“A tithe of everything … belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD” (Leviticus 27:30).
The number one problem when it comes to family living isn’t our failure to communicate, as important as that may be. Nor is it what takes place behind the bedroom door, or keeping your in-laws from becoming outlaws. The greatest, single problem facing families today is the handling of money. Scrutinizing this fact, it becomes apparent that the real issue isn’t how much you have or how little you have, but rather it is our inability to agree on what to do with the money we do have.
There are only three things you can do with money: (1) You can spend it, (2) You can save it, and (3) You can give it away. Generally, we spend far too much, which means there is too little, if any, to save, and practically nothing to give, either to charity or to God’s work.
Few people ever consider the fact that God has given us a great deal of direction when it comes to using the resources that we have. In the New Testament, for example, one verse in every 27 deals with the wise use of your resources. Considering the four Gospels alone, one verse in seven addresses this. There are entire chapters which talk about the handling of money. For example, in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, which we know today as 2nd Corinthians, chapters 8 and 9 meet the issue head on.
Obviously, today, with a lot of us in trouble when it comes to the use of our money, we’ve missed some important insights. The result: massive financial problems. For example: Consumer debt today is increasing at an unprecedented rate. Like the person who said, “I’m going to live within my budget even if I have to borrow money to do it,” we’re borrowing money we don’t have and then facing greater financial pressures when it comes to paying it back.
As the budget becomes more strained, we borrow more money instead of bringing our expenditures into line with the budget. It’s like exhaling twice without inhaling. It can’t be done, and eventually the debts pile up and create problems. “Let no debt remain outstanding,” said Paul, “except the continuing debt to love one another,” and with one sweep of his pen, He is saying that when you borrow money to pay for your lifestyle, it’s not only bad business, but it’s contrary to God’s plan for your life.
One of our problems is that we have never taken seriously what God says in His word when it comes to money management. And, thinking that Scripture is well meaning but not really relevant to life today, we’ve plunged head-on into financial bondage. It is hurting our lives and our marriages.
When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he said pointedly that God blesses us so that we may give, and then as we give, He further multiplies the blessings. Strange mathematics? You bet it is, but it works.
Under the law, God taught that a tenth, or a tithe, belonged to Him. This was to be given first, not last as we often do. When people failed to do this, financial adversity followed. “You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it,” instructed Haggai. “Will a man rob God?” asks the prophet, and the people say, “How do we rob you?” The reply: “In tithes and offerings.” And then God said, “You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me” (Malachi 3:8-9).
There is one thing for sure: Consumer debt is a curse today which is killing many of us. It’s time to go back to the fundamental principles of Scripture. God has a plan, and when we follow that plan, we get out of debt and stay out of debt.
Resource reading: Luke 6
