To Tithe or Not to Tithe
So many pastors struggle with teaching about tithing…it seems the day they decide to, any guests that come think “Oh, that’s all they talk about.” But it is a principle of God and I can attest to its benefits!
What does the bible say about tithing? The most used scripture to support tithing is Malachi 3:10 which says “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” In my research, I found that many argue that God was speaking only of the harvest and that this doesn’t apply to us and “tithing” since this is Old Testament and we are under a new covenant because of the resurrection. So, jumping to the New Testament, I found Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
As for me and my house, we choose to tithe. It wasn’t always that way. When I first learned about tithing, my husband wasn’t in church. Being a stay-at-home mom, the only income I had was his. Since I controlled the finances, I began tithing off his paycheck without his knowledge. Then I learned that the proper tithe is off the top, the gross pay, not the net…the FIRST fruits. Let me say that all the while I was tithing, even incorrectly, I noticed that financially, things were improving. Confused and distraught I went to Pastor with my dilemma. He explained the principle of tithing to me and told me to 1) come clean with Dennis about what I was doing and then 2) start small and gradually increase. He said he’d rather see me tithe 1% honestly and correctly, then 10% incorrectly. The reason I think God was blessing us in the beginning was because my heart was right. But once we gain knowledge of something we’re doing wrong, if we don’t correct our behavior, that is sin. Long story short, I talked with Dennis and I assure you he wasn’t happy about “giving his money away,” but he agreed to a small amount. He saw the blessings and slowly, especially after he started coming to church with me, we did increase, and now it’s just a matter of fact, that the first 10% belongs to God, with our full understanding that He is 100% our provider! The blessings from God, that overflow that Luke talks about, are our ability to help support other needs, those of family, the church, and community.
Luke 21:1-4 “Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Don’t just throw a $20 in the offering plate with little regard to principle or implication…instead, give like the poor woman, who gave everything she had, trusting God to provide her with more. Whatever you give, give it with a cheerful heart, always believing God for His faithfulness to bless you.