Leave The Margins For God

“‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.’” – Leviticus 27:30

Do you know the story of OE Okentobie? He was a Nigerian native who was privileged to come to our country and enter medical school. In Nigeria, he had no money, but he was underwritten by someone here in the States in order to be trained as a physician and then go back to his country.

Meanwhile, his wife, who was still in Nigeria while he was in medical school, only made $300 per year. And she sent $200 of that to OE each year. Because he was part of a local church, he began to give $20 every time he received $200.

One week, his pastor went up to him and said, “It is great that you give, but you have so little. Why are you giving when there are so many other people who can fill in the holes?”

OE responded and said, “It is like this. When I came to your country and was learning to speak, read, and write English, the teacher said I needed to leave margins on my paper. Because paper was so expensive, I would write from one edge of the paper all the way to the other edge. Regardless of how God blesses me, I know that I need to honor Him and leave those margins for Him.”

We need to realize that this is how God wants us to live. He wants us to not just tip Him, but to really honor Him! When you give like God wants you to give in order to glorify Him, you are saying, “God, I am trusting you to give you the margins.” God wants us to be givers. And remember, it is not how much you give; it is why you give!