Article April 3, 1954 Issue

TITHING

BERNICE P. WOLFF

The prophet Malachi in an effort to awaken the people to a more spiritual sense of worship wrote (3:10), "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Each day many of us petition the Father to open the windows of heaven and pour upon us His blessings. We ask for better health, better businesses, better homes, and better relationships. Have we first obeyed the command to bring "all the tithes into the storehouse"?

The writer studied carefully the definition of "tithe" given by Mary Baker Eddy in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." It reads in part (p. 595): "Contribution; tenth part; homage; gratitude."

As she pondered the meaning of the definition these questions flooded her thought: Are we contributing to the peace and progress of our homes, our churches, our social contacts, and therefore of the world? Or are we contributing to the seeming unrest, turmoil, and sensuality of the present day? She realized that the greatest contribution which one can give is love—that selfless love which is forgiving and compassionate, which magnifies good in everyone and impersonalizes error; that looks beyond human personality to the true spiritual individuality of man, who is the image and likeness of God. This accurate concept of man, if maintained, will do much to lessen the discord and friction in the world today.

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