First Fruits

I looked up "tithe" and, after some reading, decided to leave it at a percent of your increase that you give where it's needed out of love. The Old Testament is more specific. It's not worth getting all stirred up about. It means to put back part of what you recieve for others benefit and dedicate it to God. In my case that means to Love. (Different words, same thing)

The book says some other things about tithes, articles say many things about tithes. What I have been thinkng about is the phrase "first fruits" - "the firstfruits of your toil" (Exodus 23:16) . It's the first place I can find this phrase.

Fruit - offspring - increase - things that grow from an established plant or person. Things that grow, produce seed of their own after they separate from their "creator". This continues through the generations and into the future, well past the first tree that put out a seed or the first child.

The first fruits of our toil is not just a cut of the cash we make going to work. It's not just the produce we grow and share with our neighbors - it's us. We are the first fruits of the previous generations. Then there are our first fruits. I see it as our talents, our skills, our knowledge and our abilities.

I see first fruits in how we show love to others here; how we raise our children to care and love - or not. Not as we told them, but as we showed them, we will see our fruit in them.

I wish I had done better for my children but they have learned from others in their lives to live and love even when I could not show it well. They love.

That's a large part of what we pass on to the next generations following us - love; how to, how not to, caring for each other, believing in each other. Love shared is"first fruits", too.

It's not all about the money and who gets it. It's the time and who you share it with. We seem to spend most of our time with people we pass by as "co-workers", not friends and certainly not anyone we would show loving care to. When we get back to the little bit of time left for our families we are tired and often need some love showed to us, too. To find the energy to love your family and do something besides sit beside them in front of the TV is beyond many of us.

What will the fruit be of that kind of life? We see it all around us. Kids whose parent's are busy keeping up with chores and the responsibilities of life, but not finding time to be with those "first fruits" and love them. Dad's exausted and wondering why he doesn't want to spend time with Mom. Mom is beat and wishing she could find more time for Dad. They both see the kids slipping away but don't know how to pull them back....scattered energy, scattered families being sent into the future where the fruit will be tough and dry.

To put your best forth for "tithe" you don't need to have money - look where love is needed and give what you can to each one you meet. Some days I don't love as well as others. Most of the time I am afraid I love too well and leave myself or those that look to me feeling shorted. I just keep trying.

Those tired families? Take over a meal on a Wednesday night after work and heat it up so they can sit down with you ( and each other) and spend time together. Take the kids with you for a night. Don't know what to do with them? Teach them how to do something you love doing. I intend to make candles again soon and have a couple kids over. Their folks get a break and time to be with each other, I get company, the dogs get petted and the kids get some much needed attention. We all get candles.

Doesn't seem like a tithe to you? Gas to get the kids, food to feed them, something to do isn't always free either. Patience with more people around than you are used to and the time to do it. Looks like a tithe to me. First fruits given to show love to another.

It applies to your job, your hobbies, your daily walk - how can you give a tithe from a walk? Invite someone to go with you that needs companionship or exercise. What's the tithe? Your alone time, your energy, your listening to the birds left behind to hear your friend talk....

Think of how many people have contributed to your abilities and skills that you use everyday. I remember my grampa telling me how to line up the wheel on the lawn mower to get the widest cut but still not miss any spots. I used it yesterday to conserve gas while I mowed. Maybe I didn't save much, but what I did was because he took the time to teach me the best way. It was 45 years ago but I use it every time I mow. He took the time to be with me and show me how.

If I make a loaf of bread I see it took a lot of people to get the wheat, sugar, yeast, eggs, milk and salt to me. It took more to provide the oven I use and the power that heats it. You can get quite a long list if you try to include every single thing that goes into you making a loaf of bread. Don't forget the cook who taught you how and the book or card you pulled the recipe out of and the people that brought it to you. Remember the guy that invented eletricity or how to contain gas fuels....it's a lot of people and could go back to the first woman that crushed grain with a rock...

What can I do to pass on love showed to me? First fruits should be sharing that remarkable loaf of bread with those you love - not just by eating it warm with strawberry jam - but by teaching another to make a loaf of bread from scratch, by rewriting the recipe for a friend, by showing someone how to grind the flour from the wheat itself. Using your knowledge to have more bread made down the road is, to me, first fruits.

You can tithe "by the book", giving a percent of your income, or you can give of your "first fruits", the love that has been gifted to you by others in your life and pass it on.

I just realized I do fairly well with first fruits, not too bad with the "tithe" and have had love in all my days. That's a pretty good return on my investment.

Others have had like thoughts. I found this one researching my definitions today. It makes the cut for first fruits, in my opinion. E-Sword is a free computer bible study program. Read the first page and see what you think.

In the mean time, if the cash for the tithe is a little short just remember you can make up the difference in love.