To Tithe Or Not To Tithe – Is That The Question?!

Malachi 3:7-10 – "From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes, and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the Lord of hosts. "But you say, 'How shall we return?' Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed Thee?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows." (NASB)

For the past year, I made a choice to tithe, to give ten percent of my paycheque to the church. When I cash my cheque every week, ten percent of it goes into my offering envelope for that week, to help pay for salaries, power, water, telephone and the continuous upkeep of our church building. God has blessed me greatly, as I always have enough money; I am never short. And yet, when I am short and I start to worry, someone or something always comes along and provides at "just the right time!"

I recently received a letter in my church mail slot. The letter requested we consider a financial need regarding our church mortgage. As I was wondering how I could help, in addition to my weekly tithe, the Holy Spirit said, "What about your tip money that you get where you work?" The choice was mine to make.

I decided to give half of my tip money towards the church mortgage; it wasn't much, but, as the letter stated, "If every one of us gave fifty cents or a dollar extra per week to be applied to the mortgage, what a difference these small amounts would make, when combined."

God has been blessing people to give more tip money, and I am able to give more than a dollar towards our church mortgage on a weekly basis. But at the same time, when God blesses, the evil one will try to stop us from doing what we have promised. I have had thoughts like "Are you sure you want to give half of your tip money?" or "You could put it aside and save for a trip for you and your husband!" or "You deserve it!" And on and on. Again, I have a choice: to trust God or to give in to the lies that Satan throws at me. After all, all we have, we have from God. We are only giving back a small fraction of what belongs to Him in the first place!

Prayer: Thank You, Father, for Your bountiful provisions. Help us to share what You have richly bestowed upon us: our time, our possessions and Your unconditional love for us. Amen.

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