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I’ve been pondering the idea of tithing. Now I know that as soon as I say the word tithing, many, if not most of you will think about money. You can think about scriptures that talk about giving God the “first of your fruits.” Now this is all good. Personally, before anything else is spent, I have found that there is no greater spiritual rhythm for me than my tithe being given on the first of the month, no opportunity to reflect about whether I should do it or not, it just is.

Yet as I have reflected on this, I have begun to think about this in the broadest sense possible, something I am calling “A theology of firsts.” What would it actually look like if I tithed the first of everything.

Let’s think about this.

The first moments of my day – a tithe of worship and reflecting on who God is and what He may want to reveal to me for the day ahead.

The first conversation of the day with my spouse and/or my kids – to make it not about me but about them. To speak words of encouragement, to build them up.

The first thing I do when I get to work – to offer the first 30 minutes to God and what he is doing in those that I have responsibility for. 

The first 20-30 minutes when I return home from work – offered as a tithe to my family, to hear about their day and enjoy the beauty that can come from family.

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Romans 12:1 MSG

The first part of my vacation, offered as a tithe. The first day of each month. The first month of the year. The first minutes arriving at a party – seeking to serve others and not to be served. 

I’m still pondering this and thinking about how I could live this out. We must always remind ourselves that a relationship with God is not a set of rules but a way of living. It’s easy to live by a rule of financial tithing, giving your “first fruits”, but what if it means so much more than that. What if it was much more encompassing, more beautiful.

You may recall Jesus words: 

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.  Matthew 5:21-22

Could we look at a Theology of Firsts in a similar way.

“You have heard that it was said: tithe of your first fruits. But I tell you, give the first of everything, and every situation and circumstance. For in this way you honour your Father in heaven.”

What would it look like if we adopted a Theology of Firsts? How would our relationships and communities be changed?

For the Kingdom.

Matthew’s Question to Madison: What scriptures continue to speak to you?

Of all the spiritual disciplines, reading scripture has typically been the way I most easily connect with God. That’s a big reason as to why I loved Bible school so much, and plan on continuing a more formal approach to studying the Bible.

To paint a bit more of a picture for you, when I was studying in Germany, there were 18.5 hours set aside each week to be in the lecture hall – 13 of those hours were with the lecturer. The other 5.5 hours were for other things. All good things, I admit. But at the beginning, I would get frustrated that they were taking away so many hours from studying the Bible. I got used to it eventually, but my roommates definitely laughed at me for wanting more lecture time.

I think the Bible is the coolest book around! It’s crazy to me that you can keep reading it, and still learn from it. No matter how much digging we do, we’ll never have it all figured it. There’s so much to glean from a book with so much information, yet can still fit in my hands.

For me, there have been some passages in the Bible that have stood out for me and have shaped the way I think and live – some have more recently have impacted me, and others have been glued to my heart for years. I’d like to share with you two of those verses.

Ephesians 3:14-21

This passage, in my Bible, is titled “Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Growth”. I don’t actually remember when I first took notice of this set of verses, but it was somewhere between 5 to 7 years ago. I continually go back to it and pray it over people, especially when I can’t formulate the words on my own. I’ve prayed it over each and every one of the 13 girls in my small group; I’ve prayed it over individual kids that I work with; I’ve prayed it over people I meet in the community; I’ve prayed it over friends from school; I’ve prayed it over my family and over myself. The words are very powerful for me! When you experience the love of God, even in little glimpses, you want other people to know it as well. But God’s love is too great for our human minds to fully understand, yet these verses are a cry to God to let us know more of that love He so willingly extends to us. Sometimes I get annoyed at myself for praying for things or for God to change something because, really, who am I to tell God what to do since He knows things at a much higher level than I do. Don’t get me wrong, God wants us to bring the things in our hearts and minds to Him, but I’m wary of it becoming a transactional relationship. These verses bring me back to the reason for it all. It all comes down to loving God, and then “your roots will grow down into His love and keep you strong” as you trust Him despite circumstances; despite emotions; despite what you think should happen.

Psalm 23

For my 23rd birthday, I read Psalm 23. It’s a pretty popular Psalm that many people have memorized, and because of its popularity, I actually avoided it – I’m an anti-trend person, and apparently it also applies to Bible reading. But this chapter hit me right where I needed to be hit earlier this year. I was listening to someone speak, and they put a greater emphasis on verse 5, which says, “You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honour me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.” When it talks about enemies, not just here but anywhere in the Bible, I never know what to do with it since I think about enemies being people. I don’t have any enemies in that sense, so did those passages just not apply to me? Or should I create an enemy for myself? The person sharing described the enemies to be internal – the enemy of fear, or loneliness, or pride, or self-centeredness, or jealousy, or [fill in another internal enemy here]. I have lots of internal enemies. But as God prepares a table for me, and keeps pouring into my cup, never letting me leave, I’m encouraged by the fact that those enemies have no seat at the table. Now whenever I catch one of those enemies trying to distract me and pull me away from the table, I call it out and turn my gaze back on the One who invited me to the table in the first place.

I could go on and share other verses or larger passages that are significant to me, but we’ll stick to these two today. What are the verses that are significant in your life?