by Pam Thomas
Throughout my life, whether actively attending church or not, I have always thought my faith was strong. God has brought me through some extremely tough times and has always provided for my needs. I thought it was simple—trust God, live a good life, be kind to others, say your prayers, study his Word, and he will take care of you. While that is true, there is more to it than that. The part I struggled with most turned out to be the simplest of all. I have learned that for me keeping it simple means putting God first in everything—but especially with our finances. There will always be struggles and challenging times to face that our finances cannot fix, but, let’s face it, if our finances are in order our lives are much simpler and less stressful.
As an accountant, you would think I would have our family’s personal finances all in order. As embarrassing as it is to admit, that is far from the truth. It was easier for me to help businesses with their situations than to take care of ours. Up until a few years ago, my husband and I struggled with our finances, living paycheck to paycheck, seemingly never able to make ends meet. Our children are grown and now we are grandparents, but if you were to ask our kids, they will tell you they grew up poor. Going out to dinner was a luxury we could seldom afford. Taking a real vacation that did not involve tent camping at the local state park was just a dream that never came true for them as kids. Having any kind of savings or retirement account was out of the question. My favorite go-to solution was “robbing Peter to pay Paul”—especially when unexpected emergencies arose. Our finances were a mess, we could not catch a break, and I did not see any way out of it.
Testing What God Says
As if things could not get worse, about ten years ago my husband Rick suffered a major medical event that almost took his life not once but twice. He spent two months in the hospital, two weeks in a physical rehabilitation facility, and had several months of in-home therapy. We suddenly went from a two-income household to one. I had no idea how we would ever be able to make ends meet with one income when we could not seem to do it with two. As always, I put my faith and trust in God to see us through. Of course, just like he always has, he showed up and came through in so many unexpected ways. It took several years for all of it to play out, and during that time God was tugging on my heart to put my whole trust and faith in him.
I was giving to the church, but not tithing. There was no way I could tithe (give 10% of our income to God), while struggling to make ends meet. I know everyone dreads those Sundays in church when the pastor is talking about money—I always did! Nobody but God knew I was not giving back as he expects us to do, but I always felt guilty for not doing so. There were even times that I did not think giving was an option. We needed to pay for this or that, or we needed to buy or fix something. It saddens me to say that giving did not take priority. This was the part I struggled with the most, but God was telling me to trust him.
I started thinking about what the Bible says. Malachi 3:10 challenges us with this instruction, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” (NIV).
Was it really that simple? I decided to take God up on it and test him. For the past several years we have truly been giving back to God. Not just giving, but tithing 10% of all money that God gives to us. No matter where it comes from, the first 10% is given to the church as we are told to do. In addition to that, we have been able to give offerings to other organizations that are dear to our hearts.
Trusting What God Will Do
Rick still suffers from health and physical issues that prevent him from being able to work on a regular and steady basis. However, because of putting my whole trust in God, we no longer live paycheck to paycheck. Our savings are not huge, but we have some, and no longer need to “rob Peter to pay Paul” to pay an unexpected repair bill. We are taking trips that we never thought possible, and retirement does not look so bad now. As of two months ago, we are completely debt free. I am so thankful that God did not give up on me, but continued to nudge me until I was willing to listen. I just wish I would have listened sooner.
It has not always been easy, and it did not happen overnight. By no means are we “rich” in the earthly sense of things, but we are truly rich in God’s love and blessings. I am in no way, shape, or form perfect but God’s grace removed my guilt and has made it possible to live simply. We are living proof, and I am telling you if you are not tithing, you should. You will not regret it, and God will bless you. Test him and see, it really is that simple!
“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19, NLT).
Pam Thomas worked as an accountant for thirty years in public accounting firms until last year when she started her own business. She and her husband, Rick, have been members of Christ’s Church for thirteen years, love “paying it forward,” and are passionate about spending time with their family, especially their amazing “Peaklet” grandkids.