“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’In tithes and offerings. Malachi 3:8
Today, I want to draw your attention to the subject that I am reluctant to discuss. I might go as far as to say; I was avoiding it. Nevertheless, the Christian walk is incomplete without it. There is a stigma attached to it, and sometimes we tune this teaching out. But, be assured, this is a Biblical principle that every born again Christian needs to hear about, know it, learn it, certainly implement it in their life. I do not believe you can have the full joy of victorious Christian living without it. And, Of course, we are talking about Tithes and giving to the Lord, sharing your blessing, helping others who are in need. At this point, some of you don’t want to read further but be assured I am not asking you for your money. I want you to be aware of the Biblical perspective of giving, why? When? How? To who? And consequences and blessings associated with it.
To start with, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Many have abused this principle for personal gain, to satisfy their greed, fleeced the flock, and we all know about misuse and mismanagement of funds. We read in Gospel about how the temple was used as a business enterprise and how the leadership was getting rich, taking advantage of those who they were supposed to be helping. So I understand the hesitation when it comes to giving frankly some of us are not sold on it, and because of it, we are not giving and in-process forfeiting the blessings that come with it. The other objections we sometimes have is Tithing is Law, and we no longer follow the Law. It is something Jews had to do. Well, this is not entirely true. You see, Tithing precedes the Law. Let me draw your attention to Genesis 14, there we see Abram offering the first Tithe. In chapter 28 of Genesis, Jacob promises Tithe. When we come to the New Testament, Jesus talks about it, and after the resurrection, the Holy Spirit teaches us to give cheerfully through Paul.
As you can see, this principle is before Law, during the life of Jesus and present under the new covenant. Tithe means 10th, but if you read the Law, Jews were required to give close to 25%. This is almost like how we pay taxes now. Jews offered three tithes; one was for Levites, one was for the feast, and the last one for the poor ( Deuteronomy 14 and). This is how God asked them to take care of the temple, priest and widows, orphans and the poor.
As you can see, Tithe mentioned in Law, and one talked about in Corinthians is two different concepts as far as a percentage. Another thing I want to clarify is your attitude about giving. Many of us who donate, we give to support a cause, maybe our church, some charity which resonates with us or a ministry which is doing good work or we like. Inevitably, when we hear about the misuse of funds, or we learn there is an abundance of the fund, we start wondering why am I giving my money to them? They have plenty, or they are just wasting it. I want to draw your attention to two things that are hindering you from blessings. First of all, Is it really your money? All that you have belongs to God. Some of you might say, I work hard for my money. I give up my time with family, my recreational time so I can earn extra cash but who gives you the strength to work, who gave you that job, who gives you the health, all that you have comes from God. When you say it is MY MONEY, this is the first thing that needs to change. Secondly, we need to change our mindset about who we give to. You are offering your tithes to God, not to church or ministry or charity. God did not say to bring your tithes to High Priest, but instead, the bible tells us to bring our tithes to God. So our focus is God, the source of all our blessings. Now, of course, if you see visible signs of misuse, you should use your discerning power not to support such a church or ministry, but that does not mean you stop giving to God. So focus on God and forget about the church or ministry and give back portion of what God has so graciously given to you in the first place.
I know there are two places where we have a difficult time giving up control — one is our time and second our finance. So far, I have focused on finance. But there were two aspects of offering tithes. Not only were you to offer tithe, but you had to bring them to the temple, and there was worship involved — this required time and commitment on your part. Today, all we do is write a check, and we have forgotten all about worship. How are you spending your time? In 24 hour day, the tenth would be two hours and forty minutes, do you even spend 24 minutes with God? Many of us are faithful givers, yet we neglect the worship part. This is what Jesus said to Pharisees, you give a tenth of your spices but have neglected the weightier matters. As you tithe, don’t overlook the worship, prayer, your time in devotions. The only time in Bible God says test me is in the matter of tithe. And he promises, he will open the windows of heaven. Have you tested God? This is such an essential principle for us to understand. Are you paying attention to your giving? Now I am not going to be dogmatic about this, but tithe means 10%, I don’t believe if you give 9% God is going to withhold your blessings. Remember giving is not works we need to do to please God or find favor in his eyes, but it is instead about our faith. Agriculture was the primary source of income for Jews. They had to rely on rain for harvest, so for them to bring the first fruits and grain was a matter of trust. Acknowledging that God will provide as He has promised. The same principle applies today mortgage needs to be paid, bills are due, kids need braces. Do you trust God to provide those needs? You may say, let me just catch up, pay the bills, and I will give when I have, but as we know, it never happens. Besides, God commands us to give first fruits, not what is left over. When was the last time you checked what you are giving? We have no problem paying $5 extra at the gas pump when prices go up or pay more for our daily needs, somehow we manage, but we have not increased our giving in years. Have you adjusted your giving according to an increase in your salary? Some of you might argue and suggest, it is easy for you, but you don’t make a six-figure salary like me. I make a lot of money, and 10% is a big chunk of money. I get that. Let me suggest this to you, how about God adjust your salary according to you tithe? Would you like that? If you have a hard time changing your tithes to your income, maybe God should adjust your income to your giving.
Folks, this is not about the money. Those in other religions donate and support charities, feed the hungry, but they do it to earn their way in to favor. We do it to proclaim the faith, and Our God has promised a 100 fold return. What are you doing with your money? We can say we are all about Jesus. Oh, I am on fire for Jesus. We can shout praise the Lord and raise our hands and sing Hallelujah, but this is where the rubber meets the road. To live a victorious life, you must learn this principle of giving to God not grudgingly but cheerfully. Bible tells us they were to bring their tithes rejoicing. It was a celebration, not a pity party. Paul tells us God loves a cheerful giver. As with everything else, God’s focus is not on the amount but your HEART. May God add a blessing to His word. Amen.
only savior jesus 