I love Proverbs 3:9: “Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of thine increase:” I think I shall write this on the folder that holds our bills to be paid. 🙂
This I found to be quite helpful, in an article “Tithe or Tax?” written by Dr. Glenn Robertson:
“Do I give firstfruits or lastfruits?
The reason so many give so little is because we have reversed the process. We give lastfruits, not firstfruits. We live our best life, and then see if we have anything left to honor God. By doing so, we dishonor God. We are choosing to live outside of faith. We want to see God work, but we are not placing ourselves in a position where we can see God work. We can talk about loving God. We can sing about loving God, but if we cannot release our gifts to God, then we are we in fact really in love with God?”
Also, “God prospers me not to raise my standard of living but to raise my standard of giving. Some people find they can give more than a tenth. Or, if they increase their income, they see it as a means by which God is expanding their influence, so they can give more to the work of His kingdom.”
And, “Tithing is worship. It is a sacrificial gift, given to God because of your love for God and in response to His salvation. God called for a tithe, not a tax. He wants people to give as an act of worship, not as a duty that is enforced upon them.”
Much food for thought. I love this idea of tithing as worship! It is entirely pro-active. And we have been taught here at Plainfield that tithing is indeed a Biblical Law of the Universe. I am grateful for this lesson on Substance.