It’s For Our Own Good
22 Oct 2011 1 Comment
in Commentary Tags: giving, Lord, Malachi 3:10, obedience, Pharaoh, Tithe
Tithing! Hmmm, that word arouses varied emotions from many of us. Some of us do it just for doing sake without understanding the import of it. Some do it because they want to be at the receiving end of tithing. Yet others do it just to stay in the will of God – be in obedience.
I can’t recall when I began to tithe. I’ve been tithing for many years. I remember tithing even when I hadn’t begun working. The first time, I heard the word “tithe” was when my Aunt Stella was on vacation in our home. We always had Bible Study meetings on a regular basis whenever she visited with her family. I enjoyed those Bible studies when she was around. I was introduced to Malachi 3:10-12 – ”Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try 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 such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the LORD of hosts; and all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts” (NKJV).
I began to tithe soon after that and I have been doing that to date. I would be a liar if I said, I have ALWAYS tithed during this period. There were occasions when I didn’t always tithe a tenth of what I had. Even when I hadn’t reached an employable age, I tithed a tenth of money I had received in the form of gifts or a tenth of the stipend my dad used to give us. In my adult years, in periods when I wasn’t employed, I tried to tithe a tenth of every financial seed another person sowed in my life. There were times I went for long periods without tithing.
Tithing hasn’t always come easy to me. I have gone through some really tough periods that every penny mattered. There were times, I would tell God about my intention to tithe but remind him of the need for me to pay my rent to avoid becoming homeless or tell God if I didn’t buy some food, I would probably die of hunger. Had I known, tithing is an integral part the lesson in total dependence and complete trust in God, I would have done it right long ago. Thinking about it, He who blesses us with all good things, is asking for only a tenth of what we have so that His people are taken care of. He doesn’t care what we do with the other nine portions out of the ten. This morning, while reading Genesis 47, it dawned on me that a tenth wasn’t such a big deal for in Genesis 47:24, Joseph asked the people of Egypt to give a one-fifth of their harvest to Pharaoh in a time of famine. I thought to myself that is a lot to ask for. I think I would rather give a tenth in famine or plenty than a fifth. That goes to show how considerate the Lord God Almighty is.
I know I am not walking in complete obedience in some areas of my life. I strive to get it right. I ask for the grace to get better in these areas on a daily basis. Some days, I do great. On other days, I am totally doing me – I even forget to walk in obedience. Therefore, I understand some of my loved ones who know about tithing but don’t practice it for one reason or another. They would have to get to the point where they look forward to walking in obedience. I had to get here too. For now, I look forward to tithing. Of course, with my many needs, I always remind the Lord of His part of the deal as I keep my part of the deal – while I walk in obedience and let Him use me as an instrument to put food in His storehouse, He opens the windows of heaven and pours out blessings on me and the people I intercede for. After all, the Creator doesn’t need my tithe to make it happen in His storehouse. Neither does He need me to do something for Him first before He shows me mercy, Jesus ensured by His death for my sins that God’s mercy would be upon me not because I deserve it but because of the Blood of the Lamb!
So yes, we may give to the poor or needy, volunteer at the homeless shelter, and write a check for our church, drop an offering into the bowl every Sunday but tithing is special. Tithing, like the other things that our will naturally fights is only designed to teach us to trust in the goodness of the Lord, in plenty and in lack. His plans for us are always for good and never for evil. It’s for our own good!
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