I am challenging myself to
tithe the way God instructed it should be done. Lately, in my daily quiet times
God impressed upon my heart the obedience that is shown in tithing. In the Bible
it has been said that 10% of the first fruits of our labor should be given back
to God as tithe.
The very first idea of
tithing I believe is found in the biblical account of Cain and Abel. In Genesis
4:2, Cain and Abel were brothers, sons of Adam and Eve. Abel kept flocks while
Cain worked the soil. “In the course of time, Cain brought some (emphasis mine) of the fruits of the soil as an offering to
the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering – fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord
looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on his Cain and his offering he
did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry and his face was downcast.”
It is really unsure why
God favored Abel’s offering over that of Cain. But I guess it was because of
the quality of what Abel offered. It came from the firstborn of his flock, it
was of fat portions. While Cain merely offered some fruits of the soil, not
firstfruits.
I had a conversation with
a good friend yesterday who is already well on her way towards a strong
Christian walk. We discussed about tithing and what it really means. She
emphasized that through the Bible, God requires the first fruits of our labor.
The first produce, the first portion, first percentage. She explains that in
this day and age, our labor comes from our work. So the first fruits would most
definitely be our wage which we now get through our ATM cards. Come payday, the
first 10% of that salary should immediately be set aside for God as tithe. Then
we set aside next the bills that must necessarily be paid. This way we are
entrusting God to take care of the rest of our needs.
I have been having budget
issues lately. You can say that my salary is generous for a single person like
me. It can in fact feed a family of seven given the right amount of care put
into budgeting. But year on year I have taken loans for investments that I
realized there is almost nothing left for me at the end of payday. Almost
everything is utilized as payments for the amortizations. I even have to save
for clothing when given the salary I get I can buy a whole wardrobe of branded clothes
if I so want. It doesn't really bother me before because I try to justify my
expenses, i.e. buying a lot is an investment, paying for my kid brother’s tuition
in medicine is worth it, contributing to the household expenses even if I don’t
live there anymore is generosity, my car is a worthy buy, the condo is a
necessity nowadays, etc. I even had a time when I maxed out my credit card.
Whew. But I realized that this is not God’s concept of good budgeting and definitely
not his idea of being good stewards of His blessings.
Lately, I am trying to follow
God’s principles of tithing. I don’t expect to get filthy rich out of this act.
The motivation really is to show to my God that I acknowledge that all of my
blessings come from Him alone. I am giving Him back what He has given me as a
sign that I trust Him with all of my needs. I hope to impress upon God that I
want to trust Him in every aspect of my life be it in my financial affairs,
emotional well-being, career aspirations, personal dreams, etc.
I just started tithing and
not even halfway through this process when I offered God 10% of my 15th
month pay day last February. After three days from the last Sunday that I
offered my 10% title, almost 100% of what I offered God returned to me when my
co-lawyer (co-notary public) received a check payment for some documents we
notarized. I was able to pay for a debt I owed a friend and I had enough to pay
for one month of my car’s amortizations. Few days before this I was praying for
God to help me pay these bills because I went overboard and went out of budget.
God came to my rescue and proved to me that nothing is impossible with Him. As
long as He sees my sincerity in all that I ask He rewards with even a thousand
fold than I deserve to receive.
Here are some Biblical principles/verses
on tithing:
“You must set aside a
tithe of your crops – one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year.” –
Deut. 14:22
“Give and you will
receive. Your gift will return to you in full – pressed down, shaken together
to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you
give will determine the amount you get back.” Luke 6:38
“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.” – Malachi 3:10
“Bring this tithe to the
designated place of worship – the place the Lord your God chooses for his name
to be honored – and eat it there in his presence. This applies to your tithes
of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and
herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear the Lord your God.” – Deut.
14:23
“Should people cheat God?
Yet you have cheated me! But you ask ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat
you?’ You have cheated me of the tithes and offering due to me.” – Malachi 3:8
“Bring the best of the
firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.” – Exodus 23:19
I want to quote here also
some of Rick Warren’s take on tithing and giving:
“The law of reproduction says
you reap what you sow, but the principle of multiplication says you will also
reap more than you sow.”
“When you put one kernel
of corn in the ground, you don’t get one kernel of corn back. You get a
cornstalk with multiple ears on it and hundreds of kernels on each of those
ears. This is the exponential power that God has established the universe to
handle. You always get more out of it than you put into it.”
Finally, "we should not worry about how much we are giving up, for all things are God's in the first place. Instead, we should joyfully give to God our best in time, money, possessions, and talents." -LASB
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