Freedom with Firstfruits
I always paid my bills on time. But I carried large debt balances. I often had no money in savings and lived for payday. In 2019, my church offered a financial course and I signed up. It offered me a glimpse of financial freedom.
I began to budget, accounting for every penny. Living within my means and paying off debt slowly but surely seemed to offer a reprieve after decades of impulsive financial decisions. The church was a mainstay on my budgeting list, but the amount I gave was the “leftover”, after all other responsibilities were managed.
This is not what God calls us to do. God calls for us to give back to Him, as another form of worship, with our “firstfruits”– before we categorically assign the funds to other people or accounts.
“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” Proverbs 3:9-10
I’ve read this verse before, and another passage (Malachi 3:8-10) actually has the Lord saying that He can be tested in this area. Two verses share the message that God will bless us if we do what He has called us to do with our firstfruits. I had debts and responsibilities, as we all do; therefore, I really thought that in my circumstances God was happy with what I was doing. I prayed each month asking God to help me do my best to use my income faithfully.
Then in 2020 our family lost an income source – about 30% of our total income – and the budget was busted. I had to file for bankruptcy. I was scared and embarrassed. At first, I thought, why is God punishing me when I was doing so well and trying so hard? But then I remembered that the tenuous circumstance I had been in had been entirely of my own making. God loved me. That hadn’t changed. Through prayer, God revealed to me that this was a tremendous opportunity. I could start over. While there are real and challenging consequences from bankruptcy, it was also a new start.
The next month I budgeted and began with tithing before I assigned funds to other financial responsibilities. My family’s income is a source of blessing from God. I had an opportunity to show my thankfulness with my firstfruits and wise management of the rest. Shortly after, the following verse was in a quiet time passage I was studying.
“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” 1 Corinthians 4:2
A trust is an asset. My income is an asset. Using this verse as a guide, I make the leap that my income is a trust with which the Lord has asked me to steward, or to manage faithfully. The course I had taken pre-bankruptcy helped me to reorganize my budget and wow, was God faithful!
Within months, we had some money in savings, and our family had opportunities to increase our income. We were able to get back to our pre-bankruptcy income amount within 6 months of filing and God has allowed us to increase our income by an additional 30% in the last two years! (And NO I don’t believe the 30% loss and 30% increase is a coincidence! It’s a miracle!) We have NEVER been without the money to pay for what we’ve needed in the time since filing– even just last month when our furnace failed unexpectedly. Our savings covered 80% of the large bill and our credit union AND the furnace company were willing to finance the rest (as were so many friends and family members who wanted to help). We had choices for financial support that we could not have imagined.
I do not know your financial circumstances. I do not judge how you are managing them. Not my job or my desire. I do know it’s hard work. But I also know God wants to help and bless you in your management of those firstfruits. Don’t leave Him out. Who knows the story of freedom that He will give you when you let Him in?
