Abel brought an offering to the Lord, Abraham paid Melchizedek a tithe, and Jacob vowed to give God a tenth of all God gave him. These incidents occurred long before the law was instituted. Then, under the Mosaic Law tithing was a direct command. Finally, in the New Testament, although no longer under law, giving continued to be practiced and was heavily emphasized. 

 

1 Corinthians 16:2 is a good standard to follow: “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income.” Here we see that we should personally give on a regular basis and that this giving is proportionate (equal sacrifice, not equal giving). Billy Graham speaks of his habit of giving: “We have found in our own home…that God’s blessing upon the nine-tenths, when we tithe, helps it to go farther than ten-tenths without His blessing.”

 

Let the Lord develop in you a habit of giving out of a heart for giving. May it go beyond a calculative fixation or a worrisome rule. Take this important step!

Matthew 6:21 says “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What demands our time, what occupies our thoughts, where we spend our money, where we go and what we do, reflect our real priorities. Although deep inside we think we treasure Christ, when the rubber meets the road and life happens and busy schedules dictate, what we actually end up doing – the way we respond to these pressures – may be the real litmus test of where our treasure is. 

 

How we view money is one of the most revealing tests of where our treasure is. Our view of money drives both major and minor decisions. Our fear of lack reveals how little we trust God. Our greed reveals misplaced values. Our neglect of the needy reveals our lack of love. Our envy of someone who has more than we do reveals confusion over our own destiny. 

 

It opens our hand, makes us trust in the Lord, and gives us Kingdom perspective. We need to give for our own sakes, not just for the work of the Lord!