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Tithing:   A  Personal Realization Recalled

Years ago when I first heard the quotation "It is better to give than to receive,"  I thought: "What con artists!  These people are just trying to manipulate me into doing what is in their best interest.   They win, I lose.   Who do you suppose is dumb enough to believe that one?"

Over the years, I often heard the above quotation.   I also heard things like  "It is impossible to give anything away or steal anything"---"As you sow so shall you reap"---"Every thought, deed and action comes back to you a thousand-fold."  I did not give any of these statements serious consideration, nor did I relate them to the concept of tithing.   My mind was closed and I didn't want to be confused by additional information because I already knew the truth--- All these sayings were just part of a con game--- a way of stealing money and not getting into trouble for it.

I was well into my self-awareness studies when, one day in response to giving a donation in support of one of my mentors, I had a "realization" (an "ah ha" moment!)   I knew why supporting someone else was important to me.   That's when I realized that money, just like joy, love and inspiration, gets bigger and there is more of it when I joyously and willingly give some of it away.   The difference is that money is in the form-world and love, joy and inspiration are in that non-physical space of "I AM."   In my willingness to support someone who was an inspiration and a role model to me, I was also supporting that "I AM" space within myself---that space which is "first cause" and is the source of all that I experience in my physical,  earthly world. 

I had thought tithing was just a phony business deal.   I had been looking out into the physical world and trying to find a structure within which tithing would be rational, reasonable and make intellectual sense.   I had found none and, therefore, discarded the whole idea as a fool's paradise.   In my new-found (what I thought was) wisdom, I started by giving away three percent of all the money that came to me.  It wasn't very much money, so it was easy for me to do. 

It wasn't long before I discovered I was still coming from my head.   I had given the money away and was now waiting for my windfall to come back to me.   I was still attempting to make a business deal; only this time I was trying to do it with that spiritual part of myself that some call "God."    I became aware that a gift made with the expectation and the need to get something back, is a business deal, and a gamble (like putting a quarter in a slot machine).    Such an act is not a tithe.

A tithe is a gift, given from :

(a)    a space (a context) of gratitude, generosity, and  awareness of our connection to that unknown, source of all that is,

and

(b)   offered with loving concern for the well-being of others.  

Tithing is not just a physical act of giving,  and it's definitely not a business deal with God.   Tithing is a spiritual blessing for both giver and receiver.    It is given without expectation and with no strings attached.   

As a result of caring about others, we become more strongly connected to the infinite flow of abundance.   As a result, the world starts returning to us that same care and consideration.    To tithe is to focus on the positive  (on what is and can be)  and not on scarcity and fear.   Remember these words:  "As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is."  

A tithe is a "win-win."  It is an act of faith.   It has no time.   It has no form.   It is an act of creation within the "God-Self" and, as such, will enrich the giver beyond what the limited conscious mind can currently conceive of.   The energy behind the gift (i.e. the context in which the gift is made---the ground of being of the giver in the giving process) is the determining factor in what returns.   The gift, itself, is merely a physical symbol given in honor of the loving and creative "God-Self" within.

I soon learned that tithing was in my own best interest.   It has a specific purpose and that purpose is in everyone's best interest.   By keeping the energy (represented by money and other material things) flowing via my generosity I was amplifying the flow of prosperity which was bringing still more prosperity back to me.   I saw the truth in the ideas that no one can steal or give anything away and that what we put out to the world is what comes back to us multi-fold. 

It appears that the best way to really know and to inwardly understand this principle is through personal experience.  Thus I invite you to join me in amplifying the flow of abundance by tithing to any source of inspiration that you choose.  

And also, please remember, that in addition to money and material objects, there are many other ways of giving to the world.   Your time, dedication, energy, prayer and attention are valuable.   How about giving a little love, inspiration, joy, wisdom, kindness, or perhaps just a smile and a word of encouragement.

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