There was an older man in my church in Texas who came to me with tears in his eyes after a sermon I preached on tithing. He said, "Pastor, thank you for telling our people the truth about how God can bless you when you are obedient to His Word."
He wiped a tear and said, "Pastor, I have been giving God my leftovers. If I had a few dollars at the end of a month, sure, why not give to the church, right?"
He paused for a moment. "Then I began to read the many verses in the Bible about tithing. I soon realized that I was living in disobedience to the Lord. I wanted to make it right, Pastor, but I didn't know what to do. I was years behind on my tithes and was not putting God first in my life financially. I had been a believer in Christ since I was a young man. How in the world could I ever afford to make it up after all these years?"
I looked at the weeping man and said, "Well, what did you do? Did God speak to your heart about this?"
"Yes, He did, Pastor, and I decided to start with where I was this year and make things right with Him. So, I went to a local bank and took out a loan to pay God back for all that I had stolen from him this year and kept for myself. I believe that giving to God is from the heart....and my heart was not right with Him. But since I took out that loan and caught up for this year, I cannot believe the peace and blessings that it has brought to my life. Why did I wait so long?" I hugged my brother in Christ and thanked him for the heart-felt story.
it was the only time in all of these years of ministry that anyone had ever said or done anything like that to me personally. I will never forget the experience and will remember it when I see him on the other side in the Presence of the Lord.
It is certainly true.........YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO MONEY IS ONE OF THE GREATEST INDICATORS OF THE SPIRITUAL CONDITION OF YOUR HEART.
- Dr. Larry Petton