“A faith that hasn’t reached your wallet, probably hasn’t reached
your heart” (Adrian Rogers).
I work for the Lord. Every
penny I make belongs to Him. Everything
I am able to do is because of who He created me to be. Psalm 24:1 and 1 Corinthians 10:26 tells us
that “The earth is the Lord’s and all its fullness, The world and those who
dwell therein.” “He owns it all – not a
tithe, not a love offering, not our leftovers; He owns it all” (D. Ramsey,
Complete Guide to Money pg. 311). He
doesn’t need my money… “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills… For the world
is Mine, and all its fullness” It’s All His! (Psalm 50:10-12). If I work for the Lord, God gets 100% and
gives me 90%... That’s very generous!!
We have a giving God. He
gave His one and only Son for me. I am
made in His image. He is the ultimate
example of giving. His word has many
examples for me to give of my first fruits; to tithe 10% of all I make. “’Bring all the tithes into the storehouse...’Says
the Lord of hosts” Malachi 3:10).
Sometimes when life gets tough and finances are looking bleak, some
would suggest that perhaps not tithing as much is an option. This is not an option for me. In all my adult life I have seen the goodness
of the Lord in His caring for me. I
remember when I was living with my best friend (late 80’s early 90’s) and we
had pretty much nothing. She was blessed
to be able to eat breakfast and lunch at her work, and me mine. I was out of gas though… How would I get to
work? Guess what came in the mail that
very afternoon? An unexpected check from
my insurance company for $19 (gas was only $.97 a gallon), plenty of money to
fill my gas tank. When things were tight
when my boys were young and expenses came up, we (my ex and I) never opted
to not tithe, and while our budget did not work on paper, our bills were always
paid! That is a testimony to the Lord! My trust is in Him. I once had a pastor who when he was teaching
about giving asked the congregation “What bills would you rather have not paid?”
He was not making it a legalistic thing,
but it presented it (to me) that God should be first in giving and paying bills.
I don’t give out of legalism, but out of
obedience, and with the gratefulness of His constant provision. To think that my measly tithe can further His
kingdom is mind baffling. What an honor
it is to give.
I just finished the Financial Peace University class, and am amazed
at the statistics that Christians tithe only 2.5% - 3% of their finances. Not my words, but I agree with them. “You can’t
say you are a follower of Christ when you are not giving. You can’t walk around with the clenched fist
(holding tightly on to your “own” money) and tell people about how amazing
Jesus is. There’s a disconnect. They won’t believe you because your whole
attitude is of selfishness, fear, and greed…” (Dave Ramsey, Complete Guide to
Money pg. 312)
Stewardship is the job of supervising or taking care of something
such as an organization or property. God
is trusting us to manage what He is so graciously allowing us to have. I encourage you to ask yourself, How am I
doing? “For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). God speaks a LOT about money in
His word. We need to pay attention to His words, and be
good stewards with His money.
