by Lance Cashion | Jul 25, 2013 | Adventures, Christian Financial Advice, Culture, Education, Encouragement, Family, Lance's Philosophy, Personal Growth, Stewardship, Uncategorized |
Are you an ‘all or nothing’ type? I am. My wife reminds me of this frequently. If I’m going to involve myself in a project, I’m 100% all in or I’m not going to participate. It’s the way I was created. I have found productive ways to leverage my addictive personality. Take triathlons for instance. I’m not content just dabbling in the sport, I must submerge myself in it totally.
As of late, I’m trying to learn to be content through simpler living in order to gain some margin in my life.
Five years ago, I looked around and we owned a bunch of ‘stuff’ and all that stuff cost money. Then I came to the realization that we did not own all this stuff, the stuff owned us. We were working to purchase and maintain expensive stuff. The amount of resources we were dumping into stuff was staggering. (more…)
by Lance Cashion | Dec 11, 2012 | Christian Financial Advice, Education, God, Jesus Christ, Lance's Philosophy, Personal Growth, Stewardship, Tithing, Uncategorized
In last week’s post, we discussed my reasoning and logic behind tithing undergirded by scripture. I also pointed out the importance of viewing the act of tithing as giving of our ‘first fruits’ as opposed to our leftovers as some kind of ‘tip’ for God. All of this rests on a firm foundation of stewardship.
Let us continue on this journey together.
“One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” (Proverbs 11:24-25)
What should I tithe?
I tithe from my income. A portion of my income has taxes, social security, etc withheld. The rest is 1099 income. Personally, I keep it simple as possible. I just take a minimum 10% from the total I receive every pay period or when a commission is deposited. I don’t try to do a bunch of calculations regarding taxes and withholding. I don’t have time for that and I believe that it diminishes the spirit of the tithe. In any event, my total giving is reported to the IRS when I pay taxes anyway. God knows my heart and if I make a mistake, He is pleased with my obedience not my exact calculations. However, that does not give me license to be slopping in my calculations. God knows whether I’m just ‘checking a box’ or if I am acting out of joy, obedience and gratitude. (more…)
