Okay, here is a topic that has been debated off and on for years. I don't wish to add anything to fuel the controversy, but rather, my goal is to just open the Bible and walk through the Word and discover God's directive (and His resulting promises!) concerning tithing --or giving back to God. My desire is to perhaps encourage a newly married wife to continue giving in faith with her spouse despite dealing with a tight financial household budget or to inspire someone who never fully understood the Biblical reason behind the practice of tithing and giving to begin following God's directive in this area of their life.
So, without further ado, let's jump in.
I, myself, was blessed with parents who faithfully tithe and taught me to do the same. I remember at an early age, if I received a $1, my parent sat me down and taught me that a tenth (or .10 cents) of my dollar was to be given back to God. They lovingly explained that all of our money and stuff was really God's anyway--we are just commissioned to be stewards of God's stuff. They taught me that it wasn't a burden to give 10% back to God; God allowed me to keep 90% of His money for myself and my needs. If you look at it like that, it definitely changes your perspective from "my money" to "HIS".
The answer to “Why we should tithe? ” is simple-------------because it works and God commands us to do so in His Word. Malachi 3:10 tells: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
This verse is amazing if you really think about it...The God of all Glory "invites" us (mere mortal beings) to prove Him in this. (One of the few times in Scripture that "testing God" is permitted.) In other words, God is saying "just try it----I will bless you!"
Ever heard the old saying: "You can't outgive God!”
Oh, I'm not saying if you give $10, God will bless you with $100 back. That kind of charismatic prosperity doctrine has really confused a lot of people. They gave and never received the anticipated "return". Yet, I have seen too many people obey the Lord’s command in giving to think that His promise isn't true.
But I have found that those promised blessings often come in many forms other than just financial.
I witnessed this phenomenon in the lives of many people who practiced tithing. Hardly any of them were what the world would consider wealthy, but yet, I saw time and time again, God provide everything they needed. God allowed their appliances to work long past their typical usefulness--Cars ran way longer than expected--Work was available and jobs were kept during an economic recession--Health was sustained in order to be able to work. Those things just do not just “happen” by coincidence— they all are blessings from above!
My husband and I can definitely attest to these blessings that come from being obedient to God concerning tithing. When we first got married, money was very, very tight. Our bills were nearly more than our income. Not tithing, however, was never even an option. WE knew that in order to have God's blessings in our home, we must adhere to His directives in ALL areas in our lives. I saw God work miracles to help us get more financially stable. (Click on the linked posts below to read more of our personal testimony about our early years, our financial-aha moment, and more...) I watched God bless my husband for his faithfulness and for his stewardship. My husband works construction (anyone familiar with this type of occupation can testify that this can be sporadic income) but God has kept him working despite downturn of economy. The few times he has gotten temporarily laid off, his unemployment was adequate enough to make the majority of the bills and then God opened up a side job here and there just at the right time to provide for the rest.
Once the workload resumed, my husband was one of the first to get recalled back to work. That is God! His little work car has been like the old Timex commercial-"Takes a licking and keeps on ticking" (Anyone who knows us personally will laugh right here! My husband is very partial to his "Super Saturn"--Sometimes, he thinks it can do anything. LOL!!) He has had that car for almost 13 years, it has hundreds of thousands of miles but it is still going strong.
My stove was gifted to me when we purchased our first home 12 years ago. The stove was already 18 years old when I got it. It was an industrial style, so it was made very sturdy. So, as of right now, my stove is 30 years old and still working great! You have come too late to try to tell me that God's ways don't work! The Bible is right! God's promises work!
Why tithe?
So first of all, we must realize that tithing isn't for God's benefit. He doesn't need our money! He's God of everything. He owns everything already. Tithing is simply for our benefit. It teaches us to trust God and rely on Him by sacrificing a portion of our income. It also serves as a conduit to help others. Tithing supports our local church and our pastor. Tithing allows our church to have the financial means to reach out and meet the needs of others.
The practice of giving encourages us to be mindful of others. It promotes gratefulness and generosity. It shifts the focus from being all about "us" to being about helping others.
Second of all, Tithing is more of a spiritual issue, rather than a financial issue. It has been said, "If God has your heart, He will have your wallet." People that struggle with tithing also have trouble surrendering to God's authority in other areas of their hearts as well. Tithing shows God he has your heart. It is a form of worship. Giving God His 10% first tells God that He is #1 in our life.
Matt 6:21 tells us that where our treasures are, there will our hearts be also. When you look where you spend your money, you will see where you really put value--where your heart is.
Ever see someone passionate about a hobby or a recreational activity? They don't care to put their money into it. They love that thing or activity, so they want to have the best equipment or supplies. Men who love fishing don't care to drop tens of thousands on a new boat; they are constantly acquiring the newest fishing poles and lures.
Ladies that love sewing, scrapbooking, or even just home decorating can be dangerous in a Hobby Lobby! LOL! Why? Because it's something they enjoy; something they love; It's not hard to spend your hard-earned money on something that brings you joy!
So, looking at it like that, it's not a drudgery to pay tithes and to give offerings to God.
There has never been anything in this world that brings true joy like being "bought by the blood" does! It's priceless! God has done so much for us! He SAVED US FROM HELL!! What is a measly 10% of our increase in light of that? Oh, don't hear what I'm not saying right here...I'm not advocating we must work for our salvation. We all know that is not true. Salvation is a free gift. There is nothing we can do to "gain" it in ourselves. We just have to accept it. But once we are saved, God does have commandments and directives for us to live by. Tithing is a commandment, not a suggestion. Perhaps, if we can understand and study out the directives given to us by God, it will help us realize the reason behind why God wanted us to do it in the first place. God is not a God of just random laws. The Bible tells us His ways are higher than our ways. God always wants the best for us. He made us! HE made this old world. He knows what works best. We just have to trust Him and obey.
MARK 12:41-44 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. 42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
Look at the little widow woman in this text, Jesus wasn't looking at the amount she gave, He was looking at her heart while she was giving. She loved God with her whole being. She gave everything she had because she trusted God to take care of her own needs. That kind of faith got Jesus' attention. No, I'm not saying to take your family's entire paycheck and throw it in the offering Sunday morning, (well...unless God tells you to personally, in which case, He will take care of you) but I am saying God sees in what attitude we give. If we give grudgingly, He knows it. Or if we just give to be seen of men, He sees that too. In fact, Jesus calls out the Pharisees on this exact thing. Being seen of men will be all the reward we will get if we give just seeking the praise of men.
Matthew 6:1-4 says to -- Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
God will always honor the humble giver that recognizes everything they have is God's anyway. They give to God and to others cheerfully because they know they will one day give account back to God on how they managed His money. They realize that they aren't meant to hoard up all the money given to them by God to just enjoy themselves, but they are directed to give "as unto the Lord" to help others around them. Giving of tithes and offerings enables the church to have the monetary fund to pay bills, to pay staff/traveling ministers if necessary, to assist the widows and the fatherless, to help the needy, to support missions--to be the "hands and feets" of Jesus.
One of the biggest arguments I have heard is "I would love to tithe, but I just can't afford to." My friend, you can't afford not to. You will always be better off with 90% of your income and being blessed by God for obedience in tithing than trying to keep 100% of your income and being cursed by God!
Malachi 3:8-18 KJV - Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
It is that serious. God considers non-tithing as robbery. We all know stealing is wrong. Most of us would never even consider stealing an object from a store or from someone's house. Yet, we often are deceived by Satan into thinking taking what is God’s somehow is not robbery. It doesn’t matter how much money we have, but rather, if we are obedient to God in our stewardship of it—
God tells us in Matt 6:33-- But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
When you tithe, you are giving your first fruits--your best-- to God first, knowing God will do his part and supply all your need.
Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Tithing is showing God you are submitting to His authority. Tithing tells Him you recognize everything belongs to Him anyway and you are giving Him the first part. It shows him that you are willing to trust Him with your needs.
Going back to Malachi, not only did God say they had robbed in tithes, but also in offerings. Wow! That's tight. Like I said above, God doesn't really need our money but He, in His infinite wisdom, allows us to be HIS tools to do the giving in order for US to reap the benefits of being the giver. If you don't have a lot of money free in your budget, (remember: always pay your tithes first!) there are also other ways to "give" an offering besides just monetarily. You can give an offering of your time. You can give an offering of your skills. You can give an offering of your praise. You can give an offering of your obedience to God's Word.
I'm not going to lie, for many years after Bill and I got married, we struggled financially. We always paid tithes first, but there was little money left over in our budget for us to be philanthropic givers. It wasn't that we didn't want to give, we really would have loved to. We made it a point to give whenever we had it to give, but more often than not, we simply didn't have it. My husband still obeyed God in this area by giving of his time and his skills. He donated his time and abilities to help others accomplish remodel projects and side jobs. He used his talents as tools of ministry to give back--I firmly believe God has blessed our home because of his obedience to God's Word.
God sees the heart and He knows when we can give and just don't want to, and when we truly can not, yet our hearts want to. I know of a lady that has been faithful for years to do yard work outside of a church as an offering of giving. She has never been super wealthy nor has she had hundreds to throw in the offering plate, yet, she has found a way to give back an offering of her time and effort to beautify the house of God! Another gentleman has been faithful to mow the grass of the church property for years without a single dollar as payment. Why? Because it is their personal method of giving back extra to God.
So, if you truly don't a lot of extra money to be a huge blessing to your church and those around you, look for other ways to give back to God and your church. You may be surprised at the opportunities that you will discover if you take the time to look for them.
Here are some verses to ponder:
2 Corinthians 9:7 - Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
Acts 20:35 - I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
2 Corinthians 9:6 - But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
Proverbs 3:27 - Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
Proverbs 19:17 - He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
May I encourage you, dear sister, God is faithful. We just have to trust Him and obey! There is great joy in walking in His commandments! Don't allow this world and the Devil to try to talk you out of doing things God's way! God's ways always work!
From my heart to yours,
-Tiphanie ♥️
Extra resources:
Returning the tithe to God helps us remember that He is the owner of everything.
Psalm 24:1
God is the source of all our wealth.
Deuteronomy 8:18
Do I tithe when in debt? We should pay what we owe to God first, and God will help us take care of our debts. Psalm 50:14-15
What if I can’t afford to pay tithe?
God promises to richly bless us if we are faithful in tithes and offerings. Malachi 3:10
God owns all the money in the world.
Haggai 2:8
God asks us to give voluntary offerings for His work—in addition to the tithe. Psalm 96:8
We should give to God’s work willingly.
2 Corinthians 9:7
You can’t out-give God. Luke 6:38
We should give in proportion to the blessing God has given us. Deuteronomy 16:17
Adapted from Ramsey Solutions webpage.
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