Tithing

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test 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 a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 3:10-11

Tithing—giving 10 percent of every dime you earn or receive to the Lord—is a discipline I put into practice not long after I was saved. Nobody pounded this doctrine into my head; my first “church” had been a dorm room Bible study where we never took up offerings, and none of the churches in the small town where I lived during my first year of teaching were a fit for me, so I didn’t stay long enough in one place to hear a message on the topic. I simply saw it in the Bible, so I did it.

And I’m glad, because tithing is so simple and has borne such tremendous fruit in my life.

I was convicted as a young Christian about the legitimacy of tithing when I first read the verses in Malachi. In obedience to what I saw, I purposed to tithe consistently—a personal practice that has now spanned over four decades. Those verses reveal that the God of all things will open for you the windows of Heaven and pour out upon you a blessing that you cannot contain. On top of that, the Lord Himself rebukes the devourer on your behalf simply because you are consistent in giving Him ten percent of all your income. I feel sorry for believers who don’t tithe on a regular basis—they’re missing out on experiencing God’s regular intervention in their finances.

My life has been blessed—not in a flamboyant, ostentatious, in-your-face-I’m-so-wealthy sort of way—but all my needs have been met according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (see Philippians 4:19). I attribute this to the habit of tithing which I took pains to develop very early in my walk. I can’t imagine not giving the Lord the first ten percent; it has become as ingrained in my life as brushing my teeth or washing my hair.

Notice I mentioned giving the Lord the first ten percent. Proverbs 3:9-10 describes not only what you are to give, but also when to give. It reads “Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.” Although these verses do not specify the amount, they do specify the timing of your giving—first, before you spend a dime, not from the leftovers of your paycheck after you take care of everything else.

Where do you tithe? Malachi said, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse.” In my opinion, the storehouse for your tithe is the church where you attend. However, if you disagree with this perspective, I believe you should tithe nonetheless—wherever you feel the Lord leads. When you disregard the tithe, in my estimation you are making a terribly risky decision.

Some people feel that the tithe in Malachi is legalistic and therefore non-binding to the New Testament believer. If that were true, then the rest of the book of Malachi would be non-binding as well. I wonder if such folks would be willing to say that Malachi 3:16-18 is also irrelevant to Christians: “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name. ‘They will be Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.’ So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.”

If the tithe is gone, so is the book of remembrance, so is the Lord’s deep esteem for those who follow Him, and so is the distinction between the righteous and the wicked. Is that what people mean to say when they assert that tithing is nothing more than Old Testament legalism?

Concerning giving offerings beyond the tithe—be led by God. He will probably lead you to give to other ministries, whether on an ongoing basis or from time to time. He will also lead you to give to individuals.

Tomorrow I will write about the subject of giving beyond the tithe and how to discern when to do so and to whom. In addition, I plan to show you the biblical permission I received to be unmoved by coercive, manipulative tactics. And lastly, I will introduce you to what I call my supplemental Bible insurance policy.

Take a closer look at tithing. It is a simple, doable practice that will reap lifelong, positive results as God—according to His promise—opens for you the windows of Heaven and rebukes the devourer on your behalf. Can Allstate, Progressive, or State Farm boast as much? I don’t think so.

Dorothy