To Christians and church go-ers, tithing is the principal of giving God the first of your fruits. (Proverbs 3:9-10) In the Bible, this has been translated out to ten percent of whatever comes into your door. (Genesis 14:20) If you get ten dollars, you are expected to give God one. The idea is not that God needs money. He is God! What does He need with money? He can make anything and He is sovereign over all. Money is useless to Him. The idea is obedience. Will you give God ten percent of your pay check when you feel like you need it? Do you trust God enough to provide you with what you need? The principle of tithing is not giving money, it is trusting God with your Earthly means.
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 says, "the point is this: whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." No matter how much you give, you are supposed to give according to what God has put on your heart. It does not matter what your pastor/priest/rabbi/reverend/etc. tells you to do, or what your neighbor is giving. If God says give five dollars, give it cheerfully. If God says give one thousand dollars, give it cheerfully. If you are not happily obeying God, what is the point? It does not matter the amount, it matters about your heart. If you sow bountifully, you will reap bountifully. The amount should not matter. God knows our needs and can meet them without a problem. When God puts a number on your heart to give, He is not asking "will you give me your money?" He is asking, "will you be faithful and trust me to make everything work out?"
Proverbs 11:24 says, "one gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want." God will not just take the money away from you. He is testing your faith; and if you are faithful to give, He will bless you with twice as much, four times as much, ten times as much, or more! Psalms 4:5 says, "offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord." God is asking you to test Him now while you are on Earth. Do you believe that He can do all things? If so, test Him by trusting Him to supply all of your needs. Test the word and see if it is truth. Philippians 4:19 says, "and my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
We give tithes for more reasons than just because God said so. Romans 13:7 says, "pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honored is owed." We give to God out of respect! He gave us the job or way to make money, and He allowed us to receive. We owe Him the respect of keeping us alive. We also give out of honor. We honor God by showing faith and obedience. If we wish to honor God, we must listen to His commands. In Job 41:11, God says, "who has first given to Me,that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole Heaven is mine." We give tithes to God because the money and the possession already belongs to Him. Keeping it from Him would be exactly like not returning something that does not belong to you when the owner asks for it back.
In the end, we tithes out of respect, love, and honor of God. We give to Him to show that we are obedient and that we have faith that He will make every end meet and more if we give to Him what He deserves.
Now, tithing does not always have to be in the church. Just the other day, my Aunt Delilah tithed to me. This was a true blessing that was placed upon my head by God's daughter. God called her to tithe to something other than the church, and she was unsure if that was true. That same day, a pastor confirm the word and she received an e-mail that had a scripture attached, (Acts 20:35 I believe) and this made her feel certain about her action.
If you read my first few posts, you will see that I am not a person big on money; but the action behind it showed so much love. I can not explain the love that I felt when I opened a card (not on my birthday, or on Christmas) telling me such kindhearted words and giving me a gift that I did not deserve. It is truly a blessing to bless others. So listen to what God tells you to give and where He tells you to give it, because it may not always be in the tithing bucket. It may be towards a missionary, or a church project, or even your neighbor. Tithing isn't about giving your ten percent to the church. It is about listening to God and giving whatever He calls you to give out of faith.
Again, I would like to thank you, Aunt Delilah for your love and support. It is a true blessing. I do this in dedication to you.
-D
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