Why Tithing is So Important

Ten percent of everything you harvest is holy and belongs to me, whether it grows in your fields or on your fruit trees.
– Leviticus 27:30


Honor the LORD by giving him your money and the first part of all your crops. Then you will have more grain and grapes than you will ever need.
– Proverbs 3:9-10


I am the LORD All-Powerful, and I challenge you to put me to the test. Bring the entire ten percent into the storehouse, so there will be food in my house. Then I will open the windows of heaven and flood you with blessing after blessing.
– Malachi 3:10


Also set aside ten percent of your wine and olive oil, and the first-born of every cow, sheep, and goat. Take these to the place where the LORD chooses to be worshiped, and eat them there. This will teach you to always respect the LORD your God. But suppose you can’t carry that ten percent of your harvest to the place where the LORD chooses to be worshiped.


If you live too far away, or if the LORD gives you a big harvest, then sell this part and take the money there instead. When you and your family arrive, spend the money on food for a big celebration. Buy cattle, sheep, goats, wine, beer, and if there are any other kinds of food that you want, buy those too. And since people of the Levi tribe won’t own any land for growing crops, remember to ask the Levites to celebrate with you.


Every third year, instead of using the ten percent of your harvest for a big celebration, bring it into town and put it in a community storehouse. The Levites have no land of their own, so you must give them food from the storehouse.


You must also give food to the poor who live in your town, including orphans, widows, and foreigners. If they have enough to eat, then the LORD your God will be pleased and make you successful in everything you do.
– Deuteronomy 14:23-29


You Pharisees and teachers are show-offs, and you’re in for trouble! You give God a tenth of the spices from your garden, such as mint, dill, and cumin. Yet you neglect the more important matters of the Law, such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the important things you should have done, though you should not have left the others undone either.
– Matthew 23:23


You people are robbing me, your God. And, here you are, asking, “How are we robbing you?” You are robbing me of the offerings and of the ten percent that belongs to me. That’s why your whole nation is under a curse.
– Malachi 3:8-9


I hope you had a chance to read through all of the Scripture above as it helps to support what I am about to discuss in this post.  I’m going to start off first by saying that tithing is an act of obedience to the Lord.  The Lord explicitly tells us in the Word that 10 percent of our first fruits belong to Him.  Because the Levites were priests and relied on contributions from the people of Israel to live, the Israelites gave 10 percent of their first fruits to the temple.  Then the Levites tithed 10 percent of that to the Lord.  Everyone tithed!

The Old Testament books such as Leviticus and Deuteronomy give us a clear illustration of how we are to approach giving to our church and our pastors.  Truth be told, if we all read the Bible, pastors would never have to preach on the subject of tithing because the Bible is very clear on this matter.

At the end of the day, it’s really a no-brainer.  Give the Lord what belongs to Him, and He will bless you abundantly.  If you don’t, you will not be blessed abundantly.  The Lord rewards those who act in obedience to Him.  But now, I’d like to share with you my own personal experiences with tithing and how I go about it.

When I first started going to church again a few months ago, after not attending church in many years, I tithed my full 10 percent to the church, complying with the Lord’s command.  After starting my ministry, Psalm 34:6 Ministries, I began splitting my tithe between the church and the ministry.  I can’t tell you how to tithe.  That is something you must decide on your own and pray about it if you feel troubled on how to go about it.  However, if you don’t run your own ministry, I encourage you to tithe the full 10 percent to your church so that the church can carry out its ministry to its full potential.

Just like the Levites, our churches, pastors, and staff, rely on the tithes of the congregation in order to live and provide the services they offer in ministry.  Once the electric, rent, mortgage, salaries, etc. are paid, then the rest of the money goes towards outreach, church supplies, maintenance of the property, and so on.  I feel like I shouldn’t have to state these things, but it’s necessary because often times people feel triggered when churches ask for contributions.
 
I think most of us know by now that nothing is free.  The building you attend every Sunday morning costs money to heat, cool, and light up.  We all pay rent and the church is no exception.  Having a fulltime pastor is a real blessing but that also comes with a price.  Pastors need a place to live and they also need clothes to wear and food to eat.  That money has to come from somewhere.  Again, I feel these things are necessary to state because of how triggered some people get when tasked with the act of tithing or donating to the church.

I’m really just glazing over the tip of the iceberg here because as many of you might already know, there are so many additional costs to running a church in modern times such as video cameras and audio equipment for live sound and live streaming.  The cost of running a website and so on and so forth.  

Okay, now that I got that part out of the way, let me share with you some of the great rewards from tithing based on my own experiences!

Every since I’ve started to tithe to the Lord, I’ve never been NOT able to tithe!  Going back about a month or so ago, my faith was indeed tested on this.  In fact, I was about to send a message to my pastor, asking him what I should do.  I was really perplexed because I knew that tithing was an act of obedience to the Lord but I was afraid that I wasn’t able to.  

Well, my check that week wound up being a little more than I expected due to overtime and I had more than enough money left over to tithe and pay whatever needed to be paid.  I do believe this was the Lord testing me to have faith in Him and to trust Him.  The Lord wants us to obey Him and I truly believe He will make a way for us to do so, even though it might require us to step out in faith.  And let me tell you, stepping out in faith is scary when you’re not used to it!

I’ve been tithing every since and I’ll keep on tithing because of the promises of the Lord.  God tells us that if we give Him His share, we’ll have more than enough, and He has kept that promise to me.  So I urge all of you reading this right now, to please consider this very carefully.  Perhaps you are struggling right now financially and are worried about parting with any of your money.  Do NOT hold back from the Lord.  Remember, it is because of the Lord that we have anything and you might be struggling right now because you are holding back from Him.  I challenge you to take this bold step in faith and trust in the Lord right now.

May God bless each and every one of you in the Name of His Son Jesus Christ.  Amen.

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