Derek finds everything he used to think about money no longer applies

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When Derek came to know Christ in his early 30s at the very first Rock service he attended, it hit him hard. He felt more than willing to give everything to Jesus, the savior of his soul. And things were going along smoothly until he heard about a little thing called tithing.

“I have to give how much to who when?” he complained.

Money had been a struggle for him his entire adult life and in the process he had compiled a crushing amount of debt. With a move to San Diego from the Southern United States, he found that his money bought him even less than it did before. That is why the idea of giving up 10% every two weeks hit him like a cold glass of water right in the face. It was nothing short of ridiculous—an outlandish request.

In time, he began to make some peace with the idea and found himself feeling ready to give it a go. “If that is what God wants, then there must be something to it,” he thought.

And so, he began to give. In the years to come he began to notice a pattern in his life. Every time things were getting tight, something would happen that he hadn’t anticipated. A new freelance assignment, or a raise, or a new job. Something was always there to bring him back from the brink of not being able to pay the bills.  

“Hmmm,” Derek thought to himself. “Is there a correlation here?”

Still, he needed to earn a bit more with a wife and a child and the mounting expenses of raising a family. Checking the want ads, the only opening for a graphic designer was at a financial firm—which could not have interested him less. He was a designer from the advertising world, not a suit. 

Yet, the job description fit his abilities perfectly, and so, he applied.

Arriving at the company for an interview, the look and feel of the place was exactly what he hoped he would not find. It was just as buttoned up, corporate, and stiff as he feared, and he found himself making up his mind before he ever got in the elevator. “Not the place for me,” he said under his breath.

But all of a sudden he heard a voice. “Some of my friends were tax collectors—you’ll be fine.”

“Some of my friends were tax collectors—you’ll be fine.”

Derek looked around. He quickly changed his mind and went on up to his interview.

The interview went smoothly and he liked his two interviewers very much. He shook their hands, went down the elevator and before making it to his car, his phone rang. It was one of his interviewers offering him the job at well more than Derek was asking for, and a start time that worked into his plans like somebody was playing a trick on him. 

“I’m getting paid what from who when?” he said with a grin on his face and his heart racing.

His job at the financial firm has been an extraordinary blessing and provision. As if the money was magically multiplying, every month there always seems to be left over for blessing others.  He has even paid off his huge mountain of debt.

Today, Derek tithes not because he has to, but because he wants to. He regards tithing simply as an opportunity to see God show off. In fact, it’s the first thing he thinks about when he gets a paycheck. Tithing is exciting. 

“As odd as it seems, I give to give,” Derek says. “The feeling of giving and trusting is extraordinary—and so is watching God do amazing things. I actually hope to continue to make more for the sole purpose of giving back to God more. I am so happy to not be shackled by the thought and fear of money. Tithing has set me free.” 

Derek is riding a different wavelength these days; he has a different consciousness about money. It’s no longer about getting. It’s entirely about giving. Giving is his security.