I believe in what God says in his word to us - the bible. He demands a TITHE. A TITHE means one-tenth and IT DOES NOT MEAN 1/10TH OF TAKE HOME!!! IT MEANS 1/10TH OF YOUR GROSS INCOME. WARNING: THERE IS A CURSE GIVEN TO ALL WHO DO NOT TITHE. Look it up and read for yourself.
MALACHI 3:8-10 KJV
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In TITHES AND OFFERINGS.
9 Ye ARE CURSED WITH A CURSE: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the TITHES into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
The first time I used Duke in Texas Pick 3 was in November of last year - Nov 22, 2006 I believe - just before Thanksgiving. I won $820.
As I was walking into the Albertson's store here in McKinney, I noticed a Salvation Army truck in front as well as a local radio station truck. I told the young college kids manning the Salvation Army truck that I would give them 10% of my winnings. I was such a GREEN-HORN or PICK 3 NEWBIE, I was not exactly sure of how much I had won.
When I left the store, I returned to the Salvation Army truck as I had promised. I had several one-hundred bills. I wanted to give them $82, but they did not have change. So, I said, "Well then - guess I'll have to give more than 10% and gave them a one-hundred dollar bill." These kids were so excited, and they started hugging me and jumping up and down. What a wonderful feeling. I told myself that if I ever win the BIG ONE, I'll go around giving money away to folks who really need it.
As I was approaching my car, I could hear the college kids yelling at me. "Sir! Sir! Come here!" So, I returned to the Salvation Army truck. They told me that the man from the radio station wanted to talk with me. As I approached him, he stuck a microphone in front of me and asked me my name. I said, "My name is Henny Bogan". He asked me to explain to all of the folks in radioland what had just happened. I stated, "Well, I just won $820 in the Texas Pick 3 lottery". He then asked, "And what did you do with some of that money?" "Well, I gave $100 to The Salvation Army".
And he said, "There you have it ladies and gentlemen - an example of what Thanksgiving is all about". It was a very emotional experience for me, and I will never, ever forget it.