Verse for the week of February 21st:
So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD,
have given me. You shall set it down before the LORD you God
and bow down before the LORD your God.
(Deuteronomy 26:10)
This text is one of the classic stewardship texts. It lifts up the notion of first fruits giving. First Fruits giving is the idea that we give to God first out of what God has blessed us with. This idea while very simple can be difficult to truly live out.
I think that the reason First Fruits giving can be difficult for some people to grasp is that it runs counter to the way that most of us were taught to think about money, possessions, wealth, etc.
Unless I am very different than most people (which may be true on some level), however while growing up I was taught that I was to work hard and when you work hard you will earn money. When you earn money, then you can decide what to do with the money that you make. I think that this is the most common message that parents teach their children. And while there is nothing inherently wrong with this notion for all parents want their children to learn to work hard and understand that it takes work to make money—this verse really indicates something a little bit different. The verse suggest that what the people get from the ground (the first fruits) in reality comes not just come from our hard work, but from the LORD. For the verse states, ‘so now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me.’ It presents the notion that while I may be the one who works the ground and sows the seeds, the produce or results come from God. Thus, we are to give back to God out of what God has first given to us.
Even in our society today, this concepts still is applicable. The reality is that our profession or career is based upon our gifts, intelligence and ability to do the work required by our job. Thus it is easy to see that when we succeed it must be because of our willingness to work hard and do what is required. What is actually behind our work is that we can do our work because of how God made us—giving us the strength to do the work, have the mental capacity to complete the tasks for our job, etc. The real lesson is that all that we have—money, possessions, career, etc.—come from God. Thus the verse calls us to acknowledge that everything we have comes from God and thus we need to give back to God as a way of showing thanks and praise for the many ways that God has blessed us. Hence, it is not really OUR money that we make but it is the money that God has enable us to earn.
This hopeful will cause us to change the way that most of us think about giving to God. It can be easy in terms of giving to the congregation to get in the habit of paying bills and then seeing what is left over and then give out of what is left. In most cases, this means that we are simply giving our spare change to Jesus. This verse and the concept of first fruits calls us to think first about what we should give to God and then allocate the rest to our various financial obligations. I know some people in seeking to live out first fruits giving will after getting paid, write their offering check to the church first and then pay the rest of their bills.
Living out first fruits giving can take many shapes and forms, but it all boils down to the understanding that God has first blessed us and we seek to give back to God generously as God has richly blessed us.
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