In an interview years ago, Pastor Rick Warren stated, “Kay and I became reverse tithers. When we got married, we began tithing at 10%. Each year we would raise our tithe 1% - 11% the second year; 12% the third; and 13% the fourth. … And so now, we give away 90% and live on 10%.”
Kay and Rick Warren have not been married 80 years. The success of the Purpose Driven Life books accelerated their journey to become reverse tithers but the heart and commitment were there from the get-go. They did what they could do to keep their world right side up.
“You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. – Luke 18:20-23. Luke is presenting Jesus’ conversation with a rich young ruler trying to secure eternal life. The young ruler had created a level of security in the world through his religious practices and accumulation of wealth. Jesus recognized his physical commitment and then called him to a radical behavioral shift. Mark’s gospel account says, “…he went away sad.” (Mark 19:22). Jesus addressed the hold the world had on the rich man. He was grounded in the belief and trust in his personal wealth. This reflected his unbelief in Jesus and the spiritual realm. The devil happily tolerates a degree of religion when he can keep a man distracted with worldly priorities. He had successfully distracted the rich young ruler with wealth. The young man may not have even realized how upside-down his world had become. Christians similarly can get distracted in this world and not realize how upside-down it is. The charge to every dad is to rebuke worldly distractions and turn your world right side up.
Rick Warren went on to say, “Every time I give, it breaks the grip of materialism. Every time I give, it makes me more like Jesus.” What a tremendous Christian testimony - to be more like Christ! Reverse tithing is not every Christian’s call but giving is every Christian’s responsibility. Tips to turn your world Right Side Up:
- Quantify your status as a tither – Divide the total dollar donation amount given to the Church in a given year by the total household annual income;
- Schedule a date night or weekend getaway to discuss the status quo of family giving practices;
- Identify worldly distractions stirred up against giving priorities and rebuke them;
- Revisit your degree of ‘All In’ presented in the previous Dad Talk;
- Commit to turning your world right side up.
Prayer guide: Lord, thank You for Your Word and the charge to believe. I confess I have allowed myself to be distracted by worldly stuff, effectively putting my belief in this upside-down world. Forgive me. I want to raise my children with a right side up world perspective. Grant me strength to be a good steward of gifts You have blessed me with, to give generously to the Church, and set a path forward to be ‘All In’ with You. That is the dad You call me to be and that’s the dad my kids need to see. Amen.
A faithful father sets the tone for a right side up world in family.
