Money matters.

Shaun:

As a second-generation Christian growing up, I always believed it was not necessary to tithe my allowances. Why tithe on what has already been tithed on by my parents? God never asked for double tithe, therefore I do not need to give it. Seemed pretty simple. All throughout my schooling and university years, I had been fine with this philosophy until we started planning our wedding.

Earlier on in our relationship, I noticed something interesting: as a church volunteer, Evelyn receives a monthly stipend for what she does, a small amount just over 1,000 monthly. Although the amount eventually increased over the years, her income was still below RM20,000 annually.

Evelyn was also - from that early stage paying 10% tithe and 10% offering. On top of that she also contributes in ministry costs like food, cooking, gifts etc. I never understood why she had to give away a 10% offering. I mean.. You barely have enough to survive and you are still giving it away even though you know it is optional???

I compared her stipend amount with my allowance money in university which was equal to or perhaps at times double what she was getting monthly once rent is factored in. Yet for some mysterious reason, I could barely get my savings into the 5-digit range, while Evelyn's savings had already hit 5-digits in a matter of months. And this was not for the lack of trying, I am a fairly frugal person, I shop perhaps once a year, wear my clothes till they fade and grow holes, eat at economy rice shops and I make conscious efforts to save up at least 50-70% of what comes in. So...where's the outflow?

God eventually convicted me that although my allowance may have been tithed at some point earlier, it was still necessary for me to tithe it because it is considered "an increase" for me (see Deut 14:22).

So anyway, I started tithing and....nothing happened. I mean, not exactly nothing... But no, my bank account did not explode over night. And yes of course, it felt so painful to take your pen and deduct 10% from all the money that's coming in. "That's money i'll never be able to use!!"

What happened next was very very interesting indeed. No, I did not experience an accidental transfer of a massive sum of money. No one emailed me or called me saying they felt inspired to cash me a cheque. No bank-notes were found in the mailbox. But I did experience how God can miraculously bless my expenses. Stuff that used to spoil ended up not spoiling, no car repairs, tickets or extra maintenance that had to be done, no surprise fees/bill shocks anymore - I could go on and on. God blessed my "coming in and going out" and thus, although I was "losing" extra 10% of income, my savings kept going up, up and up.

Eventually I ended up starting to return my 10% tithe and top that up with another 10% of offering. By the time we arrived at our wedding date, both our savings combined were enough for all our wedding expenses.

God taught me a very powerful finance lesson from our wedding journey. God's financial advice may not make sense numerically, and the math will not add up. But somehow, the more you give away return, the more you will receive. The money is not mine, but God's that I am returning.

We walked away from our wedding union without any debts and with more than enough to not worry about our needs. Does God truly provide? Yes he does. Now I feel challenged to double my giving, maybe even triple it...

Evelyn:

It's a little bit of a different experience for me.

Shaun gets a larger income, returns his tithe and offering, and his savings retain a lot.

I get a smaller income, return my tithe and offering and give a lot more, so I don't retain a lot of savings, but more income comes in via gifts. Somehow whenever a large ministry expense comes and I almost give away all of my income, God just replenishes that with a monetary gift, that I again give tithe and offering for. So it becomes a cycle that just keeps growing. :)