Not Enough Left by David Jeremiah

Not Enough Left And he gave him a tithe of all. Genesis 14:20 Leonard DeWitt of Ventura, California, recalls that God spoke to him about tithing after he came to faith in Jesus Christ and applied for admission in a Bible college in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Leonard was saving for his tuition and college expenses. One Sunday at church, his pastor spoke about the biblical practice of giving ten percent of one’s income to the Lord, the practice of tithing. Leonard decided to do that. The next week, he got his paycheck and paid his room and board and a few other expenses. But when he looked at his checkbook, there wasn’t enough left in the account for him to tithe. He was confused and frustrated by this.

Recommended Reading: Hebrews 7:1-10

He said, “Lord, I’ll do better next week.” But the next week the same thing happened, and the week after that. He was very frustrated. He told the Lord he wanted to give a tenth of his income, but there was never enough left over. The Holy Spirit seemed to whisper in his heart, “Give the tithe first.” That brought about a panic attack. But Leonard knew God wanted him to trust and to obey Him, and so he started writing a check for his tithe first. Many years have since passed, and Leonard says that from the very first time there has always been enough to take care of his living expenses with some left over. Give the tithe first. Give God what’s right, not what’s left! Adrian Rodgers