Choose First the Kingdom of God

Choose first the kingdom of god

The summer of 2002, my Dad and I had the opportunity to build a house by ourselves. Growing up every house we had lived in was built by our family. Since I was the youngest of 4 boys I never contributed much to the houses we built, but now that I was 16 and my older brothers were either moved away or busy with another job it was up to my Dad and I to tackle this project.

The house was built at the top of the hill, overlooking most of Evanston. My Dad had saved up several days of paid time off; if I remember right it was about 2 months’ worth.  My Dad being the get it done and over with type, wanted to take advantage of every last minute that he had to finish this house. Our days started at 6:30 am. In the summer time the sun was just barley coming up. We would work hard all day building the house and would rarely come home before dark which came around 9:30 pm. Six days a week we worked. Being just old enough to date, having a good crew of friends that I loved hanging out with made this summer job especially tough. Looking back on it now I was grateful to have had spent those few months with my Dad, but at the time there were several days I wished I could be anywhere but there at that house. I remember being up on the roof and looking down the hill towards one of my best friend’s house and seeing the whole gang there having a great time playing games, barbequing,  and enjoying the warm weather that only lasted 3-4 months in Evanston. After a long school year everyone looks forward to a carefree summer full of fun memories, but at the time all I could do was look at the tiny paychecks that I would get from my Dad and sit back and watch my friends grow closer together without me.

As the summer came to an end so did the house. We did it! The house was finished and sold. My Dad paid me the remaining check and it all went to the bank, except for $500.00 of it that went to my new blue 1987 Honda CRX. As tradition in our home we were responsible for purchasing our own car if we wanted one, paying for the insurance and the gas along with anything else that would come with having a car. It was a great practice that my parents taught all of us boys to be responsible with our money, and I’m glad they did as it still serves me today when making purchases.

Several months pasted by and all the money I had made over the summer started to disappear in gas, insurance, and dates! I vividly remember seeing a bill from State Farm to pay my car insurance and knowing that it would be the last of my money I had saved up over the summer.  Nervous that no more money was coming in since I had not obtained another job since, I started to think about things to do. Ironically the very first thought that came to me was that of tithing. Looking back over the past few months it had hit me that I still had not paid my tithing on my summer earnings either! Now with two things needing money from me I stopped thinking of ways to rectify it afraid that I would think of more debts.

Faced with a decision, I remember hearing the voice of my parents, several Sunday school teachers, and the church leaders testify of the validity of tithing. If I would only trust the Lord, pay 1/10^th of all my earning that the Lord would open the windows of Heaven and so many blessing would come down on me that I would not even have enough room to receive them. I only had enough money to pay either the car insurance or the tithing. Because the Lord loves me and is always mindful of my spiritual wellbeing I was impulse to pay tithing, with the confidence and faith that the Lord would take care of the car insurance for me.

I wrote a check for ten percent of my summer earnings, leaving roughly just $3.00 in my bank account. Writing that check, thinking to myself of all the sacrifices that I made to get that money was almost more than I could bare to get my left hand to write the figure on the check. I handed the tithing envelope to Bishop Dennis and turned away leaving it all in the hands of the Lord. Church ended, my family and I headed towards the chapel door. I felt a tap on my shoulder and as I turned around I saw Brother Allred. He said “Scott, why don’t you stop by my office tomorrow after school? I want to run something by you.” I agreed, and as promised the next day I stopped by Castle Rock Chevrolet to pay him a visit. Without filling out an application, sending over my resume, or even asking for a job he offered me a position detailing cars, paying much more than my Father might I add! I could hardly believe my ears, I started that day. Heavenly Father really came through for me! He promised that if I would take a step of faith and pay my tithing, he would take care of me. I had this job all through high school, right up until the day I left on my mission to El Salvador. Because of the frugalness my parents taught me I was able to save up enough money to put me through most of college, pay for a wedding ring, a new car, and several other things that without it I have no idea how things would have gone.

I know that the principal of tithing is true. The prophets of old taught it, Jesus Christ taught it, and the prophets today continue to testify of its truthfulness. Along with their testimonies, I too testify by the power of the Holy Ghost that this principal is of God! As we live by it others are blessed and God takes care of those that care for others.