William Colgate's First Dime

When sixteen-year-old William Colgate left his family's farm in Maryland and set out for New York City in 1801, he had almost nothing. Along the road, he met an old canal boat captain who gave him a piece of advice he never forgot: "Give your heart to Christ, and give Him a tenth of everything you earn."

Colgate took the words to heart. When he landed his first job in a tallow shop — stirring vats of animal fat to make soap and candles — he set aside a tithe from his very first week's wages. A dime from every dollar, dropped into a small wooden box before he spent a cent on himself. He was testing a promise he had read in Scripture, and he was determined to see it through.

The years unfolded remarkably. Colgate's small soap business grew into one of the most recognized brands in American history. As his income increased, so did his giving — first a tenth, then a fifth, then a third, and eventually more than half of all he earned flowed into churches, missions, and the university that still bears his name.

Colgate never spoke of his generosity as sacrifice. He spoke of it as proof. He had taken the Almighty at His word — "Test Me in this" — and discovered that the floodgates of heaven are not a metaphor. They are a standing invitation, waiting for anyone brave enough to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse and watch what God does next.