What do you do with your paycheck?

“Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;”
-Proverbs 3:9

Imagine, if you will, a man. Every two weeks, as soon as he gets paid, he rushes out to the store and buys CDs and movies and video games. He does this so much, in fact, that he can’t afford to pay the full electricity bill each month. He’s always borrowing money for rent.

Where would you say this man’s priorities lie?

You’ve probably met people who do this. Honestly, I used to be one in a way. When I first started working in high school, I really didn’t have many expenses, so I had money all the time. I bought guitars, CDs, and such. I spent a small fortune recording a CD that is, frankly, pretty bad. I didn’t save any of it. I wasn’t a Christian, so I certainly didn’t give any of it to the church. I spent my money on entertainment. Why? Because it was my priority.

After college, I wasn’t making much money, and things were tight. But I like food, and so I found myself going out for lunch at least twice a week. I was struggling to make ends meet, but I was spending a good chunk of my salary on food. Why? Because it was my priority.

When you get your paycheck, what is the first thing you do with it? Go the lunch? Put some aside for the new car? Buy mulch for the flowerbed? Go to the movies? Where you spend your money is an indication of your priorities. If you struggle to pay the rent, but every two weeks on payday you’re at the store for a particular thing, that is your priority.

The Bible tells us that God should be our priority. It often uses this word, “firstfruits.” The firstfruits are simply the first product of your work. If you are a farmer, it is the first of the season’s harvest. If you get a paycheck, it is the first money out of the bank. What is the fruit of your labor? The first part of that fruit should be the Lord’s.

Paul tells us more about this: “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come” (1 Corinthians 16:2). This is not a set amount that you have to pay, but as you prosper. That is to say, give in proportion to what you have been given.

We do this for a couple of reasons. The first is to acknowledge that our fruits really belong to God anyway. It is He who has blessed us with whatever we have. If you don’t understand this, you won’t understand giving. This is not MY money, some of which I have to give to God. This is GOD’S money, some of which He lets me keep.

The second reason we do it is out of faith that He is the one providing for us. He has promised that He will take care of us, and so, in faith that He will, we give up some of the money He has already provided to help spread His Word.

The grace of God is sufficient for us. Once we get that priority right, everything else falls nicely into place. Once we acknowledge Him as Lord, as provider, as Father, the giving of the firstfruits is not such a hardship. It is a joy. After all, it is only by His grace that we are saved. We do not deserve heaven. We have acted selfishly, hatefully, and lustfully, and we do not deserve to be saved. But Jesus died in our place, so if we repent and believe that Jesus died for us and rose from the dead, we will find eternity.

What does that new CD compare to that? The more mercy God has shown me, the easier it is for me to give. It is the least I can do to show my love for the One who saved me from death.