First Things First

Growing up, I didn’t realize the valuable lessons I was learning by simply observing the actions of my Mother. My parents didn’t own a home. Over the years they rented various and sundry houses that we lived in.

Mother was pretty ingenious. She would sublet part of our house to families or single people while we lived in the other part. The income she earned was not “extra” – It had to be combined with my Father’s income to barely sustain our family of six!

Things were always tough financially, but Mother insisted on two things; giving a tenth of her income to God, and paying the premiums on the small insurance policies she had on each family member. She thought it would be disgraceful if anyone died and there was not enough money to bury them.

One of the houses we lived in had a second story and Mother rented the upstairs to a large family. They were good people and good tenants, but one month when she went to collect the rent, they didn’t have the money to pay her. She knew about hard times and her heart went out to them. She gave them some extra time, even though she didn’t know how our family was going to make it without the income. And as always, she prayed.

A week or two passed, and one night, while we were all sleeping, the family packed up all their belongings and left owing more than a month’s rent. Mother was devastated, but with the Lord’s help, she stretched the food, and we simply did with what we had. Miraculously we got through it.

Several months passed and once again Mother was struggling with finances. An unexpected need had come up and although she had the money to pay for it, she would only have enough left to pay either her tithe or the insurance premiums. Not both.

She wrestled with the decision. It was important that she pay the insurance or she could lose the policies. She questioned herself, “Maybe the Lord wants me to pay the insurance – after all, it’s due,” but deep inside, she knew better. “Okay Lord,” she said, “I will put You first and let You take care of the insurance.”

Later that day there was a knock on the door and there stood the former tenant who had left with his family in the middle of the night. He said, “I’ve come to pay the rent I owe you. I’m sorry we left without saying anything, but I was so embarrassed, I couldn’t face you!”

Mother was overwhelmed with joy. Not only did she have her tithe set aside, but now she could pay the insurance too. God had miraculously provided for her need after she put Him first. She was curious about why the man had come at that particular time, so she asked, “Why did you come today to pay me?” The man said, “You know, I was going to put it off, but something came over me and I knew I had to drop everything and come right now.”

Mother’s list of priorities had the Lord as number one. In her soft Arkansas drawl she probably would have summed it all up like this; “You know, if we take care of the Lord’s business first, He’ll take care of the rest.”