Tithe vs. Offering

For the longest time I was confused when someone talked about your "tithes and offerings" because I always thought those were the same thing. The more I've thought about it, I've realized that tithes aren't an option. Tithe is the 10% you give back to God because He told you to. It's His money anyway. We've gotten into the habit of  giving our tithe every month and it's become so routine that it's no longer a sacrifice. I think that's where offerings come into play. An offering is what ELSE you give to God because YOU feel like it's what He wants you to give. Annie Armstrong, missions, Lottie Moon, etc. are offerings. I have to admit that we fail at this Christian discipline. I've really been convicted about this the past few weeks. The musicians played "The Wonderful Cross" today and as I was singing the words in my head the line "Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small..." really stuck out to me. The whole realm of nature would be too small an offering for Him and yet I'm not willing to give a few hundred extra dollars? What kind of Christian does that make me? In my head I think - if I give this $100 or so to Annie Armstrong, we won't be able to put it in savings or go on a trip or something else like that. It's the sacrifice that makes it worth doing. That's just something I've been thinking about lately so I thought I'd share.