Giving to the Lord
Posted by Connor on October 10th, 2006
I heard this story last week and found it on LDSLiving, told by W. Jeffrey Marsh (who was an excellent professor for the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith course I took at BYU).
During my mission in Honduras I was asked by various people why we needed to give tithing. Surely God doesn’t need our money. Why does he require this of us when He is an all-powerful God who has no such need for things? This story is the perfect answer.
Elder James E. Talmage shared a parable to help us learn how important it is to appreciate and remember what the Lord has done. He told the story of a distinguished naturalist who, in the course of his customary daily walk, came upon two boys at a millpond, In a basket near the boys were three whining kittens; two other in the pond were struggling to keep from sinking to their doom; and the mother cat was frantically running back and forth on the bank. The naturalist asked the boys what they were doing. They replied that, as servants, they had been told by their employer to drown the kittens. Their employer loved the mother cat, but she didn’t want any more cats around the house.
The naturalist assured the boys that he was a personal friend of their employer and would see to it that they wouldn’t get into any trouble if he could have the remaining three kittens, for the other two kittens had already disappeared in the depths of the pond. To his surprise, “the mother cat evinced more than the measure of intelligence usually attributed to the animal world. She recognized the man as the deliverer of her three children . . . [and rubbed] against him with grateful yet mournful purrs.” The naturalist took the kittens to his home to take care of them.
The next day, when many notable visitors had gathered at the naturalist’s home to honor him, the mother cat came in. “In her mouth she carried a large, fat mouse, not dead, but still feebly struggling under the pains of torturous capture.” She padded up to the scientist and laid the mouse at his feet. Some in the room were repulsed, but the guest of honor probably wept.
Elder Talmage then said:
What think you of the offering, and of the purpose that prompted the act? A live mouse, fleshy and fat! Within the cat’s power of possible estimation and judgment it was a superlative gift. To her limited understanding no rational creature could feel otherwise than pleased over the present of a meaty mouse. Every sensible cat would be ravenously joyful with such an offering. Beings unable to appreciate a mouse for a meal were unknown to the cat.Are not our offerings to the Lord—our tithes and our other free-will gifts—as thoroughly unnecessary to His needs as was the mouse to the scientist? But remember that the grateful and sacrificing nature of the cat was enlarged, and in a measure sanctified, by her offering.
Thanks be to God the He gages the offerings and sacrifices of His children by the standard of their physical ability and honest intent rather than by the gradation of His exalted station. Verily He is God with us; and He both understand and accepts our motives and righteous desires. Our need to serve God is incalculably greater than His need for our service.
Sorry dude.
This one didn’t do that much for me. I feel there are so many practical and reasonable purposes for tithing. In a way it is serving each other when we understand what it is used for.
Comment # 1 left by Eric Nielson on October 10th, 2006
Eric,
I don’t disagree, but I think this story offers a high-level explanation of how we can actually serve God and give Him offerings. For me, anyway, it illustrates how the actual offering doesn’t matter, it’s the fact that it’s something that matters to us that we are parting with in order to show God where our priorities and trust lie.
Comment # 2 left by Connor Boyack on October 10th, 2006
I agree with you Connor, the story told by Talmage is a perfect explanation for why God requires the payment of tithing, in addition to all else he requires (giving of our lives is still relatively nothing when compared to God’s station).
Thanks for reminding me of the story and applying it in this manner.
Comment # 3 left by Wade on October 10th, 2006
What’s up with the analogies to rodents lately?
Comment # 4 left by Wade on October 10th, 2006
I really want to know where you got that picture, btw.
Comment # 5 left by mullingandmusing (m&m) on October 11th, 2006
I found it here.
Comment # 6 left by Connor Boyack on October 11th, 2006
I guess I disagree with the whole foundation here. The statement ‘Surely God doesn’t need the money’ seems very incorrect. I think he needs the money desparately.
I think all things denote there is a God. At least indirectly. The sun, moon, stars, planets, humans, animals, plants, air, water - they all seem to me evidences of God. But when I see a bridge, or a road, or buildings, watches, computers, chaples, temples - they are evidences of man.
In a previous post I mention the idea that this is the church of Jesus Christ, but also the church of Latter-Day Saints. And quite frankly, we are the ones who pay the bills. I am not aware of God creating a building, or a temple, or any such facilities from the scriptures. These are the works of men. Certainly God might inspire their construction and function, but the sacrifice in terms of labor and funding is born by the members.
If there was no tithing, there would be no church in any meaningful way. If temples, and chaples, and all the church facilities help God in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of men, the God needs the money available to facilitate their construction.
Tithing is a real, practicle and meaningful way for us to build the kingdom of God. How do people not see this?
Did God not say something like - Bring ye the tithes into the storehouse, that there might be meat in my house. For God to have a storhouse, a house, and meat, there must be tithing brought. No tithing, no meat.
Our tithing does not result in something the cat dragged in, it results in the kingdom of God, with some of the most beauitiful buildings ever know. Holiness to the Lord, the House of the Lord. Paid for by the tithing of his people.
Comment # 7 left by Eric Nielson on October 12th, 2006
Eric:
I agree with your sentiments here. For the temporal needs of the Church, tithing is the driving force that allows us to build additional chapels, temples, etc. However, could not God also provide for his Church in miraculous ways?
The point of my post was not to indicate what the church needs, but what we need. Reading back on the second paragraph I wrote, I realize I didn’t phrase it quite how I would have liked. The sentences:
were meant to be the statement and question of my investigators, not my own. These people wondered why God required our money as a sacrifice. Sure, to satisfy immediate temporal needs to roll the kingdom forward such funds are necessary. However, my point of the post was to illustrate why we need to sacrifice in this manner, not why the Church needs us to. Am I making myself clear as mud?
Comment # 8 left by Connor Boyack on October 12th, 2006
I agree with the point of your post. For some strange reason I am still trying to figure out, I didn’t particularly like the story as applied to tithing. This may be more of a me problem.
The scripture you link to is interesting. A bit of a stretch, but interesting.
Comment # 9 left by Eric Nielson on October 12th, 2006
I believe that God demands sacrifices, such as tithing, because of the good they bring about in the world and because of the way sacrificing builds one’s relationship with him. I wrote on that last point here.
I like the mouse story because it shows that scientists are wiser than all other people. I also think it’s a good analogy–and like all analogies, it has it’s limitations. But the point is clear: your individual donation is a big thing for your but a small thing to God. And that is where I think Eric could come to like the analogy: Does the Lord or the Church really need your tithing?
Comment # 10 left by BrianJ on October 12th, 2006
BrianJ:
Brilliant! That’s it!
Comment # 11 left by Eric Nielson on October 13th, 2006