I once read something Jim Sheppard wrote about how our money goes to three basic places: giving, saving, and living. We either give it away, save it away, or spend it away.
When it comes to stewardship, the order of these three are very important:
“A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD” (Leviticus 29:30).
God is clear that he wants us to be generous first. The concept of the “tithe” is that the first ten percent of all we have belongs to God. Before we offer the service of our hands, God desires the giving of our heart.
After giving should come saving. Why? Because if we don’t save, we’ll spend it all on living! Many Americans, including American Christians, find it difficult to save because the impulse to buy is so strong. We’ve become accustomed to lifestyles that only two incomes can sustain.
What if we determined that we would only live off 70 percent of our income? Imagine what we could do with the remaining 30 percent!
Giving, saving, living.