If Jesus Were a Dad – Postscript
In Part One of this series, I indicated that I would write more about the chicken before the egg. I didn’t get to it in the original essay, so I’ll tack it on here.
Initially, I indicated that I believe that part of our spiritual transformation process can sometimes include obedience before a change of heart.
I used the analogy of getting my kids to brush their teeth. Today, it’s just something they have to do because Dad says so. Eventually, they will grow to understand the benefits of good oral hygiene and they will value what having healthy teeth and gums will mean for them.
To demonstrate this on a spiritual level, I’ll use the example of how I came to maturity in my financial stewardship.
I remember, as a kid, seeing my dad write a check (or cheque, for my Canadian friends) in the amount of $100 and putting it in the collection plate at church. I was floored by the amount of money! My dad gave the church $100 a month and I thought that was some serious dough!
Now, I have no idea why that was Dad’s amount. He never really taught me about giving to God. I knew he did it. So, when I became an adult and was attending church (and was semi-gainfully employed), I began giving my church $100 per month.
I had never given any money away before, so this was HUGE for me. I did it because it’s what my dad did and it seemed like the right thing to do.
Eventually, as a part of that church family, I began participating in a discipleship plan which had me partnered with another guy, a few years older, who would walk me through a variety of personal, spiritual disciplines.
After several months of study, we eventually hit the lesson on tithing. Honestly, I had never even heard the word. Greg, my discipleship partner, walked me through the Biblical principles of tithing and stewardship and he challenged me to be more assertive with my approach to giving.
I just wanted to obey God. So, I made a giving plan. I stuck with it and over a short time period, I went from being a token giver to being a tither; giving 10% of my gross income to God.
The point that I want to make here is not about tithing, as much as it is about the fact that, initially, I just did what I thought God wanted of me. I acted out of simple obedience. Eventually, my heart grew to love giving to God.
My wife recently joked, when she got a new job with a higher salary, that I would now have more money to give away.
I heard a story once about the founder of Domino’s Pizza giving away 90% of his earnings and living on 10%! That speaks to my heart.
Why? I don’t know.
I guess that sometimes that is simply the way the Holy Spirit works His wonder in our hearts. When we act in obedience, even if it’s painful or uncomfortable, we can eventually find pleasure in that process. It feels good in our heart.
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