“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
We
get so caught up in what gaining can do for us, it is easy to lose sight of
what giving can do. Giving your time,
money, and energy. Losing yourself in
the Lord. Letting go and letting God be
the light and life of your life. Bringing
the tithes reminds us what giving can do.
Tithing
under Jewish law was a part of many commandments and ordinances that constituted
the worship of God, and salvation. In
this time period, when you tithed, you brought the best of your land to the
Lord. It was another avenue of
sacrifice. The same as if you were to
offer a lamb, bullock, or meal offering on the altar. You were instructed to take something that
you had possession over, that brought value to you, and give that to God. It was an act of giving, in faith. Today, tithing has taken a mainstream
definition in Christianity. The monthly
offering of ten percent of your wages is considered “tithing”. The idea is if I give ten percent of the thirty-five
hundred, I made this month, then I have “done my part.” Then I can spend the next 29 days of the month
focusing on wonderful “me.” Dedicating
myself to making thirty-five hundred and one dollars the next month. Essentially, the tithe becomes an insurance
policy against further giving. While it is
certainly not wrong to give to your church, this kind of tithing is a shallow sentiment
of what tithing is. If the undercurrent
of tithing is sacrifice, we should not stop at ten percent. We can tithe a lot of things, in a variety of
ways (outside of our ten percent we give regularly). It can be your time, your energy, your expertise. It can be something you do for God, or
something you stop doing for God. The Pharisees
tithe “mint and rue” but left off weightier matters. They gave their bit, when the time came, as
expected; but then left off the major reason for giving. They left off love, they left off sacrifice,
they left off devotion. The tithe was
there in practice, but not in full participation. The appearance kept, but not the experience. Furthermore, the tithe is there to keep us humble,
remind us He is God, to teach us sacrifice, and to allow us the opportunity to
prove God in our life. Prove Himself in
our lives when we give. Give our time, our
money, our energy, our prayers, ourselves.
The blessings of God are far more profitable than the money of man. When He proves Himself in our life, we gain a
deeper relationship with the Almighty. A
greater understanding; how’s that for an investment?
The
scripture says that wisdom is justified of her children. If you want to know wisdom, look to her
children. Are not the children of wisdom the practitioners of the
Word? The Word champions devotion, diligence,
and sacrifice to God above; not idols below. Would you build your own kingdom,
when God’s kingdom lie waste? Would you
lay up treasures on Earth, and not in heaven?
Would this be wise? Consider your
tithes, consider your offering; not so you can see what your giving; rather what
you could be giving. Let your life be an
example of what giving can do.
