Giving It Away

Grab

What percentage of your family budget do you give as tithe to the Lord?

Grace

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33

There are only three things you can do with money: spend it, save it, or give it away. I want to suggest that the place to start is by giving it away. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus told his hearers to seek God’s Kingdom “above all else”, and God would supply their needs. In the context of his words, “all else” referred to food, clothing, and shelter. The Lord knows that we need these things, and He will meet our needs if we put Him first.

King Solomon was never more on target than when he said, “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then He will fill your barns with grains, and your vats will overflow with good wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10).

Ever wonder why the barn is empty – why we’re struggling financially? Maybe because we have not honored God with the first fruits, meaning the best part of what we have. Please don’t give to God out what you have left over on Saturday night. Instead, make a commitment as a couple to give to God 10% of your income and give it joyfully, this will remind us that everything that we have belongs to God. I promised you that this generosity to the Lord will give you a sense of security and unity as a family and it will bless your marriage.

Gather

For discussion, answer the following questions:

1. What prevents us from giving 10% of our income as our tithe to the Lord?

2. What can we do to overcome these hindrances from honoring God with our finances so that we can show our trust in the Lord.

Go Forth

In your couple prayer time, give thanks to God for all the blessings that you have received from Him. Then write down in a piece of paper the amount of money that you will give to the Lord as tithe. Honor Him by committing to give this tithe regularly as a manifestation of your gratitude to the Lord.