“Seems to me they must have been giving all the time,” observed Marty.
“Yes, it has been estimated that a truly devout Jew gave away about a third of his income. That is more than three-tenths, you know. Giving freely to the Lord's service and to the poor was part of a Jew's religion.”
“That's what Edith says,” Marty remarked. “'Tisn't part of ours, is it?”
“Oh, yes it is,” said Mrs. Howell, smiling a little; “though perhaps not as much as it should be. All through the Bible we are taught the duty of giving, and though, of course, those particular directions in the Old Testament were intended especially for the Jews, we may learn from them that the best way of giving is to give systematically.”
“What do you mean by systematically?” asked Marty.
“I mean not giving just when we happen to feel particularly interested in some object, or when we don't want the money for something else, but having some plan about it and giving regularly, intelligently, and, above all, prayerfully.”
“Tell Marty the New Testament plan for giving, mamma,” Edith requested.
“St. Paul tells the Corinthians in the sixteenth chapter and second verse of the first epistle: 'Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him.' You see that is somewhat different from tenths. No particular portion is mentioned, but we are to regularly set aside for religious purposes as much as we can afford, and the amount is to be increased as our means increase.”
“Why doesn't Edith do that way?” Marty inquired.
“When she is older and better able to judge how much she ought to give, she may adopt that plan. But it is simpler and easier just to give a tenth, and it is well for little people who are learning to have a plain and easy rule to go by.”