Trust God with Your Tithe

In Deuteronomy 14:23 it says, “The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives.” (TLB)

If you want God to bless something, you have to put him first in that area. So if you want God to bless your finances, you have to put him first in your money. This is the principle of tithing: You give the first 10 percent of your income back to God.

Here are four verses that help explain the promise, purpose, place, and day for tithing.

First, Proverbs 3:9-10 gives the promise about tithing: “Honor the Lord by giving him the first part of all your income, and he will fill your barns with wheat and barley and overflow your wine vats with the finest wines” (TLB). God says that if you honor him with the first part of your income, he will bless you financially.

My wife and I have been able to remove all debt, except our mortgage (which we are aggressively trying to pay off). We had decided God gets paid first, right off the top. It all comes from God in the first place, and I want his blessing on the rest of it.

Why does God tell us to tithe? Deuteronomy 14:23b says, “The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives” (TLB). God doesn’t need our money, but he wants what it represents: our hearts. He wants us to trust him.

Where should you tithe? Do you tithe to your local food pantry? Or do you tithe to your brother who’s been out of work for three years? Those are for charity. Tithing isn’t charity; it’s an act of worship. It goes to God.

Malachi 3:10 says, “‘Bring to the storehouse a full tenth of what you earn . . . Test me in this,’ says the Lord All-Powerful. ‘I will open the windows of heaven for you and pour out all the blessings you need’” (NCV). The storehouse is the temple, or the place where you worship God.

When are you supposed to tithe? You do it on the day you worship. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 16:2, “On every Lord’s Day each of you should put aside something from what you have earned during the week, and use it for this offering. The amount depends on how much the Lord has helped you earn” (TLB). When you give to God on the first day of the week, during the first part of your day, and from the first part of your money, you’re declaring, “You’re really number one in my life.”

Notice that the verse says to “put aside.” Tithing should not be an impulsive thing. You’ve got to plan for it so that you are honoring God’s plan and purpose for tithing.

Then we can watch how God blesses and uses us and honors his promises in our lives.