When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God… Remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth. Deuteronomy 8:10, 18 (NIV)
Moses challenges us to turn the ordinary events of life into acts of worship. He gives special attention to food and finance. You cannot go long without food, and you won’t get far without a wallet, so make a strong connection between God, food, and finance, and you will be greatly helped in keeping Him at the center of your life.
Finance
When your paycheck comes, remember, God gave it to you. In the Old Testament, God gave His people a wonderful way of remembering this: they brought a tenth and offered it back to Him. When God invited His people to gather for worship, He said that no one should come empty-handed (Deut. 16:16). The problem with money is no matter how much God gives, you never feel it is enough. If you turn earning into an act of worship, it will transform your view of money.
Take a tenth of all God has given you and put it into a separate account for giving. Use that account for the advance of His kingdom. You will find it to be a source of great joy. Every dollar you give to God will be a reminder that He gave ten times that amount to you.
Food
Make dinner a time of worship. Don’t let your phone or TV replace the table. Use this most common event as an opportunity to give thanks.
Moses meant more than simply saying grace at dinner. He wanted the table to be a place of family worship. Let every meal be a holy reminder of the abundant goodness of God. Don’t let the table be a place of complaining and grumbling. Eat and drink to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31).
Could embracing one of these practices help you keep God at the center of your life?
