All Christian Scientists want to do good, but sometimes they don't seem to know how to achieve their desires. Such was the case of a young couple early in their married life.
They had both attended the Christian Science Sunday School and were familiar with the verse in Malachi that states, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse."Mal. 3:10. A definition of "tithe" in the Glossary of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy reads in part, "Contribution; tenth part; homage; gratitude."Science and Health, p. 595.
They knew they were grateful to God for the many blessings Christian Science had brought them, but it seemed difficult to see how they could give a tenth part of their income as an expression of gratitude. One day the wife discussed this with a Christian Science practitioner, saying that they each put a dollar a Sunday in the church collection, but that, of course, their income was larger than eighty dollars a month. To tithe they would have had to do much more; and, as it was, by the end of the month they never had anything left over. The practitioner very wisely quoted from Proverbs, "Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase."Prov. 3:9. They saw that they should first set aside the tenth part to honor God and then fit their scale of living to what was left. This they did.
