I Corinthians 16: 1-4
Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also.
Paul gave no directions to the Galatians in his letter to them about the collection for the saints, so he must have informed them verbally when he was with them, which he alludes to in Galatians 2:10, to remember the poor.
So he will write the instructions for the Corinthians, and for us.
On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.
The first day of the week, Sunday, when the church regularly met for services, was the time to collect the donations the church was giving toward the gift they would be sending to the saints who were undergoing persecution. That way, all the donations would be gathered together to present to Paul when he came.
When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem;
Paul planned to send their gift to the saints in Jerusalem, carried by whichever the Corinthian elders knew would be trustworthy to carry the money.
and if it is fitting for me to go also, they will go with me.
If Paul ended up going to Jerusalem, then they would go together.
After this Paul gets into his travel plans.
The principle of setting aside the tithe to the church each week is a practical method of supporting the church. The gift from each weekly paycheck works well, for consistency and for forming the habit of putting the envelope into the plate or bag each Sunday.
And special gifts for missionaries or other church or para-church ministries can also be scheduled to give or send regularly. According to how God has prospered us each week, or each period.
God never expects us to give what we don't have, but He's promised to provide our needs, and whatever exceeds that is meant to share. So He always provides extra, over our bare needs. Whether we spend it on ourselves or give it away will show how faithful we are with God's provisions, and if we are generous like He is.
When my children were still quite small, my husband and I didn't have very much income, so I had to "prioritize" the weekly bills to try to get them paid. Then my husband suggested that we should tithe!
I knew he was right, so I figured to do that, I'd have to pay God first, or I'd never have anything left for Him. So I calculated our dollars each Monday, subtracted God's 10%, then "prioritized" the 90% to pay the bills.
It wasn't very long before I noticed that I was able to just pay the bills that were due each Monday without having to "prioritize," even though the income wasn't any more, nor were the bills any less--God was stretching the 90% to cover more than the 100% had, because I was giving Him His due.
That's when I learned that I couldn't out-give God. Pretty soon we even had a little money left over, so we began supporting friends of ours who were missionaries. And we've never turned back.
After my husband died and my prosperity drastically decreased, I never did stop giving my local church the tithe on what income I had. And I have also been able to built up the additional giving I could make over time. And God has always been faithful to me to meet all my needs, so that I've never been in want of any necessities.
O my Father, I pray for all my brothers and sisters to realize how generous You are, that You will always honor obedience to the principles of Your Law. Father, show us how the first ten percent given back to you will strengthen our trust in You to provide the other ninety percent, and more.
Help us all to learn to be generous like You are, Father. Give us the courage to step out into the financial unknown, trusting You to show us the sources and resources that You have set up before us, both to meet our needs and to share with others bountifully. May each of us come to the practical realization that it all belongs to You, Father, and You let us have all we need of Your provision, to share the rest to finance Your Kingdom.
And You will receive all the credit, all the glory for all You have done. As we live day by day depending on You, You will be faithful to each of us to lead us into the path You have designed for each of us, Your Light showing up the bumps and potholes to avoid, and all the branches of bounty lining the path on either side. Open our eyes to see, to reach out our hand to pick the luscious fruits growing within our reach, to satisfy our needs, and radiate Your joy in all You do for us!
And every living person will hear and understand, to make an informed decision to either accept Your wonderful Gift or to reject it.
And Your great Name will be glorified in us, Father, through all eternity, as we gain the victory through the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
