"Moreover, you shall speak to the Levites and say to them, 'When you take from the sons of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present an offering from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe.I'm not quite sure why this verse caught my attention. Maybe it was the poetical phrase at the end. On further consideration, though, there's just something about this idea I really like. Even though the Levites are engaged in God's special work, they still must give him the reverence due him. There is no special dispensation given them, and they must give the best back to God, just as the rest give it to God through them.
It always bugs me when you see someone who's spent his life in Christian ministry, and has nothing to show for it. I've known several former pastors or missionaries who come to retirement age and are completely burned out. They've given everything they've ever had to Him, and now have nothing to rest upon, nothing to enjoy. They have, in many ways, given too much and kept to little for their sustainment. On the other hand, there are the Christian ministry millionaires, typified by the televangelist: those who live in mansions and still beg for every dollar you can send in. They have perhaps done the work, but have given little back to God. The proper place is somewhere in the middle, though I can't say I know exactly where. There must be enough kept to remain useful, but not so much as to lose sight of where it came from.
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