Some may give up their favourite sweets. Others might attempt a digital media fast. And during the season of Lent, there are Christians who choose to incorporate positive activities or rituals into their daily lives, such as Scripture reading, completing random acts of kindness each day or committing to donating more money to worthwhile causes.

Dr. S.R. Watkins, in his book Biblical Economics 101: Living Under God’s Financial Blessing, champions monetary giving — especially tithing — as a practice that yields transformative benefits. He said that giving a tenth of one’s income can bring powerful returns for those who faithfully commit.

“The natural world system is based on seeing how much you can get — be rich and spend on yourself,” said Watkins. “The Godly economic system is not based on getting, it’s based on giving. When you align yourself with His commandments and if you follow His financial ways, God said in Malachi (3:10-12) that ‘I will open the windows of Heaven and give you so much blessing that you won't be able to hold it all.’ ”

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Aware of how some Christians may challenge tithing by suggesting it is a principle of Mosaic Law, which is now superseded by Messianic Law, Watkins counters by pinpointing how the practice predates the Ten Commandments and the extensive regulations for the Israelites communicated in Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. He cited Genesis 14:20, a verse that chronicles how Abram (later Abraham) gave Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of El Elyon (“God Most High”), “a tenth of everything.”

Perhaps as one would anticipate during periods of fraught economic conditions, another common protestation Watkins hears from people is that they cannot afford to give a tithe.

The founder of New Start Ministries, an organization that offers teaching, training and consulting for Christian enterprises, said one must not forget that “you are not giving because the tithe belongs to the Lord.”  He added that there are scriptural verses — “the silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the Lord Almighty" (Haggai 2:8) — pronouncing how God is sovereign over everything on Earth and humans are stewards of money and resources.

Watkins has spent 40 years championing Biblical economic principles, witnessing firsthand how Christians benefit when they realign with God’s financial system through tithing.

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“I remember a couple who never tithed and then all of a sudden they decided they would,” said Watkins. “They reported back to me and said, ‘we can't get over what's happened.’ (The husband) said ‘we don't seem to have the bills. It's not a matter of trying to pay them. We don't have them any more.’ I said, ‘what are you talking about?’ (He responded) ‘well, it used to be that the washer would break, the TV would go on the fritz and the car needed to be repaired. Ever since we started tithing, we haven't had any of those repair bills any more. Everything seems to be working.’ ”

For many years, Watkins has tithed — he notably supports the work of Compassion Canada in Rwanda — and has also received blessings. For him, placing his faith in the monetary teachings of the Lord has borne fruit in the form of countless good deals and discounts.

Of all the Biblical verses Watkins highlights in his book, his favourite is Deuteronomy 8:18. It states: “But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, so that He may confirm His covenant that He swore to your ancestors, as He is doing today.”

Watkins declared that God wants people to produce wealth through their labours to help build the Kingdom of God.

“It doesn't cost anything to become a Christian,” said Watkins. “The Gospel is free. It just takes money to teach it. So, if we have money, we can send Bibles to India. We can send missionaries wherever in the world they're needed. We can pay for Christian programming. We can do all kinds of things with money to get the Gospel out, but we need the money. Where does the money come from? The money comes from work, proper stewardship and investing.”

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Passages in the book are also devoted to mounting a scripturally backed repudiation of the notion that Christians are not allowed to be wealthy. The important lesson to remember, he said, is “it’s alright to have money, but the money can’t have you. That is where people fall down.”

To learn more about Biblical Economics 101: Living Under God’s Financial Blessing and Watkins’ work, visit newstartministries.ca.