"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."

This promise, so familiar to Bible readers (Mai. 3:10), is set in a chapter of reproof and warning. The laws which demanded tithes or offerings of various sorts had been flouted and broken, and the prophet was trying to awaken the people to their obligations and to their need of showing penitence by the offering of tithes honestly and faithfully in order to receive God's blessing.

The commonly accepted meaning of the word "tithe" is "a tenth part," and the term is often used in connection with religious contributions. The tithes of the children of Israel were mandatory. Nowadays, the practice of tithing is a matter of individual determination. Some may literally give a tenth part of their income for religious or charitable purposes, but practically everyone gives at least a small part of it to the church of his choice.

In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 595), Mary Baker Eddy gives the spiritual sense of "tithe," as "contribution; tenth part; homage; gratitude." According to this definition, one may pay a tithe of prayerful devotion, as well as of one's income.

Those whose financial incomes are in the lower bracket may find comfort in the realization that their offerings, inspired by homage and gratitude, are acceptable to God and that they can trust Him abundantly to supply their every need. Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health (p. 269), "Metaphysics resolves things into thoughts, and exchanges the objects of sense for the ideas of Soul." Such things as a tithe of money or of goods may be resolved into thoughts of homage and gratitude, without which the material offering is an empty gesture.

Christ Jesus said (Matt. 23:23), "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith; these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."

The giving of a material tithe is necessary, but let it be a sincere thank-offering to that divine Love which provides, through the Church of Christ, Scientist, an understanding of the ineffable beauty, the invincible strength, and the demonstrable practicability of the teachings of Christ Jesus. Thus any burdensome aspect of paying a tax or tithe is lost in willingness and good cheer, and the promised blessings will surely follow.

My husband and I, soon after the First World War, found ourselves with a vanishing income and an accumulation of unpaid household bills. Since there was apparently no prospect of improved conditions, we asked a Christian Science practitioner for help.

Soon a solution to our problem was reached. When I went to the practitioner's office to tell her the good news and to assure her that as soon as our more pressing bills were paid we would express our gratitude to her in money, I believed that she, knowing the circumstances so fully, would be willing to wait until another payday.

Lovingly this good friend replied that, although personally she could wait without inconvenience, she knew it would be better for us if we paid our church and related obligations first. She assured me that the secondary obligations, which had seemed primary to us, would be more readily met if we adopted this practice—if we brought all our tithes into the storehouse.

Our subsequent experiences proved that she was right. When financial problems arose, we always made regular contributions to The Mother Church and to the branch church of which we were members. We subscribed for the Christian Science publications by the quarterly payment plan and were always able to meet the bills when they came due. If we needed a practitioner's help, we could always pay for it promptly in money as well as in gratitude.

The 1930's afforded us an opportunity to prove the fruitfulness of our modest tithing. We succeeded in reversing depression, having a rather small but steady income, and overcoming deficits which had resulted from the 1929 financial debacle. Funds from an unexpected source helped greatly in defraying the children's college expenses. The windows of heaven were indeed opened to us, and with our mastering of each difficult situation, our understanding of God and of our relationship to Him grew and deepened.

Writing in loving appreciation of the readiness of Christian Scientists to contribute funds for building the Extension of The Mother Church, Mrs. Eddy says in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 14), "In the now they brought their tithes into His storehouse." Then she foretold the blessings which would follow this happy tithing. The time for bringing our offerings into the storehouse is always now.