2017 is going to be the beginning of something I’ve been eager to try out. But in need of the final push and stop all the bad excuses, I am making a commitment to you, dear reader. But in order for you to understand or at least make an attempt to understand, I guess I need to explain further. Because, I know when you realise what I’m about to do, you might shake your head in disbelieve and find me weird.
I am a Christian. Not the cultural kind where you go to church during Christmas, maybe also easter and when someone’s kids are being baptised or reconfirming their faith. I go to church all the sundays I can. I listen to Timothy Keller’s preaching’s, read in my bible and other books of christian context. I fill my life with Christian values, because they make sense to me. And the ones that does not make sense in my teen years I have come to realise the true meaning behind them as I grew older and got more life-experience.
I’ve always liked the notion that you give some of your money away to a good cause. But the bible often talks about giving tithes. Now, that I’ve found rather radical before meeting a priest that gave me a challenge. I don’t even think he knows that he did so, but I became so fascinated by his position regarding paying tithes, that I decided to do it. His view on it was that when saying one is a believer in Christ it is a part of it to pay and support the church one connects to. It makes sense to me, that I need to give and support the church that has given so much to me.
So on to the “rules”! In all of 2017 I am going to pay 10 percent of my income before taxes to my church and other good causes. I am unemployed at the moment and therefore, I have made the rule that, until I find my job paying tithe to me means paying the different organisations I support (I support the Danish Hospital Clowns, Israels Missionens Unge and from february also Mellemfolkelig Samvirke). If I is to find a job, I will tithe only to my church and the other good causes I support, I will pay above my tithes. I’ve always thought that giving tithe was something you could consider when you got an “adult job” but truth is, there is never a good time to begin tithing.
During 2017 I will give you a close up and personal insight as to how things are going, what I am thinking and my experience because of this drastic move in my life. It will be a series of blogs that might challenge your view on religion, radical moves and so forth. But also might give you an explanatory insight in the mind of a Christian.
I have to admit that just writing this, challenges my inner greediness. Because what if …. Truth is when I make an overview of my economy, I see that it will be tight and I will have to change some of my moves (buying too much cake and coffee outside of my home and so forth). But it is in theory possible. And now is the time for me to find out if all they say is true (don’t worry I will blog about this). So here goes. 2017, here I come.
