In God We Trust: Trusting God With Our First And Best
This summer, my husband Brian and I took our family — three teenagers in tow — on the adventure of a lifetime: a trip to Italy. We ate our way through the country, taking in the pizza, pasta, gelato, and espresso that dreams are made of. But one of our most memorable meals came in the city of Florence, home of the famous David statue and the breathtaking Duomo.
Now, Florence is also home to the Florentine steak — and my husband was determined that our family experience it. So, we dressed up, found a restaurant, and perused the menu. Everything was designed for parties of two or four, but since we are a family of five (who eat like six), we decided to ask the waiter for a recommendation.
He told us how much steak to order… but of course, this is Italy, so everything was in the metric system. Hectograms. Euros. Pounds. You can imagine the chaos. After a little mental math — and a lot of skepticism — we decided the waiter’s suggestion seemed excessive, so we went smaller. Just to confirm, he brought the raw steak to show us, and yes, it was as big as my son’s head. Perfect.
Thirty minutes later, the sizzling platter arrived at our table, and let me tell you, it was amazing. Our family absolutely demolished it — not a scrap left on the bone. But as we walked back to our hotel, one of my kids turned to me and said, “That was great, Mom… but can we stop at McDonald’s? I’m still hungry.”
I had to laugh. We had just eaten one of the finest meals in the world, and they were still craving something else.
And it made me think: How often do we do the same thing spiritually? God offers us His best — His way, His provision, His wisdom — but we decide to do things our own way instead. And then we wonder why we still feel unsatisfied.
God’s Way Brings Fulfillment
Psalm 19 says,
“The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul… The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.”
In other words: for satisfaction and peace, follow God’s way. But if you’re like me, that’s easier said than done. There’s my way, and there’s God’s way — and those don’t always line up, especially when it comes to money.
This series, In God We Trust, is all about our relationship with money and the deeper question behind it: Who do we really trust?
Because when it comes to money and generosity, we have a choice. We can trust God’s way, or we can trust our own. And in my experience, God’s way always leads to the better outcome — even if it stretches us.
God Sets the Standard
Before God ever asks anything from us, He demonstrates generosity Himself.
He gave us life, creation, beauty, and most importantly, Jesus.
John 3:16 says,
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.”
God gave His first and His best. Not leftovers. Not secondhand. The perfect gift.
Romans 8:32 reminds us,
“Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else?”
God’s generosity sets the pattern for ours. When we give, we’re not funding God’s kingdom as if He’s short on cash — He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. We’re mirroring His heart. Giving is an act of trust.
Giving God Our First and Best
Proverbs 3:9–10 says,
“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then He will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.”
That phrase — the best part — is what the Bible calls our first fruits. In ancient times, farmers would offer the first and best portion of their harvest to God, trusting that He would provide more to come. That’s powerful faith, because the second harvest wasn’t guaranteed. But giving first said, “God, I trust You.”
There’s a story in Genesis that illustrates this: Cain and Abel.
Cain brought some of his crops; Abel brought the best of his firstborn lambs. God accepted Abel’s offering — not because of the quantity, but because of the heart behind it. Abel trusted God first; Cain trusted himself.
Today, our “first fruits” look like the first portion of our income — before we pay bills, buy groceries, or plan vacations. It’s a tangible way of saying, “God, I trust Your provision more than my own control.”
Because order matters. Our first and best honor God; our leftovers don’t.
God Doesn’t Want Leftovers
Let’s be honest — no one likes leftovers. My teenage son reminded me of that after a soccer game recently. When I offered him last night’s chicken soup, he looked at me and said, “Mom, no one wants leftovers.”
He’s right. They sit in the fridge until we eventually throw them out. And yet, how often do we offer God our leftovers? After we take care of ourselves, then we give Him what’s left — if anything.
But leftovers say, “I trust myself first.”
First fruits say, “I trust God first.”
The Invitation to Trust
In Malachi 3, God says,
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse… Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
That’s not a transactional promise — it’s an invitation. God doesn’t need your money; He wants your heart. He wants you to trust Him.
Because giving isn’t really about money — it’s about trust. It’s training our hearts to rely on God instead of ourselves.
A Modern Story of Trust
I recently invited two friends, Jason and Kristen, to share how God transformed their lives through generosity. When they first got married, they were living paycheck to paycheck. But after their son’s premature birth and miraculous recovery, they began to sense God calling them to deeper faith — including trusting Him with their finances.
They started tithing. It wasn’t easy, but they noticed something: no matter how tight things got, they always had enough. Over time, God opened doors for new jobs, financial stability, and — even in seasons of unemployment — miraculous provision.
Their story reminded me of the widow in 1 Kings 17 who gave Elijah her last bit of flour and oil — and saw God multiply it daily. Jason and Kristen learned the same lesson: when you trust God with your first and best, He takes care of the rest.
Aligning Our Hearts to God’s
So, let me bring us back to the question we started with:
Do I trust God’s way, or my way?
And maybe a deeper one:
What do my actions show?
Because trust isn’t just what we say — it’s what we do.
For some of us, trusting God with money might mean taking that first step of giving. For others, it might mean becoming more consistent or stretching beyond our comfort zone. Wherever you are, start where you are — and let God grow your faith from there.
I believe giving is one of the most underutilized tools for spiritual growth. It’s not a burden; it’s an invitation — to partner with God, to release control, and to experience His faithfulness firsthand.
Because ultimately, giving isn’t about dollars.
It’s about devotion.
And our generous God deserves nothing less than our first and our best — never our leftovers.