternal life! Since God provided His Son, what should we give back to Him? Essentially, the pastor taught us about the fact that love costs more than what the law requires.
I’ll give you a good example of this. There’s an amazing lady that I met. I became her spiritual coach if you will. She paid me an hourly fee and we met one time a week for a few months. Rather quickly, however I realized that she and I were meant to have a much deeper relationship than an hourly fee one. I quit taking payment and we kept talking. She and I became so close that whenever we talk we say we love one another, and so is the way that this relationship that started out as a financial arrangement based on an hourly fee became what I know will be a life-long friendship based on love. It’s been a few years since we met. I have to tell you that her loving me has cost her way more than a mere hourly fee. She has provided financial assistance several times out of the goodness of her heart. When my family and I had old legal issues raise their head regarding losing our house in 2008 due to $150,000 worth of medical bills, she asked her Bible study to take up a collection for me. She collected the exact amount I needed to hire a lawyer to defend us! I say all this to say that love costs more than the law requires.
Think about people you love. Don’t you sacrifice and do all that you can for them. In regard to your kids if you have them, don’t you put your needs aside to pay for their soccer uniforms, high school graduation announcements, cars, gas, school supplies, and club activities? If they are in college, don’t you do all you can to help them there, putting off some of your hobbies and interests to provide for them? And, if they are grown, you still do all you can when you can for them, and we all know you really enjoy doing that because loving someone else is priceless! Love provides the beauty of life.
Love definitely costs more, and isn’t it worth it?! I challenge you to consider for a moment all that God has provided for you and continues to provide for you. I invite you to pray to God about helping you give to God, to your church, to others, in the same way that He gives to you and to help you do so in all things - in all that you think, do, and say.
Kristina Seymour loves to encourage and equip women through the Word and through community. She is the author of The Warrior Mom Handbook, The Warrior Mom Leadership Manual, and The Warrior Wife Handbook; they are available at Amazon.com. Kristina's Bible studies are for women who desire to live by faith in the midst of their everyday lives. She has learned that women can't survive on caffeine and animal crackers alone; women in the Word and in community are united and able to stand firm. To learn more about Kristina, please visit her website, https://kristinaseymour.com/. God loves to share His story of love and grace through us all, and Kristina believes that everyone has a story to tell.