ByWhen I was a child, I remember having a friend who saved ten percent of the money his parents gave him for school each day. One time, I asked him why he did that. And he said that he’s practising tithing. I was shocked because even though I knew about tithing, I didn’t see its importance.
Today, many adult believers in Christ still don’t tithe. Anytime I see a ministry’s finance records like that, I keep wondering why people do that. Maybe they don’t know its origin and benefits according to scripture. Well, I believe knowing and understanding God’s principles is fundamental to your complete obedience to them. And the purpose of this article is to address these questions on tithing.
The meaning and origin of tithe
There’s a law in Biblical interpretation that makes understanding words from the Strong’s concordance easy. It’s called the law of first mention. It states that the first time a word is used in the Bible is where its root meaning is seen.
Applying this to tithing, the word “Tithe” was used first in Genesis 14:20. At that time, Abraham, the father of faith, practised it when Melchizedek, a priest of God, appeared when Abraham was going to meet the king of Sodom after recovering the possessions and people they had conquered to send to exile. In that context, the word “tithe” meant a tenth part. Simply put, Abraham gave a tenth of the possessions he recovered from the people who conquered Sodom and took Lot captive to Melchizedek. Nobody taught Abraham to do that. But Abraham was spiritual enough to do the right thing.
Today, tithing is encouraged in churches because of what Abraham did. But there’s more. If the Old Covenant began with the introduction of the law, then tithing existed before the law because Abraham lived before Moses. Therefore, practising tithing is not a matter of Old or New Covenant. It’s a foundational practice in the Lord.
Knowing and understanding God’s principles is fundamental to your complete obedience to them.
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Tithing is for your benefit, not God’s
Several people resist paying for things if they don’t know what the money is used for and how it will benefit them. An example of this is my bachelor’s degree graduation fee. Many of my colleagues complained about how huge it was. Meanwhile, the university only gave a briefing of its usage to the students. What am I saying here? If you know that tithing is for your good, I don’t think any church worker will call you to remind you to give. Right?
What the tithe is used for
I’m not the head of every ministry. But I’m one of the top executives of The Bible Daily Network. I’ve learnt over the years of service that every ministry has unique needs for which they use the resources they get from various legitimate sources to cater for. For example, ministries that pay her full-time pastors will use the church’s funds to do that. Right?
From Numbers 18:25-32, a large percentage of the tithe brought into the house of God is meant to take care of the ministers, not even to fund church projects. Wow! Meanwhile, many ministries don’t pay their pastors well but invest heavily in church projects. You see, God doesn’t want anybody to be in ministry and become poor. But unfortunately, this is the demonic doctrine that the devil has forced into many people’s minds. I used to think ministers were broke people, but God delivered me. May God deliver you today too.
God doesn’t want anybody to be in ministry and become poor.
The benefits of tithing
Much of tithing’s benefits have been written by the prophet Malachi in his book. It’s written in Malachi 3:10-12 (NKJV) that,
[10] Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the LORD of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
[11] “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
Says the LORD of hosts;
[12] “And all nations will call you blessed,
For you will be a delightful land,”
Says the LORD of hosts.
From the verses above, tithing deals with bankruptcy of provisions in the Church. In those days, they used to bring farm produce because most were farmers. But today, nobody would give foodstuff as tithes. How many people are even farming? That’s why many churches accept tithes monetary-wise. Here are three benefits of tithing to the child of God according to the scriptures.
#1. Tithing makes God open the windows of heaven unto you
Whenever you see “windows of heaven” in the Bible, it’s all about a downpour. So according to Malachi 3:10, he who pays his tithes will provoke God to open the windows of heaven for an outpouring of blessing. In fact, the blessings that accompany it are so much that God says you’ll not have enough room to receive it.
Many people don’t tithe based on faith. They see giving in God’s house as a way of losing money instead of gaining blessings. Today, if you’re one of such people who think like that, repent! And also, don’t think God’s blessings are only about giving you more money. No! They go beyond that. They’re things ordinary people can’t pay for, including spiritual protection.
#2. Tithing makes God rebuke your devourers
[11] “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
Malachi 3:11 (NKJV)
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
Says the LORD of hosts;
A devourer is someone who eats greedily or voraciously. There are devourers in this life. These are people and happenings in life that drain your money, such as accidents, losses in business and property loss. God says when you pay your tithes, He will rebuke such devourers. For what reason? So that they’ll not destroy your fruits.
See, you can be hardworking and have a lot of money. But my friend, if you don’t pay your tithes, your wealth is unprotected, no matter the security systems you’ve set up. Don’t be deceived. Money is not your source of security in Christ; it is God. Pay your tithes, and God will protect your belongings.
#3. All nations will call you blessed
Lastly, all nations will call you blessed. For the Lord will bless you as you keep giving.
You may have read this article and encouraged yourself to pay your tithes. But this is not about a one-time donation. It’s a matter of consistency. Build check systems around your life to help you pay your tithes consistently. You’re a blessing.
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