Giving Our Best to God
Numbers 18:28–29 (NIV)
28 In this way you also will present an offering to the LORD from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the LORD’s portion to Aaron the priest. 29 You must present as the LORD’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.’
In God’s instructions to the Levites and priests about their responsibilities and privileges, God instructed them to give him a tithe of the tithe (10%) they receive from the people of Israel, which was the first fruits of their crops/harvest. They too were expected to give God the best of their crop. It’s hard to apply this to modern day as worship no longer revolves around sacrificing animals and crops to the Lord because Jesus became the ultimate once for all sacrifice, but the principle of giving God the first and best portion of what we receive is still a good guide to what we should offer to God. When we are paid for the work we do, or receive our income, are we giving the first-fruits tithe, or the first 10%, to God? Are we giving the best to God, or are we giving God the leftovers? Do we look at what we have leftover at the end of the month or in our wallet to decide how much we are giving or do we give to God first? What we give God (or don’t) says a lot about our level of faith and devotion to God. By giving the first, and therefore the best, part we are both saying thank you to God for providing for our needs, but we are also believing that God will provide everything we need for the rest of the pay period or month with whatever is left. We have to decide for ourselves which kind of giver we will be; a leftover giver (what’s leftover at the end of our bills, entertainment, etc.), a proportional giver (who gives a percentage of your income), a tither (gives 10%), a firstfruits tither (gives the first 10%), or an extravagant giver (who gives above and beyond the tithe to support God’s kingdom work in the world).