Pay God First

Pay God First

Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly flourish like leaves in spring. Proverbs 11:28

Even though tithing, or giving a tenth of one’s income, is based on Old Testament practice rather than on New Testament command, I’m convinced supporting God’s work is both a responsibility and a privilege. For years I’ve helped support three missionary families in addition to giving to my local church. I can’t go to faraway places to present the gospel, but I can help others go. How exciting to be part of our heavenly Father’s work, even through the writing of a check! And even though it was not my motivation for giving, I’ve been amazed and grateful as I’ve watched God stretch the remaining dollars in my budget when I take care of the tithe first.

Some pastors teach that we are to support our church with the full tithe and then support missionaries with gifts beyond the tithe. I remember, for instance, a Detroit minister who said, “Support where you worship. You don’t dine at one restaurant and then go next door and pay the bill at another.”

That’s a good point. But talk over your giving with the Lord, and ask him what he wants you to do with your tithe. If you’re convinced you can’t give a full monetary tithe right now, consider tithing your time or talent by teaching a Sunday school class or painting a mural for the church nursery. The important thing is that you give back to the Lord a portion of what he has given you.

A word of caution, though: However we decide to pay our tithe, we should do so out of a spirit of thankfulness rather than out of the expectation that God will pay us back “ten times over” or “a hundredfold,” as some people insist. We can never outgive God, of course, but neither does he owe us anything.

—SANDRA

Lord, what a privilege it is to share in your work. Help me to think of the tithe as a way of thanking you for your blessings rather than as a duty.

Riches are useless if we do not put them to work in a needy, hurting world.

—J. STEPHEN LANG, AUTHOR