“Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship — the place the LORD your God chooses for His name to be honored … Doing this will teach you always to fear the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 14:23, NLT)
If you want God’s blessing on a specific part of your life, you must put Him first in that area. And if you want God to bless your finances, you have to put Him first in your money. The principle of tithing is this: Give the first 10 percent of your income back to God. The Bible explains the promise, purpose, place, and day for tithing.
Promise: First, Proverbs 3:9-10 gives this promise about tithing: “Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the first and best part of all your income. Then your barns will be full, and your vats will overflow with fresh wine.” (Proverbs 3:9-10, GWT).
Purpose: Why does God tell us to tithe? The Living Bible paraphrases Deuteronomy 14:23 like this, “The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives” (TLB). God doesn’t need your money, but He wants what it represents: Your heart. He wants you to trust Him. We then act on that heart presence of God as the Holy Spirit leads everyday.
Tithing involves ALL aspects of our life answering: Who occupies our hearts and minds; use of our talents; returning thanks with our life styles and speech toward all people; our financial capabilities; our worship.
Place: Where should you tithe? Do you tithe by giving to your favorite nonprofit? Or do you tithe to your brother who’s been out of work for three years? No. Those are good things but that’s charity. Tithing is an act of worship. It goes to God. Malachi 3:10 says, “‘Bring to the storehouse a full tenth of what you earn … Test me in this,’ says the LORD All-Powerful. ‘I will open the windows of heaven for you and pour out all the blessings you need’” (NCV). The storehouse is the temple or the place where you worship God.
Day: When are you supposed to tithe? Do it on the day you worship. The Living Bible paraphrase says, “On every Lord’s Day each of you should put aside something from what you have earned during the week, and use it for this offering. The amount depends on how much the Lord has helped you earn” (1 Corinthians 16:2, TLB).
When you give to God on the first day of the week with the first part of your money, you’re declaring, “God, you’re really number one in my life.” Notice that the verse says to “put aside.” You’ve got to plan! Tithing is not an impulsive thing. Plan for it so that you honor God with your tithe. Then watch how He uses you and keeps His promise to bless your life journey through good times and times of suffering.
Prayer
Lord, touch my heart and remind me the purpose of tithing, to honor You for all You have done in my life. Let my tithe be a blessing to allow Your Word to go out to those who have not heard it, and a reminder to those who daily struggle in this life.
Stay encouraged!
Pastor Mike
