I remember what it felt like when I got my first few paychecks from my first \u201creal\u201d job after college. After a few weeks of working full time, I finally reached that coveted mountaintop achievement of receiving a paycheck with four digits and a comma.<\/p>\n
I had arrived. I had over $1,000 in my bank account, and I did my absolute best to resist the urge to cash that puppy in for nickels and pennies to do a Scrooge McDuck swan dive into a pool (or maybe bathtub) full of my newfound riches.<\/p>\n
You’ve watched “DuckTales.” You know what I\u2019m talking about.<\/p>\n
And those paychecks came every month<\/em>! I was rich! Time to pull up Zillow and see if the Wayne Manor is for sale so I can finally <\/em>have my own Batcave.<\/p>\n OK, maybe I didn\u2019t go that<\/em> far, but maybe you\u2019ve had similar reactions. When you first go out on your own, it takes a while to get a grasp on how much money you actually need to have for things like electricity and food.<\/p>\n It was more than I originally hypothesized. (And the Wayne Manor is vastly over-priced.)<\/p>\n Even now, as I reflect on my life as an old man<\/a>, I still struggle with budgeting. Whenever I have to or want to make big purchases, I internally debate with myself for days trying to decide if it\u2019s really worth it. Even if you took personal finance classes in high school and have mastered Dave Ramsey\u2019s debt snowball, there really isn\u2019t a one-size-fits-all handbook for handling your finances, and these issues only seem to be more complicated the older you get.<\/p>\n Here are a few thoughts I\u2019ve had recently, along with some much wiser words from the Savior of the world.<\/p>\n The Bible has quite a bit to say about money, and one thing is clear throughout both the Old and New Testaments: All of our money really belongs to God. It makes sense, right? If you believe that God created everything, nothing is really ours. As King David wrote, \u201cThe earth is the\u00a0LORD<\/span>‘s and the fullness thereof,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the world and those who dwell therein,<\/span><\/span>\u201d (Psalm 24:1<\/a>).<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to give money away. It feels so counter-intuitive. Especially if you don\u2019t make much to begin with, it is very hard<\/em> to let it go without getting anything in return. I get it. I\u2019ve been there, and I know how hard it is.<\/p>\n Sometimes the Bible is nuanced and very hard to understand, but with the topics of giving and generosity, I really don\u2019t see much wiggle room. The concept of tithing is affirmed throughout the Scriptures, and living with generosity is described favorably by Jesus and many other biblical writers.<\/p>\n Not only are we instructed to give to the church, but we\u2019re also told those gifts should come first<\/em>. Several verses in the Old Testament instruct believers to give \u201cfirstfruit\u201d tithes to the Lord. In the New Testament, Paul instructs the church in Corinth that they should give \u201con the first day of every week.\u201d (1 Corinthians 16:2<\/a>).<\/p>\n I can see how that can sound or feel legalistic, and I\u2019m not sure God is concerned about you literally giving away your first dollars at the beginning of every month, but I believe the concept is important. Giving to God shouldn\u2019t be an afterthought, and you shouldn\u2019t just give whatever you have left at the end of the month. The earth is the Lord\u2019s and everything in it, and to show God the position of your heart, we should get in the habit of giving what He asks of us first<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\nGive First<\/h4>\n