Actress Shannen Doherty who passed away from stage 4 breast cancer once said that her battle with cancer had changed her perspective on her physical possessions. She told People magazine she accumulated a lot of antiques, but they were sitting in storage. “I’m not enjoying it and others aren’t enjoying it, and do I really need any of it? Do I need to have three dining room tables? The answer is no, none of us really need all the stuff that we have.”¹

We’re living at a time ancient kings couldn’t conceive. A time when inventions, devices, technologies, and new products are coming at us on a daily basis. How do we keep our perspective? When we give the first ten percent or more of our income to the Lord, it helps us find balance.

The best way to deal with materialism is by tithing. Giving God the first ten percent of our income is a way of showing Him that He is our priority, not the things we possess.

There is nothing wrong with me possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess men.
Billy Graham