Tithing and Giving

Malachi 3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house , and prove me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be enough room to receive it.

I would like to touch on a very delicate topic today. One topic that is often not talked about. I want to speak about giving, offering and tithing. I have heard people saying they won’t go to church because the only thing that happens in church, people are being robbed of money. They say pastors ask people money and church is just money making scam. We find even Christians who are against tithing because they also have the same mentality that the money is for the pastor.

 God’s aim and purpose about tithing is totally different from what people think, and I would like to teach on the subject today.

(1) What is tithing?

Tithe is the tenth of our income that we give back to God. It makes God to move on our behalf in the area of blessing. It is our ticket to our blessings. The concept here is this, God is the creator of everything that is, He owns everything and we are just stewards of what has been entrusted to us. So the principle here is this, “He gives to us and we give back to Him tenth of what He has blessed us with.”

Tithing began from the Old Testament. Genesis 14:18-20 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he [was] the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed [be] Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.  

 Genesis 28:22 And this stone, which I have set [for] a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. Tithing back then was done as a way to say thank you, it was to worship God for what He has given to them. It was to give glory to Him for blessing them, after all everything comes from Him and belongs to Him. Abram and Jacob tithed to show gratitude to God more than anything. This was even before God established the law on tithing.

Deuteronomy14:22-29 “Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed that the field bringeth forth year by year. And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; [or] if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: Then shalt thou turn [it] into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:  And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, And the Levite that [is] within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay [it] up within thy gates:  And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which [are] within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest”.  God had already established the tithing law here, and here we see different ways of tithing. They would bring their tithe into the house of the Lord and they would eat it there in the presence of the Lord, and the bible says that was so that they would learn to fear the Lord. Paying tithe was some form of rejoicing in the presence of the Lord, thanking Him for the year that has been, worshiping Him for the blessings He has blessed them with.

 Their tithe was shared also with the Levites (the ministers) (27) this is also confirmed in these two scriptures (Numbers 18:24 and 2Chronicles 31:4-18). Now this tells us that tithe is also used for the up keep of the Pastors. Then as churches we are not wrong if we take care of Pastors with our tithe after all.

Again they were to share their tithe with the orphans; widows and the refugees (28). This is what the church should do; take care of the orphans and widows.  That is the churches duty in the land to look after God’s people. God promises to bless them for doing that.

How do we tithe?

We notice that the bible says in Malachi 3:10 “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,” there are different tithes that were given. They would tithe with their cattle; sheep; grain; fruits and vegetables. You pay tithe out of everything that the Lord has blessed you with.

Malachi 3:10 “that there may be food in my house”

Like we’ve seen in the book of Deuteronomy, tithing is not only done with money. The scripture says so there may be food in my house, which means we can also tithe with food. (Leviticus 27:30) “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord.”  This scripture tells us that even fruit is welcome as tithe in the house of the Lord. We have people who has vineyards, they sow and they reap in due time. Take the tenth of what you have gathered from your vine and give into the house of the Lord as your tithe, it is welcome. So we tithe with our crop as well.

We tithe with money since these days mostly our income comes in money. Some people may argue that they don’t have money so they will not pay their tithes. The truth is this, everyone does have money.  The only difference is that people do not afford the same things. Even a street vendor does have money, because he can get money to buy glue or any type of drug that may be his addiction. So the truth is, you cannot say you don’t have money that’s why you won’t pay your tithe. Even if you get paid R50, take out your R5 and give it into the house of the Lord. It is not about how much you earn but it is about being obedient to God’s principle by giving your tithe with a clean heart and do not rob Him (Malachi 3:8).

I remember the story of a woman that gave two coins when Jesus and His disciples were carefully watching the offerings, and everyone else was throwing in huge amount of money. And Jesus said this woman made the best offering then everyone because she gave the last that she had (Luke 21:1-4).  God wants offerings that are done out of a clean heart, no hesitation and regrets.

Some people give their offerings in huge sums just to brag and show off that they have more money, but God is only asking for tenth of your income. This kind of attitude is the reason why some people think that that just because they have money, God will bless them more than others.  They believe that the more money the give to God, the more blessings they’ll receive from Him. They believe that their money will open up blessings for them. In a sense they are trying to buy blessings from God, they are trying to bribe God with their money.  Jesus warns us about such attitude in Matthew 23:23 it is possible that people may give their tithe correct and accurately but their hearts are not into it. Yet they can’t honour God. Again Jesus made it clear that God is only interested to our hearts and not our possessions.

This is why I somehow find trouble trying to accept this new way of offering which is now done at some churches. They ask for pledges, they would ask is you have a R 1000; R 5000 pledge to bring it and they will pray for you and God will open the windows of blessings and you’ll find that job, healing or your prayers will be answered. Now that is neither tithing nor offering, but it’s something else. What about that person who does not have so much money? Are we trying to tell them that God will never bless them because they don’t have money? How I wish churches and pastors could be like Apostle Paul in (2Corinthians 12:14) “Now for the third time I am ready to come visit you. And I will not burden you financially, for it is not your money that I want but you”. Because that I what God intends about tithe, that we may come to Him with our hearts. He is looking for our hearts not money or possessions. This tells me that it shouldn't be your money or possessions only that you take to church as your tithe, but you need to also come yourself into the house of the Lord and rejoice with your household in the presence of the Lord.

Offerings

Tithe and offerings have the same impact and outcome from God and that is the blessing from Him. We need to do them all. It may be money; food or just the work of your hands. You could even offer your time, to those who are always home, and come clean the house of God. You could do the garden. That’s your offering. You could fix the things that have been broken in the house of God without having to ask for payment. You could take it upon yourself to buy some needed equipment for the church, and not wait until there is an announcement that we need to do a special offering to buy (windows) for the church. Offering is also giving to the poor.

Proverbs 28:27 the bible tells us that if we give to the poor, we shall not lack. This means we shall be blessed. We have people whom has been blessed by God, they got good jobs, and their kids have good paying jobs. They lack nothing, but they can’t take it upon themselves to buy grocery for that old lady who lives alone with her grandchildren. God blesses you so that you may be a blessing to others. He uses you as a river, so when He pours in you, He knows that it’s going to flow down like a stream to others.

But when we do such offerings we need to be careful that we don’t show-off, but it is your commitment to God and it stays between you and God. Don’t come and stand before the church and tell them everyone what you have done or going to do. The bible says don’t let your right hand see what your left hand is doing (Matthew 6:3).

God says we must prove Him and see if He won’t open the windows of Heaven and pour out blessings for us (Malachi 3:10). Don’t you want these blessings? He doesn’t promise money, of course there is nothing wrong with having more money, but He promises that we shall not lack anything in our lives (2Corinthians9:8). He will bless you on your job; business; children and every aspect of your life so that you have no lack.

As much as people think that God wants their money, it is not so. God wants you to have money. In fact the bible tells us how to handle our finances. God does not want us to be in debts. You must first give your tithe then take care of all other expenses you have. Don’t give everything. God does not want you to owe anyone. Romans 13:8: “Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.”  

He doesn’t want you to be wasteful John 6:12: “When they were filled, he said unto his disciples; Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.”  He warns us about loving luxuries, Proverbs 21:17: “He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.”  At the same time God warns us about being too generous; do not give until you left with nothing while you haven’t paid your bills.  Proverbs 3:27-28: “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.”

God wants us to plan and budget for our financial spending. Luke 14:28-30: “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.”

God does not want your money, but He wants you. He wants to bless you, but He can only do that if you come to His place of worship and rejoice in His presence by giving your tithe, from what we have seen about tithing here. It seems like the best way of tithing is to take care of other people’s needs. Because God wants you to share your tithe with the Pastors; orphans; widows; poor and the fugitives. If you do not do that, you are cursed with the curse Malachi 3:9