Listen to today’s devo!

When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year . . . you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. (Deut. 12:12)

Expanded Passage: Deuteronomy 26:12-13

When my friend fled the Communist takeover of her homeland and came to Vancouver, Washington, she was speechless.

“What’s this? You have stores just for toys? You have doctors just for pets who live in the house with you?” She had never imagined such luxuries. Before long, she got a job and was buying everything that pleased her imagination. She filled her apartment and five storage units, until her cousin finally helped her stop.

Such a delight in consuming abundance is encouraged by advertising and our cultural emphasis of “moving up” and “improving your life.”

God knows the temptation to indulge ourselves can result in our becoming slaves to it. When the Israelites were ready to enter the Promised Land, God taught them through Moses to delight in giving to the Lord. First, they were to contribute a tithe each harvest to his Levites and priests. That matched his primary call to love the Lord our God. Second, he told them to set that tithe apart every third year as a contribution to the poor, the immigrants, and the remaining Levites. This matched the second great commandment, to love others.

Honor God by investing in those who are struggling.

Kim Robinson is a retired teacher who enjoys working with children’s ministries at her local Wesleyan church right down the street.

© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.