The Purpose

Malachi 3:^10-11 “…I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

The question is, do you embrace these words? These words are words to live by. You only actually begin to live when you anchor your soul on the Word of God. And it is the Word of God that you do that you actually believe. Okay, Pastor, if I really want to trust God and start being generous towards God and the things of God, where do I start? That is pretty simple. You start by tithing. Tithing is the first 10% of your income. From there, other things follow.

Malachi 3:^8-11 “‘Is it right to rob God? Yet you are robbing me,’ says the Lord. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’  ‘By not returning your tithes and offering. Bring your whole tithe into My Storehouse, that there may be food in my house. TEST ME in this and SEE IF I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and POUR OUT SO MUCH BLESSING that there will not be enough room for you to store it! Then I will prevent the pests from devouring your crops…” (NIV paraphrased, emphasis added). Sometimes, we play dumb; we play the ignorant card. How am I robbing God? God is in heaven, and I am here on earth, so how can I rob God?

Tithing is “returning” because everything comes from God, remember? So, when you give your tithe, you are actually “returning” it. The Bible says it must be your whole tithe. I want you to pay attention to where to give your tithe. Tithing is an act of worship at the house of worship. Tithing is in God’s storehouse. So, giving to charity is not tithing. I am sorry to burst your bubble. Giving to your sister in need is not tithing. Giving to the poor is not tithing. Yes, you should give to the poor, and we are big on that, but it is not tithing. It is over and above.

Why is tithing so important to your spiritual growth? Deuteronomy 14:²³ “…The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives.” (LB). That is all God is doing! He is teaching you to always return to prioritizing Him. And when you do it, He is happy, and He does much more. So, we see that it is actually a starting point. I started off by giving 10% and increased it. I do not remember exactly what to do now, but maybe to 12%. Then to 15%, then it became 20%, then 22%. Then it became 25%, then 30%, then it became something more than 30%. I am still going, trusting that I will get to 90 – 95% someday. Do not limit God in your life. Let the windows of heaven and the floodgates of heaven burst open over you and see what God will do.

Prayer: Father, as I live by Your Word, I will see Your faithfulness in my life, in Jesus Name. Amen!