Living a Radically Generous Life: A Brave Invitation to Give Our Time, Treasure, and Talents
By Leah Wacek
God's Brave Women - Leah's Story
Ten years ago, my pastor said these simple words: "You can't out-give God." I spent a few days wrestling with the idea and finally decided to test the theory.
It started with my husband and I giving away 10% of our paychecks. We saw the biblical call to tithing and recognized the privilege of being able to look back over thousands of years and untold amounts of people across the globe giving their first and best to the Lord. We were just starting our marriage and careers. We had small incomes and big loans. When we added up what we owed and what was coming in, there was no extra. The only way to do this was to bravely give the 10% upfront and believe for the rest.
When payday came, we wrote our first check to the Church. Knowing that we were giving and spending more than our salaries could cover was unsettling at best, but we decided that if God was who He says He is, He would prove Himself up to the task. Somehow, we paid all our bills that month. We recalculated, wondering if we had somehow gotten the basic math wrong. It didn't seem to make sense, but we had known Jesus long enough to realize that He often operates outside human logic.
"We had known Jesus long enough to realize that He often operates outside human logic."
The next month, we did it again. We tried not to think of all the things we could do with that sizable amount. We watched our friends and neighbors buy and do things we envied. We threw internal tantrums and then drug ourselves to the cross, reminding each other that Jesus is our treasure. Miraculously, we came to the end of the month with enough to cover all our bills.