Why talk about Tithe and Giving?

Why Tithe and Give?

Was watching the God Money and Me seminar by Paul De Young, from my home church, Life Church. I want to honor leadership for the dedication to the flock in bring this teaching to the church. Finance is such an important area for the body of Christ, and the lack of understanding in this area, really hammers our effectiveness to spread the gospel. During the seminar, a lot of the question so far comes with the viewpoint about how much we are to give to God? is it before tax, or after tax. There are many parts of the scripture that talks about tithes and offering. Many people are asking because they genuinely do not know what the bible says about giving. But more over I feel there are many that is coming from an attitude or mindset that says, “HOW much do I need to give back to God?” It’s like our response to taxes, what is the absolute legal minimum we can pay the government in taxes?

 

The attitude is, I want to be obedient and go by the book and give what is Required and ONLY what is required. Because some belief Tithes and offering, like taxes, it’s a system that TAKES AWAY resources that we have personally, and hence limits our financial ability to allocate resources to our desires, our family, our retirement, and all the good stuff that we could do with that money. Ultimately the belief is, Tithes and offering is a system that affects us negatively financially, it’s a sacrifice, it is a tax from God. at least this is what I used to think religiously.

 

I would presume like myself, the reason most people are asking all these questions about the tithe and offering, is based out of the incorrect motivation that see Tithe and offering as a “Giving”, meaning when you GIVE, you GAVE, and it is GONE. It a sacrifice, it’s an expense, and it takes from you.

 

Why would the father ask us to give a tithe?

Let’s explore this, why would the loving father in heaven, gives his sons and daughters a command to tithe and give? Is it so that he can take things from us? Limits us? Make our lives harder than it already is? To humble us? No! He did not give this law to us to humble us. He gave us this law so that he can set us up for Success.

 

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Malachi 3:10

 

You see when you give, what you are doing is, you are saying, God I trust in you. You are real. You are my source, I do not rely on the sweat of my brow to eat, I am relying on you to be my provider. “Giving” is not an EXPENSE. It is a Supremacy INVESTMENT. Like you invest in a fund, when you transfer the money to the broker, you are not sad because your bank account now has less money, you are excited because the investments have fantastic returns. When you “give”, your money does not disappear, it comes back in many folds.

 

When you tithe, “God will “pour out a blessing” on you. Do you know what this means? It means the blessing like Abraham has, that when he departed with Lot, he told Lot to choose whichever part of the land he liked, because it doesn’t matter, I Abraham has the blessing. I plant in the desert, and it will flourish just as well, because I have the blessing of God on me.

The blessing comes from the finished works of Jesus.

I am not saying you need to give tithe or offering in order to be blessed. You ARE blessed because of the divine Exchange, when Jesus took your sins, and he gave you his righteousness.  

9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. 2 Cor 9:8.

You are blessed because he HAS ALREADY Blessed you, and you receive that Blessing when you believe he has already done it.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: Eph 1:3

However what I am saying is the Tithe and Offering is one of the predominate Channel for God to enable the financial blessing that is already on you, to reach you. 

God provides for us when we give.

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Cor 9:6-8

 

In 2 Corinthians Its simply saying, you give little, you get little, you give more you get more. And as you give, GOD is able to bless you, that you are in abundance, in all things, at all times, having sufficiency for every good work. The coverage is very universal.

 

10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Cor 9:10-11

 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 

We have both Seeds as well as Bread in our resource basket.

When you are a sower, God is the one who gives both Seeds to you, as well as Bread. When you sow into the kingdom of God, God will provide for your needs and more. As a person sows, he does not look at what is in his hands, he is looking at the eventual crop that is coming at harvest time. The sowing system is a supernatural system. It is beyond the natural.

 

The question we are really addressing, is not how much we should give. But “Do I trust God to be my provider?” Is he going to meet me where he said he will, with all sufficiency for all things? Does he provide bread, as well as seed to those who sows? That is the challenge we are faced with, is God legit? Because that is what his word says.

 

Do we give everything?

Well do we go all out in giving everything I have? You do not want to sow your bread and eat your seed. And as he gives bread as well as seeds, it does mean that there are some resources which are for your living, and resources that are for you to sow. You want to be prudent, and know in your season, what things are for your living, and what resources are for yours to sow, it takes wisdom, knowledge and understanding to tell the difference. No one gets it right absolutely all the time. But we have grace to learn, and in time with experience we all become better farmers.

 

Havesting

I used to be a sower, that does not harvest. Meaning I will give, and not be expecting any returns from my giving. However, God does not reap for us. We need to be expecting a harvest and looking out for a harvest. When you sow, expect a harvest, when you sow expect a return in whichever forms that it comes. If you are sowing seeds, but not expecting anything to come back, you are not harvesting, and whatever efforts you spent in planting, if you do not reap, you will not have fruit. The harvest does not fall in your lap. Harvest needs to be reaped. And by reap, I mean, expect to succeed in the area of finances, my it be your investments, your career, your business, may it be in whichever form, ask God what you need to be reaping, and God will give you ideas and insights into where your sowing is ready ripe and ready to reap.

 

Conclusion

So, in conclusion if you feel that you are having trouble in giving. This most probably is because we have a limiting mindset, that we think when we give, it is taken out of our life, and its gone forever. This is a wrong understanding of what a tithe or offering does. God never intend to take things away from us, his intention for us is to give us more, give us abundance, and the tithe is a "channel" and means to do that.  

We don't "give" in order to "get", so that we can horde the stuff for ourselves, We give to get, so that as sons we can be more effective for God to have influence on this earth. 

The big Picture

Money is only a medium of exchange in this world. We do live in an economic world, and it does take finance to move things here. But this will all pass away, in heaven they use genuine gold for pavement. If we understand that our ability to create or acquire wealth is given to us, so that we can establish God’s covenant on earth. (Deut 8:18), it does give us a better perspective for the whole goal of the above, sowing and reaping is not so that you can hog more, its so that we can be more effective people for the kingdom of God. That we make disciples of all nations telling them about the good news that the war is over, God has won, we are now redeemed.