Trust and Obey

"Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing."

(Malachi 3:10)

"Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it."
(Psalm 119:35)

How many times have you told your children, "Because I said so"? Altough there are many reasons to give back to God, one of our foremost motives should be simple obedience. Obedience in giving reflects our trust in God and our belief that God truly knows what is best for us.

If your family tithes or is stepping up to tithing, use this simple exercise to explain the practice to your children. (It may even serve as a good reminder to you of your Christian responsibility to give back to God!) Place one dollar and ten dimes on a table. Tell your child that the ten dimes equal one whole dollar. (This exercise also helps in explaining fractions!) Show your child one dime and explain that God asks us to give back to him at least one tenth of all the good things that God gives us. We give this tithe or tenth in obedience to God's instruction and out of our love for him.

Be sure to point out that God's love for us isn't dependent on what or how much we give. Also stress that we do not give a tithe based on whether or not we think that we can afford it. God deserves our best effort. We give at least a tenth back to God and place our trust in God's care.

Questions for Discussion

• How do we know that we can trust God?
• Does only one tenth of what we have belong to God, or does everything belong to God?
• How can we as a family honor God with all that we have?

Posted in 2003.