On a cool spring morning , I was walking high up on a hill — a plateau of sorts — spending time with God and praying in my secret spot . Well , it wasn ’ t really that secret . It was technically a construction site set aside for an upcoming phase of our subdivision . But it was a secluded area where I could go to think and pray . I liked to think of this place as God ’ s treat to me .
As I walked with God in that field , I told Him about some of my big financial goals . The biggest one being that I longed to get our mortgage paid off and be 100 % debt-free . According to my plan , it would take three or four years to pay it off .
Linda and I had been tithing for years at this point and even gave a little extra sometimes . In our minds we had reached the “ finish line ” of Christian giving . And , just like a Pharisee , I was proud of it . I had given God His 10 %, and I had 90 % to do with what I wished .
If I ’ m honest , I kind of thought that God owed me . I had checked the “ good Christian ” box by tithing , and now He should give me all the stuff I wanted . But what happened that morning , high up on the hill , forever changed my understanding of giving .
God spoke to my heart that if we really wanted to see Him move in our financial life , then we should begin giving our age as a percentage of our income .
Though it wasn ’ t His audible voice , God spoke to my heart that if we really wanted to see Him move in our financial life , then we should begin giving our age as a percentage of our income . I was 31 at the time , so this meant 31 % of our income . Wait . Where did that come from ? I ’ ve never seen that in the Bible . Who does this ? As this thought lingered in my heart , I began trying to figure out whether this was even possible . I don ’ t know if we ’ ll be able to pay the bills and buy groceries . And what about our plans ?
The Adventure We had spent years dreaming about being 100 % debt-free . We had been working toward that goal but just needed God ’ s help to get there quicker . However , instead of helping pay off our mortgage , He seemed to be asking us to put our debt-payoff plan on hold and give instead , essentially turning that three- to four-year plan into about a 10-year plan since we wouldn ’ t have any extra to pay toward our mortgage . It made no sense . Yet here God was — not twisting my arm or using guilt or shame — but gently inviting me to go on an adventure with Him . Asking us to increase our giving from a little over 10 % to 31 %. It was a scary thought . In this moment I recalled one of my favorite verses : “ We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them .” As usual , God ’ s Word brought peace to my heart and reminded me of these three truths :
1 . God wouldn ’ t ask us to do this unless there was something really cool attached to it . God isn ’ t into making requests just for fun or to make our lives difficult . He is always at work doing something awesome , inviting us to participate in it ( in this case through giving ). We just can ’ t see how it ’ s going to work out yet , and that makes it scary . But when we step back and trust that He is going to work it out for our good , we have the opportunity to enjoy even difficult moments of giving .
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