Why Fairness Beats Equality, What Tithing Is Really About, and the Bible That Finally Made Sense

My three year old grabbed a coffee mug from the water bottle drawer and asked why it was different from the others. That question sent my brain somewhere I did not expect it to go. All water bottles are for drinking, but some are made for hot drinks, some for smoothies, some for really cold sodas. And I started thinking about how long we have treated people like they all came from the same factory with the same function and the same rules.

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Sameness Is Not the Same as Fair

When I was teaching third and fourth grade I did an activity at the start of every year to teach this exact idea. Every student got a card with a pretend ailment and I was the doctor. No matter what they came up with, most kids got a bandaid. Bloody nose. Sprained wrist. Stomachache. Bandaid. But a few kids got what they actually needed. An ace bandage and an ice pack. A propped-up chair and a wrap.

Getting the same thing is not always fair. Getting what you actually need is.

Equality is giving everyone the same. Fairness is giving everyone what they need to have an equal chance. One accounts for different starting points and circumstances. The other does not. I do not think God sent us here and said, find the right church or else. I think it is more like a create your own adventure where every path leads somewhere real.

Tithing Is a Law, Not a Ledger

My husband and I were catching up on finances and he asked whether we pay tithing on gross or net income. I have come to believe that tithing was never meant to be about a specific percentage or even specifically about money.

It is a universal spiritual law.

The universe runs on circulation. Give and receive. What you put into the world comes back. What others give to you, you have to be willing to receive, or you block the flow for both of you. I grew up watching my parents give generously and living abundantly as a result. Not always in money, but in people, in time, in help that showed up when we needed it. The history of how tithing became a mandatory worthiness requirement in the LDS church is more complicated than most people know. Peeling back those layers reveals the original principle underneath.

Contribute. Give. Help the cause of humanity. That is the law.

"Getting the same thing is not always fair. Getting what you actually need is."

A Bible That Finally Made Sense

"Tithing was never meant to be about a specific percentage or money. It is a universal spiritual law. The universe runs on circulation. Give and receive."

I have been on a quiet break from scripture for a while. Not because I stopped believing in the principles but because traditional formats stopped connecting for me. My aunt recommended a Book of Mormon storybook series called The Book of Mormon Storybook by Josh and Sarah Sabie from For Little Saints, which we have been loving with our kids. But the one that genuinely moved me is a storybook Bible called God's Stories as Told by God's Children, brought to you by the Bible for Normal People.

The introduction says it plainly. The Bible is weird. It was written thousands of years ago by many different people who did not know they were writing the Bible because the Bible had not been invented yet. The stories were gathered over centuries, retold across cultures, filtered through individual lives and losses and hopes.

Your voice is invited into those conversations. Your questions matter. Your thoughts matter.

What Scripture Actually Is

Scripture is the record of people trying to make sense of real things. Maybe Adam and Eve were not literal people. But they were real to someone. The principle they represented was real. And that is what has always mattered. I still find beauty in scripture. I still find lessons I want to apply. But I hold it differently now.

With more grace, more curiosity, and a lot less weight.

"Scripture is the record of people working through the same questions we are still asking. It was never meant to be a rulebook or a power tool over people."

Find Evidence Every Day

Whatever you focus on, you will find more of it. Start looking for evidence of abundance, of goodness, of love, and you will find that everywhere. If you have been struggling with scripture or with giving or with any of the things we talked about today, start small.

One thing a day. Let it grow.

Cheering you on 📣

Brynne

Thanks for Being Here

Hi, I’m Brynne. I share my journey of becoming through stories and reflection - guided by a higher power as I explore identity, faith, and everyday life, inviting you to grow alongside me.

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