What Is The Purpose Of The Tithe?
One of the first standards of giving found in the Bible is the tithe. Abraham tithed in Genesis 14 after returning from the daring rescue of his nephew Lot from four enemy kings. He encountered the priest Melchizedek and voluntarily surrendered to him one-tenth of all the spoils he had taken from his enemies. It's often said that the tithe is Old Testament "legalism," but Abraham tithed some 430 years before the Law was given to Moses.
Later in the Law of Moses we are told why God established the principle of tithing. Deuteronomy 14:23 LB “The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives.”
Jesus put it plainly when he said in Matthew 6:24 TM, “You can’t worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can’t worship God and Money both.”
Giving makes it clear that God has first place in our lives and that we worship Him above money.
Proverbs 10:16 LB says, “The good man's earnings advance the cause of righteousness.”
Is that true of you? Is your money doing that? It should be and if it's not then you are missing out on a critical spiritual principle for financial success.
In Acts 20:35 GWT the Apostle Paul states, “We should remember the words that the Lord Jesus said, ‘Giving gifts is more satisfying than receiving them.’”
I know that giving as a source of joy and blessing may sound counterintuitive to you, but this is what the Bible teaches.
Luke 6:38 NIV “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
I believe thousands of Christians have proven God faithful to help them financially by getting more out of 90% with God's blessing, than using all 100% on their own!
How about you? If you haven't practiced this principle, start doing it immediately!