Tithing
by Sue Twombley on 2001-03-31 18:00:09
Hi my name is Sue Twombley, I live in Gorham, Maine. I’m a new Christian
of three months. I’ve been reading a lot in the Bible, and devotion’s. I have
been really interested with the tithing stories. These stories have been
strengthening my faith. I’m in search of some tithing stories from all over in
hope to print it some day. The tithing stories have helped me so much that I
want to get some in print to share with others.
If you could post this for others to see I would be very grateful.
Please send them to
Sue Twombley, tithestories@hotmail.com
By submitting a story, I will assume your permission to edit and use it should
I choose. While I’m unable to respond to each submission and cannot
guarantee its inclusion in a possible upcoming book, please be assured I will
read and consider all stories. Make sure to include your full name, town, and
State. If your story is used I’ll print you name, town, and State with the story.
Thank You
On Jesus’ Beat,
Sue Twombley
I read this story, and it really changed me on tithing, and my faith.
Here it is.
Lyle Eggleston served as a missionary for many years in a little town on the
rocky coast of northern Chile. In time, the congregation grew to about
eighty adults, but Eggleston was concerned that the Christians in that area
didn’t seem able to support their own national pastor. The people were very
poor, and the church’s offerings amounted to no more than six dollars a
month…
One day, Eggleston brought the problem to the Lord during a definite time of
prayer. A few weeks later he stopped to visit a middle-aged couple, new
converts who had begun the habit of reading their Bibles every day.
“What does the word tithing mean?” asked Manuel. “We ran into that in our
reading, and we don’t understand it.”
Eggleston didn’t really want to answer the question, for he knew that Manuel
and his wife were unemployed and on the verge of destitution. They were
somehow managing to feed themselves and their twenty-five Rhode Island hens
on the income from the eggs laid each day.
Nevertheless they insisted he explain the concept of tithing to them, so he
turned to 1 Corinthians 16 and 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 where Paul urged
believers to lay aside each week a portion of their income to the Lord.
The following Sunday Manuel handed Lyle and envelope and, smiling, said,
“That’s our tithe!” Inside were a few bills amounting to about nineteen
cents.
The next Sunday afternoon, the couple flagged down Lyle as he rode his
bicycle past their house. They had some exciting news. The Tuesday morning
after they had given their tithe, there wasn’t a bite for breakfast nor any
money. Their first impulse was to take the few pesos that had accumulated
in their “tithe box,” but on second thought they said, “No. That’s God’s
money. We will go without breakfast this morning.”
There was nothing to do but tend the hens. Much to their surprise, there
were eggs in the nests that had usually at that hour been empty. Later in
the day, a little man came along with a pushcart wanting fertilizer. They
cleaned out their hen house, and the manure brought a good price. After
buying groceries, there was enough money left over for the wife to purchase
a pair of shoes, so she rode the bus twelve kilometers around the bay into a
larger town.
There she bumped into a nephew she had not seen in five years,
and who, to her utter surprise, owned a shoe store. After she had found just
the pair she wanted, he wrapped them for her and handed her the package with
these words, “Oh no, Aunt, I can’t take your money. These shoes are a gift
from.”
The following week, Manuel got a job on a project that would last for two
years, and soon the little couple was tithing on a much larger salary. Word
got around the church, and others began experimenting with giving. Soon the
church’s income begin to rise dramatically, and they were able to pay their
own rent and utility bills, support a national pastor who was working with
Indians, and in a short time, they were able to call and finance a pastor of
their own.
Lyle Eggleston and his wife were able to move to a new location and start a
new work as the little church grew in numbers, size, property, and faith.
“We had offered up a bit of prayer and nineteen cents,” Lyle later said,
“and God did the rest.”