Some big financials decisions to be made:
- Where to live (back at home, saving $500 a month, at least until September. Then we'll see.)
- How many classes to take (Goal: complete Grad School without new student loans.)
- How much I can afford to put into my Roth IRA (try to meet the yearly maximum?)
- How quickly I can pay off my car (by the time I'm 27? That's just over 3 years.)
- Can I afford to buy a house? (Oh my lanta, who even knows?!)
Last night, I was reading through the various laws in Deuteronomy. And I came to the part where Moses commands the Israelites to give their first fruits to the Lord. The first of their crops and animals.
The first.
Before they knew if there would be more coming.
Before they paid bills and took their goods to the market to sell.
Before they checked how much was in their savings account.
Their first fruits.
The reason? So that we may "rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household" (Deuteronomy 26:11).
I love that. I was convicted.
I tithe regularly, but it had always been on the last Sunday of the month. That way, I knew how much I would make, what my "10%" would be, and that my bills all paid with no problem. But what if I gave my tithe on the first Sunday of the month? Before those bills are taken out? Before my car payment, my credit card bill, my cell phone, my insurance, my, my, my.... How would that change my dependence on the Lord? How would I grow in my faith and trust? How would I see "all the good things the Lord [my] God has give to [me] and [my] household"?
That seems a little radical. Counter-culture. To give first rather than saving or spending first. But I'm excited. Last night, I fell more in love with the Word of God than I have been in a while. And I was reading in Deuteronomy. No one expects that. I am excited to take the Lord at His word. To give Him my first fruits.
- Where to live (back at home, saving $500 a month, at least until September. Then we'll see.)
- How many classes to take (Goal: complete Grad School without new student loans.)
- How much I can afford to put into my Roth IRA (try to meet the yearly maximum?)
- How quickly I can pay off my car (by the time I'm 27? That's just over 3 years.)
- Can I afford to buy a house? (Oh my lanta, who even knows?!)
Last night, I was reading through the various laws in Deuteronomy. And I came to the part where Moses commands the Israelites to give their first fruits to the Lord. The first of their crops and animals.
The first.
Before they knew if there would be more coming.
Before they paid bills and took their goods to the market to sell.
Before they checked how much was in their savings account.
Their first fruits.
The reason? So that we may "rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household" (Deuteronomy 26:11).
I love that. I was convicted.
I tithe regularly, but it had always been on the last Sunday of the month. That way, I knew how much I would make, what my "10%" would be, and that my bills all paid with no problem. But what if I gave my tithe on the first Sunday of the month? Before those bills are taken out? Before my car payment, my credit card bill, my cell phone, my insurance, my, my, my.... How would that change my dependence on the Lord? How would I grow in my faith and trust? How would I see "all the good things the Lord [my] God has give to [me] and [my] household"?
That seems a little radical. Counter-culture. To give first rather than saving or spending first. But I'm excited. Last night, I fell more in love with the Word of God than I have been in a while. And I was reading in Deuteronomy. No one expects that. I am excited to take the Lord at His word. To give Him my first fruits.
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