Ever since I was a child I remember my parents teaching me the importance of tithing and giving back to God. With each weekly allowance, when we could afford it, and every hare-brained entrepreneurial scheme I hatched I would always be sure to set aside my tithe to put into the offering plate on Sunday. I remember the sense of joyful satisfaction as I would place my envelope with ten cents or a quarter in it into the offering plate with a childlike faith that this pleased God and would help others.

As I have gotten older, more selfish and feeling the constraints of financial obligations that come with adulthood, I have encountered moments in my life where my giving has sometimes become more stingy and with a grudging spirit than in the days of my childhood.  It is in those moments when my thoughts return back to my early training on why giving is so important.

So what is the importance in giving?  For me it means several things.  First of all it is an acknowledgement that I am not self-sufficient but am reliant on my Creator for the very breath that I breathe.  It is a way of paying honor to the One who has authority and power over my life much as a vassal would present offerings of honor to their lord in days of old.

Secondly, I give out of a thankful heart.  I am continually amazed and overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude for the innumerable blessings that God has poured on my life.  Out of this rich abundance I desire to give back to God out of thankfulness knowing that what I give back will never be equal in worth to what God has given to me.

My third reason to give is to help others.  As God has blessed me in life, so I wish to be used to bless others in return.  The greatest blessings in my life have been a result of other people allowing themselves to be used by God to bless me.  Out of recognizing this, being thankful and obeying God’s command I choose to be a tool for blessing others.

Giving to St. Thomas is the way that I accomplish this task.  God has given us a community of family here at St. Thomas to serve as the stewards and treasury of the gifts that are brought here in order that we might bless others.  I give my offerings to St. Thomas because I know that they will be used to bless others and to increase God’s kingdom of love both in our community and our world.  Through our giving we become the hands and the body of Christ offering hope, love and destiny to a world that is broken, hurting and looking for purpose.