Why Tithing Is Still Relevant

As I child I was raised in church. I played the drums, guitar, piano, organ (occasionally), preached, and was Youth Leader for a time. I eventually got distracted from the bigger picture. I started to let the 'little foxes' (Song of Solomon 2:15) weasel their way into my walk with God. I slowly started to pull away. I stopped paying tithes. I resigned from my position as Youth Leader. It wasn't long after that I stopped worshiping during services. Then finally I stopped coming. Work was the main reason I used to stay out of church. I took a job that paid more, but was during the night. It made it impossible to make it to any service.

A few years went by and I had completely fallen of the deep end. I went from paying my 10 percent of tithes to 0 percent overnight to spending every waking moment at work hoping to make more money.

It didn't take me long to start having financial troubles.

I became a person that was solely focused on money. I wanted more and more. I went from making $9 an hour to $15.50 an hour and I still was not satisfied. I was making more, but it always seemed as if I never had enough money. I would work and work, but never seemed to make ends meet. I was always broke no matter how hard I worked. Then there was a issue where money would literally disappear into thin air or someone would hack my bank and steal money or it would just leave my bank account without a trace. My parents always struggled with money as well causing my sister and I to not have much of anything growing up. This only fueled my need to make more money.

These problems continued well past I was married with four kids.

It was to the point where I felt as if I was cursed. No matter what I did things just would not let up. I took financial classes, asked for help with learning a budget, and eventually I created a budget and followed it to a tee! I would have money then something would happen like a tire would blow out or a surprise bill would become due. I just thought that it was because I just wasn't making enough, so I set out to make more money. This mindset only matters worse. When I would finally make more it wouldn't make any difference. Money would vanish out of our bank account. Whether someone would hack our account or the numbers wouldn't match my records- it was always something.

It wasn't until I started to study more on the subject of curses that I found out that I was indeed cursed. It is best explained in the book of Haggai:

Haggai 1:6

"Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but have not enough; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes."

I do not say this to scare you. This only happens to people who know better. I knew what God expected of me. I was cursed for not following His word and giving my 10 percent.

I do believe that tithing is indeed a Heaven or Hell issue. The Jewish people were instructed to give a tenth of their income to the church in Numbers 18:26 and Leviticus 27:30-34. Some people think that this is just Old Testament (the Jews) law and this does not apply to The New Testament (The Gentiles a.k.a everyone else), but they are wrong. In Acts Chapter 5, there was a husband and wife that kept a portion of what was God's from Him. Peter called them out and God struck them dead for lying about it. This is clear that God does not take kindly to people withholding what is His or lying about it. When I say this is a Heaven or Hell issue it comes down the this. In John 10:10, we see Jesus telling people that, "the thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill,..." This brings us to the point that when you steal from God you are not in His way. You are allowing the devices of Satan to control your mindset.

Now, for the next part.

"Well, I don't trust the minister with my 10 percent." I will say two statements to that: 1. It is not your money in the first place. 2. Leave and find another church. If you can't trust him with your 10 percent, then what makes you think you can trust him with shepherding you to Christ? I will warn you with this though. Make sure to check your own spirit when doing this. This is a tactic that many people fall into regarding giving money to the church. The Devil plays on this and moves in your life to get you to believe this. There are pastors who do steal from the church, I am not going to deny that. Those pastors have no reason being the pastor and thus need to be removed. They are there for the wrong reasons. Just keep in mind, this is how I fell out of church. I started to watch other people. I took my eyes off Jesus and got caught up in the waves and started to sink (Matthew 14:29-31). Keep your mind on Jesus. Don't pay attention to the others doing wrong. This is especially important if you a 'babe' in Christ. If you are more seasoned then there are ways to go about things like this. I will not get into those things in this article because this would turn into a novel. I will leave it with this statement, in Hebrews 10:30;

"For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people."

The other issue I see most often is whether or not the tenth comes before or after taxes. This issue is explained in Ezekiel 44:30. It says that it shall be your first-fruits, not after everyone has pulled their portion out, but your first fruits. This means God expects you to pay before taxes and other deductions. I am not saying that you need to pay God his 10 percent before you pay anyone else; although it might be a good practice in some cases, but to pay out of what you gross, not your net pay. Trust me when I say I understand. Most people are living paycheck to paycheck as is. With most paying around 20 percent of their earnings in 401k contributions, health insurance, taxes, etc...; and to add another 10 percent in the mix? That sounds crazy! Paying tithes isn't a commandment because God needs money, it is to help you. If everyone didn't pay their tithes, the church would go on. God would make sure of that. He does it to keep you in a humble mindset, to build faith in knowing that He will provide for you, to stress a giving heart, and/or to keep away the spirit of greed in your life. We all know the most commonly quoted scripture there is, "money is the root of all evil." Strangely enough this has got to be one of the most commonly misquoted scriptures in the Bible.

1 Timothy 6:10

"For the love of money is the root of all evil..."

Timothy talks about how it is not a sin to be wealthy. Money just brings temptations. I am a firm believer that once God can 'trust' you with money, He will begin to pour out blessings on you that you can't contain. He knows that when he does you won't run to the corner and buy cocaine because you can afford the habit now, but instead you will bless someone that needs it. In other words, you will spend it wisely. Spending it to live and for the glory of the church and His name.

The final complaint I hear is that, "I can't afford that!" This might be valid reason and it might be an excuse. Either or, if you used to living paycheck to paycheck, 10 percent could be quite the burden. Now, I do not have any scripture to back me up on this, but I do have some common sense. I personally believe that God will begin to honor your tithing as long as you are putting forth an effort. It doesn't make much sense to give your entire check to God in efforts to get a blessing. If He tells you too, that's a different story. If you are just coming to Christ it is perfectly fine to work your way up to the 10 percent. Working your way up to the 10 percent should not take years. Again, this should not take years. I personally think it wise to just bite the bullet and do it as soon as your next check comes in. God will bless you for doing so. I've seen this work in my own life. God opened doors. The money came when we needed it. People paid for our rent, we received random checks in the mail and bank account, random people would give us money, etc... God is faithful to those who are faithful to him.

I hope this has explained some things! I want to leave you with a few thoughts. It is important to give with a willing heart. It is very important to not treat tithing like just another bill.

2 Corinthians 9:7

"...for God loveth a cheerful giver."

Philippians 4:19

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

**All Bible versus are taken from KJV (King James Version)**