The Truth About Tithing

“But the Israelites will give one-tenth of everything they have to the Lord, and I will give that one-tenth to the Levites. That is why I said these words about the Levites: They will not get the land that I promised the Israelites.”

“Speak to the Levites and tell them: The Israelites will give one-tenth of everything they own to the Lord. That one-tenth will belong to the Levites. But you must give one-tenth of that to the Lord as your offering.
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭18:24, 26 ERV‬‬

This verse helps us understand why tithing one-tenth of all our income(not just after tax part) to the local church exists. It is not just a long ago thing that people did. The Israelites were commanded to give one-tenth of all they received to the Levites. The Levites were like our church ministers. They used this to live on and take care of the temple.

Sometimes we read things in the Bible and "claim" promises for ourselves and say that verse applies to me. We would all agree that these verses apply to us.

The Lord is good to those who wait for him. He is good to those who look for him.”
‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:25‬ ‭ERV‬‬

““Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11:28‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Yep, these verses are for me.

But with other verses, we decide that this principal does not apply to me. It is for other people. This verse about tithing is definitely one of those verses that people pick and chose if they want to do this. They figure it applies to rich people or people that don't care about money for some reason. They put it in the category of spiritual gifts. They decided that they do not have the spiritual gift of tithing. Here is some big news. There is not such thing as the "spiritual gift of tithing." Tithing is a command that we obey. By the way, rich people would be the most likely to NOT follow this verse.

God had something to say about this then and He still has something to say about it now.

““People should not steal things from God, but you stole things from me. “You say, ‘What did we steal from you?’ “You should have given me one-tenth of your things. You should have given me special gifts.

Special gifts are like feeding the poor or supporting missionaries or buying backpacks for school children. They are marvelous. But they are not part of your tithe.

The most incredible thing about this verse is that it comes with an amazing promise! You should tithe just so you can claim this promise.

The Lord All-Powerful says, “Try this test. Bring one-tenth of your things to me. Put them in the treasury. Bring food to my house. Test me! If you do these things, I will surely bless you. Good things will come to you like rain falling from the sky. You will have more than enough of everything.”
‭‭Malachi‬ ‭3:8, 10‬ ‭ERV

Take it from a girl that tithes. This promise is true. I have more than enough of everything.

What does your soil look like today?

"Listen. What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled among the weeds and nothing came of it. Some fell on good earth and came up with a flourish, producing a harvest exceeding his wildest dreams. (Mark 4:3 MSG)

One of my favorite things to do is to plant flowers! I love when it is time to go and buy some old favorites and try a couple of new kinds of plants, as well. I am saying the obvious when I state that the soil needs to be dark and rich and loose. You just know when you plant that flower in that rich soil,  that as long as you supply the water, it will be amazing.

God is continuing to throw out seeds(his word) to us. We read the Bible, we listen to podcasts, we buy books, we read devotionals, we hear great wisdom from friends...you name it. The problem is not  that the word is weak and powerless, but the soil is not the best. Sometimes I read the most amazing scripture in the morning and as soon as I read it, I do not even remember what I read. Other times, I read it and I am excited but my heart is gravelly because of complacency in my walk with the Lord and my lack of character. So it never puts down a root, when a difficulty arrives.

I especially saddened by the soil cast in weeds.

“but their lives become full of other things: the worries of this life, the love of money, and everything else they want. This keeps the teaching from growing, and it does not produce a crop in their lives.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭4:19‬ ‭ERV‬‬

I want to have the kind of soil that when I hear the word, and the word will be perfect and powerful and just and true, I want to embrace the truth and produce a harvest beyond my wildest dreams. The problem will not be with the seed but with my soil.

Get Moving!

10 When the Israelites saw Pharaoh and his army coming toward them, they were very frightened and cried to the Lord for help. 11 They said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did you bring us out here in the desert to die? We could have died peacefully in Egypt; there were plenty of graves in Egypt. 12 We told you this would happen! In Egypt we said, ‘Please don’t bother us. Let us stay and serve the Egyptians.’ It would have been better for us to stay and be slaves than to come out here and die in the desert.”

13 But Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Don’t run away! Stand where you are and watch the Lord save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again. 14 You will not have to do anything but stay calm. The Lord will do the fighting for you.”

15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you still crying to me? Tell the Israelites to start moving. 
Exodus 14:10-15

You got to love this story.  Moses had led the children of Israel out of Egypt in a miraculous display of strength. They were camping beside the Red Sea and low and behold they saw the Egyptian army following them. They froze in fear. Moses made a promise of astounding faith, "Stand where you are and watch the Lord save you." and then God said…

"Why are you still standing around?"  

"Get moving."

There are times when we should wait and there are times when we should be moving. This blog is not about the times when we should be waiting. This is about the times when we should be moving. 

I recently rode a zip line for the first time.  I was not afraid when I was stepping into the harness and putting on the protective helmet.  I did not mind climbing the stairway up to the top to be buckled in for the jump. . However, I knew that the jump off the platform was going to be the scary part. 

There are a lot of times when God asks me to step out in faith. If I look at the times when I obey, I observe one thing.  I am 100% successful if I step out immediately instead of having long, drawn out arguments in my mind deciding if I should obey. Sometimes I do argue with the Lord and end up being obedient…but it is less likely to occur than when I am instantly obedient. 

A couple of examples come to mind. I was driving to work one morning and saw an elderly woman struggling to keep her umbrella open in the pouring rain. I felt so strongly that God asked me to give her a ride. It went against all logic for me to obey because I was afraid of not knowing where to take her(I am terrible with directions) and I was worried I may not get to work on time. But I was instantly obedient. The experience is a wonderful memory of helping a woman who cleaned for Old Navy and desperately needed a ride to work. I was so thankful I did not miss that opportunity to serve an angel in disguise.

However, last week almost the same exact situation came up.  I had prayed that morning that God would provide me an opportunity to serve someone today. I was driving home and saw a very physically challenged man, struggling to cross the street in the pouring rain. I felt that same tug in my heart to stop and give him a ride to his destination. But instead of immediate obedience as before, I thought of all the reasons that I should not stop. Of course, I talked myself out of it.

Back to the zip line…I came to the top of the stairs and was tightly hooked in to the harness. The  young man explained that he would count to three and we would jump. If we did not jump with in 1 minute, then we would have to climb back down so others could have a turn. I knew that it was an act of faith. Would I trust the harnesses and the ropes to bring me to the ground a million(okay maybe a slight exaggeration)  feet below? I knew it would depend on if I acted instantly, without hesitation. On the count of three, I jumped!!! I would have missed the thrill of a zip line if I had stopped to examine all the ways that it was not a good idea. I hope the next time that God whispers a good idea in my ear, I move without hesitation.