$5.50 - Turning Points with God

Take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the LORD your God.

Joshua 23:11

When James E. Carter was pastor of University Baptist Church of Fort Worth, he shared an experience from younger days that he called “the greatest tithing testimony I ever observed.” He said that one day as he waited to see the manager of a grocery store, a widow came in to cash her old-age-assistance check for $55. The grocer asked how the woman wanted it, and she replied, “It doesn’t make any difference, just so I have a five-dollar bill and a fifty-cent piece.”

As the owner gave her the money, Carter noticed that she tucked the coin into the bill, folded it up, and placed it in a corner of her purse. “This is my tithe,” she explained. “I put it separate so I won’t spend it.” It was a scene Carter never forgot, and it later influenced his own faithfulness in the area of tithes and offerings.

That elderly woman didn’t have much, yet she honored God with her substance and with the first part of all her income. Stewardship is not merely a matter of obligation; it’s a matter of love. When you love someone, you want to express your gratitude and affection.

Our stewardship should be faithfully accomplished and lovingly practiced. Are we as wise as that wise, old widow?

You have to start tithing when you have little if you are going to tithe when you have much.

JAMES E. CARTER