Faith and Finances

Faith by definition means to have complete trust in someone or something. As Christians we are commanded to put our faith in God. To trust him with every aspect of our lives. I find it easy to completely trust God with some areas in my life but hard to completely trust him with some other areas. One area I think we all can struggle with is finances. America has taught us to put our trust in money, or as I call it the "Green God." Our culture pulls us to put our hope and faith in our paycheck, stock market, and retirement rather than God.
With the current economic troubles we are facing in America I'll have to say that my faith has been put to the test. I have had to ask myself, "Do I completely trust God with my finances?" Thankfully since I was young my father taught me to always be a faithful tither and giver. I have always believed that if I'm faithful to God He will be even MORE faithful to me. Although my faith has been tested it has remained strong because of those values my dad instilled in me.
On CNN last night they did a report on church offerings going down and how many churches are cutting back in order to keep the doors open. This troubles me. If we really have our faith in God and trust him with our finances our giving should be going UP not DOWN. God desires to bless and take care of us, but this only happens when we in faith obey his word and continue to give even in tough times. We can not be gripped by FEAR but must let go and trust God by FAITH!

Many will say, "I just can't afford to give." But I say, "We can't afford not to give."
Praise God that we don't have to worry about anything because he promises to provide!