Why you should not tithe
“I know you believe in tithing, but if I were to tithe, the monthly amount would equal purchasing a new car!” announced the speaker. He was obviously in distress. I looked on in fascination. His friend’s response had me sitting back in my seat in awe.
“No problem. Then don’t tithe. In the interim, I will also pray for you.” his friend said. “Wait, pray for me? Why?” Putting his hand on his shoulder, his friend replied, “I will be praying that the Lord changes your monthly income so that you become comfortable with the amount you should tithe.”
It took his friend a minute to understand what he was trying to say.
What I found
In a few weeks I will be launching a new series on tithing, God’s will, and always as a part of my preparations, with lots of prayers, I read the Word, books and materials on the topic. As I was scrolling through online to purchase books, I soon realized that I was moaning and tears were blurring my vision.
“Father, why? How can persons buy and believe this? Lord, please!” was the cry of my heart. The pain I felt was from so many materials and books that claimed ‘the lies about tithing’, ‘why you should never tithe’, and the list just went on and on.
The reality
We are all very protective of the money that we have. We want to control where it goes, who gets it, etc. I was a huge supporter of not tithing. My repeated argument was threefold:
- I didn’t trust what the Church was going to do with my money.
- My salary was too small; I couldn’t spare any money for tithing.
- I was already giving money and buying gifts for persons I wanted to help. That was enough.
Glancing through the information against tithing, in many cases, the Bible was used out of context. It is one of the reasons why I continue to encourage all of us to pray and ask God for clarity on His Word. It is His Bible, so He is the best teacher. Never only take the teachings of others as the final gospel, continue to read and study the Bible with the Holy Spirit’s guidance and teaching.
And what I always find interesting, is that the things that require more obedience from us, is the ones heaviest targeted. No one has any issue about verses that speak of blessings. If our hearts harden on topics like tithing and fasting, then we need to fight ourselves to take a step back, breathe and just go to God. He has the answers.
Why I tithe?
I can give my testimony on how God did provide and answer my prayers when I tested Him on this, but I will leave that for when you join me during our study series on this topic. 🙂 What I will share here now though is what changed my heart when I started studying tithing for myself years ago.
I didn’t want to steal from God:
“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings.You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me.Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty.“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.”
Malachi 3:8-12
The other side of the coin
And I am not a ‘prosperity’ gospel teacher, but instead, rely on the testimonies God has provided with my own life story. I have seen the additional abundant blessings of God when I have tithed. Those blessings coincided with my study and God’s promise:
“Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the first fruits of all your crops;
then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.” Proverbs 3:9-10
Reflections
Food for thought: If you are interested in articles, ‘why you should not tithe’, I encourage you to also ask yourself this question: Do I want God to cut my income so that I feel comfortable with tithing? I learnt the hard way that nothing on this earth is ‘mine’. It all belongs to God. Tithing is not only giving back to Him what was His in the first place, but it is an important act of obedience for me. And in my obedience, I know that I bring God joy. If you would like to join our online bible study group, you can sign up here.
Prayer: Eternal God, glory and praise be to your name, the name above all other names. Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord, our provider, forgive me for the grips of control that I feel when it comes to my finances. Forgive me for the doubts and concerns that I feel when I give my tithe to the Church. Remind me always that you are in control and your judgement on church leaders are much stricter (James 3:1). Remind me that you will always provide for my needs. Grant me your peace. In Jesus’ name. Amen