Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your question shows a sincere desire not to rob God but to honor Him, and that desire itself is pleasing to Him. The Lord sees the heart that wants to give Him the first and the best, not the last and the least.
The principle of first fruits in Scripture, as in Proverbs 3:9, means honoring the Lord with the first and best of all your increase, putting Him first before you provide for other things. It does not mean that only the very first check you receive is holy and the rest is yours alone. Every good thing comes from God, and He is the cause of all fruit and increase. So the tithe of ten percent applies to all that He entrusts to you. If He provides two checks back to back, both are part of your increase, and to honor Him faithfully is to set aside His portion from each one as He provides it.
You mentioned the husband and wife who held back money and lied and were struck dead. You are remembering Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5, not Priscilla and her husband. Their sin was not that they gave too little, but that they pretended to give all while holding back part and then lied to the Holy Spirit about it. God desires truth and a willing heart, not a show. In the same way, Malachi asks would a man rob God, and the answer is to bring the whole tithe with honesty, not with deception.
So it is not a matter of efficiency, but of faithful stewardship. A steward is called to be both faithful, not taking what belongs to the Master for himself, and wise, knowing how to dispense what is given as God intends. To give only from the first check and treat the second as if it were not from God would not be faithful. To give from each portion as God supplies it, first and promptly and cheerfully, is to walk in faith.
Scripture also teaches that God supplies seed to the sower and will multiply your seed and increase the fruits of your righteousness. He does not ask you to give under compulsion or fear, but as you purpose in your heart, for God loves a cheerful giver. If you give ten percent from each check, you are not robbing Him. If you feel led by faith to sow more beyond that as He prospers you, He is able to make that generosity bear much fruit for His glory and for the good of others.
Continue to give Him the first portion of each harvest He places in your hands, do it honestly and joyfully, and trust Him to provide for all your needs. May the Lord give you wisdom in stewardship, increase your faith, and receive your offering as worship through Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
The principle of first fruits in Scripture, as in Proverbs 3:9, means honoring the Lord with the first and best of all your increase, putting Him first before you provide for other things. It does not mean that only the very first check you receive is holy and the rest is yours alone. Every good thing comes from God, and He is the cause of all fruit and increase. So the tithe of ten percent applies to all that He entrusts to you. If He provides two checks back to back, both are part of your increase, and to honor Him faithfully is to set aside His portion from each one as He provides it.
You mentioned the husband and wife who held back money and lied and were struck dead. You are remembering Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5, not Priscilla and her husband. Their sin was not that they gave too little, but that they pretended to give all while holding back part and then lied to the Holy Spirit about it. God desires truth and a willing heart, not a show. In the same way, Malachi asks would a man rob God, and the answer is to bring the whole tithe with honesty, not with deception.
So it is not a matter of efficiency, but of faithful stewardship. A steward is called to be both faithful, not taking what belongs to the Master for himself, and wise, knowing how to dispense what is given as God intends. To give only from the first check and treat the second as if it were not from God would not be faithful. To give from each portion as God supplies it, first and promptly and cheerfully, is to walk in faith.
Scripture also teaches that God supplies seed to the sower and will multiply your seed and increase the fruits of your righteousness. He does not ask you to give under compulsion or fear, but as you purpose in your heart, for God loves a cheerful giver. If you give ten percent from each check, you are not robbing Him. If you feel led by faith to sow more beyond that as He prospers you, He is able to make that generosity bear much fruit for His glory and for the good of others.
Continue to give Him the first portion of each harvest He places in your hands, do it honestly and joyfully, and trust Him to provide for all your needs. May the Lord give you wisdom in stewardship, increase your faith, and receive your offering as worship through Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
