If you are reading this now, chances are that you have already dug yourself a nice hole. I know I sure did. Guess what? I am going to ask you to dig a little deeper and begin tithing.
Tithing is the ancient practice of giving 10% of your gross (yes, gross) income to your spiritual source. Yes this can be scary, but try it anyway. Start small if you need to. Try 5%, or even 1%. Many people assume that I am talking about a church when I say, Spiritual Source. Not necessarily so! I have tithed to people, given to websites, strangers and friends—anywhere I find inspiration, I try to give back. If I can’t give back directly, then I give somewhere else. If you feel you can’t give money, give away all the stuff you no longer need in your life. Make room for the abundance.
What we are enacting here is the sixth prosperity principle of Circulation. This is nothing new to most people, as the law of circulation governs things outside of money, such as “what goes around, comes around.” Karma.
The Truth about the law of circulation is that nature abhors a vacuum. If we create a vacuum something will move in to fill the empty space. There can be no void of energy. Energy is everywhere present, as God is everywhere present. Creating a vacuum is not only about giving away a portion of our income, but also releasing what we no longer need or want in our life.
I read a true story about a poor farmer who gave that illustrates the idea very nicely.
“His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to eke out a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.
The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman’s sparse home. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. “I want to repay you,” said the nobleman. “You saved my son’s life.”
“No, I can’t accept payment for what I did,” the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer’s own son came to the door.
“Is that your son?” the nobleman asked.
“Yes,” the farmer replied proudly.
“I’ll make you a deal. Let me take him and give him a good education. If the lad is anything like his father, he’ll grow to a man you can be proud of.”
And that he did. In time, Farmer Fleming’s son graduated from St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.
Years afterward, the nobleman’s son was stricken with pneumonia. What saved him? Penicillin. The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son’s name? Sir Winston Churchill.
Jesus said, “Give and it shall come back to you….”
What you give returns to you multiplied. If you give kindness and love, kindness and love returns multiplied (i.e.,the Golden Rule). Equally, if you give money, money returns to you multiplied.
There is a rhythm present in the Universe, a moving, pulsating presence of power, manifested in everything. It is a predictable, measurable motion, to and fro, forward and backward, in and out, the rise and fall. The sun, the moon, the tide, and the seasons all reflect this natural rhythm . . . and are equally governed by the law of circulation.
This natural rhythm is present in all things, seen and not seen. If I were to hold my breath, I could block the incoming air (and energy) from entering my body. The breath of life would be stopped, and if I hold my breath long enough, I will pass out. There is a back-up system that takes over when I try to stop my good…hence my life…from flowing in.
The whole of life is always for expansion and fuller expression. The force of life is always for good, for growth. Every tiny seed is compelled to grow. The power of life is persistent. It takes no amount of energy to will life, but great force and energy to block it. We block our own potential.
We hold on too tightly to what we have. Close your fist. Now run your hand under the faucet. What happens to the water? It runs over our hands and down the drain. Now cup your hand…cup both of your hands. You can have as much as you want…as much as you are willing to receive.
Excerpt from the book by Shauna Marshall, PLANTING THE MONEYTREE: A BOTTOMLINE GUIDE TO CULTIVATING WEALTH, COPYRIGHT 1993-2013, Shauna Marshall Design. VISIT US online @ http://www.prosperityprinciples.com for a free copy of THE HARVEST MEDITATION.