Give The Tithe First!
"And he gave him a tithe of all."
Genesis 14:20
Leonard DeWitt of Ventura, California, recalls that God
spoke to him about tithing after he had
come to faith in
Jesus Christ and applied for admission
at Bible college
in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Leonard
was saving for
his tuition and college expenses. One
Sunday at church,
his pastor spoke about the biblical practice of giving ten
percent of one’s income to the
Lord, a practice of tithing.
Leonard decided to do that. The next week, he got his
paycheck and paid his room and board and a few other
expenses. But when he looked at his checkbook, there
wasn’t enough left in the account for him to tithe. He
was confused and frustrated by this.
He said, “Lord, I’ll do better next week.” But the next week
the same thing happened, and the week after that. He was
very frustrated. He told the Lord he wanted to give a tenth of
his income, but there was never enough left over. The Holy
Spirit seemed to whisper in his heart, “Give the tithe first.”
That brought about a panic attack. But Leonard knew God
wanted him to trust and obey Him, and so he started writing
a check for a tithe first. Many years have since passed, and
Leonard says that from the very first time there has always
been enough to take care of his living expenses with some
left over.
Give The Tithe First!
"Give God what’s right,
not what’s left!"
Adrian Rodgers
