The COVID-19 Pandemic Financial Experience Scale| Surviving Mode

Where are you on the COVID-19 Pandemic Financial Experience Scale? Working-class people are experiencing this pandemic very differently financially. There are 3 benchmarks on the scale. This is a look at the first benchmark, "Surviving."
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SURVIVING MODE
This crisis caught you unprepared. You have limited resources anda fragile safety net. Your income is gone. Your lifestyle is in jeopardy. Your standard of living is diminished. You have done all you know to do. The stress and pressure are negatively affecting you, physically and emotionally. You’ve gone from making savings and debt reduction decisions to housing and food insecurity. Your financial focus (time, talent, and treasure) has shifted from working on longer-term goals to money shortage problem-solving. You see very little if any light at the end of the tunnel. Your future looks bleak. You need a miracle. So, position yourself for one. Here is how to activate the power of God in your financial life, on purpose.

Become a hardcore, no turning back, tither of your gross income. Tithing is a covenant between you and God. It is a contract that He offered. It is a lot like those “terms of use” agreements we get when we download a new app. It is pretty much, “take it or leave it.” If you don’t agree, you won’t get the benefits of the app. To get the benefits of tithing, you must sign the agreement. You do that by making a commitment to tithe. Then demonstrate that commitment by your future behavior. If you do that, God promises to meet all your needs. 

The context of this promise is to individuals who had not tithed in the past, like you. Despite that, they were offered a fresh start. That is true for you also. Grace and Mercy will overcome your guilt and history financially. The point is to start and don’t stop.

It is controversial whether the tithe applies to the New Testament dispensation. It is not controversial to me. When I made my commitment to tithe, “I was so broke I couldn’t pay attention.” My conversation with God went like this. “Okay, Lord, You said if I tithed, You would bless me and mine. If You bless me, I’ll go tell it. And if You don’t bless me, I’ll go tell that too.” That was not a threat to God but rather a promise to give Him a Yelp review. That was about 4 decades ago, and I have never looked back or regretted the decision. “Five stars, Outstanding customer service.”

“Blessed” means different things to different people. Here are some of the elements I consider when I say, “I’m blessed.”

• Things seem to last longer, cars, appliances, clothes have extended life. The less often you have to replace these necessities, the more of your money you get to keep. The longer you can keep your money, the better. Of course, occasionally you have to do some maintenance on older cars and appliances. Repairs cost often had less long-term budget impact than paying for something newer. Especially when I was prepared for them with an emergency fund. (This observation doesn’t apply to your children’s clothes. They just outgrow them. But it may work for some hand-me-downs.) 
• My money wisdom increased. I got smarter about using my money and other resources. It required an effort to start tithing. Taking 10% of your gross income from your net, take-home-pay, when you are already behind on everything, is a daunting challenge. Learning to do so brought wisdom through trial and error and self-education. “Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.” -Vernon Law
• Opportunities for income were available. These opportunities were often relative to my place in the economy and my ability to see the opportunity. 
• The tithe helped anchor my faith. That consistent behavior created tangible consistency for me, a quid pro quo.
• I have always had my daily bread, and my needs met. My wants are satisfied, not all the time, but most times.

Organize your financial records and accounts. Miracles of provision require orderliness and a gift. These two factors, order and a gift, are present before God’s miraculous provision in Biblical accounts. Before a miracle of provision manifests, there must be order. Jesus had the multitudes seated before the fishes and loaves where distributed. The widow provided for Elijah in a famine, and God supplied her daily. The nation of Israel collected the manna in a prescribed manner. Your tithe is the gift. Now get your finances organized.

Get your eyes off the promise and turn them toward the Promise Keeper. Now that you have started tithing, you rightfully expect a return. However, tithing is not an investment. Your focus should not be on the timing and size of the promised return. Instead, your focus should be on pleasing God. Remember, He provides daily.

Be wary  of those who preach to your desperation and not to your faith. Tithing requires you to give your money away. Where you give your money is important. Because of the prevalence of “prosperity preachers and  famine feeders” making appeals, the tithing message can be easily distorted to appeal to your need. Give to them, and you will receive, you are told. That appeals to your need. You don’t give to get, no matter how great your need. You give to honor God. Your motive is just as important as your behavior. When you give, be sure it is for the right reason and not because of a compelling appeal.

Miraculously changing your financial life requires a change in behavior. Behavior changes are not easy. Changes of behavior require commitment. Commitment is demonstrated by behavior. Tithing is a behavior. And just like with exercise and oral hygiene, consistency is what brings long-term results. 

​The COVID-19 pandemic has forced you into a desperate situation. Your options are few and dwindling. Your situation seems beyond your capacity to solve. You need a miracle. Position yourself for a lifetime of miraculous provisions by being a hardcore tither. What have you got to lose? You don’t have enough to make it now, anyhow, right? Honor God with your tithe and experience His provision and more. True, you don't have to be a tither to be blessed by God. However, I have never seen a tither not blessed by God. No, not one.