Why Should I Tithe?

Tithing is all part of giving to the Lord, but why should we tithe? It’s not for a church or church staff to get rich. It’s not people taking advantage of you. It is simply a gift from you to the Lord. Think of all the gifts the Lord has given you. Tithing is giving back.

Bad Experience:

Having a bad experience with a church or evangelist can turn a person against tithing. If a church or evangelist pressures you to dig deep into your pockets, in order to receive blessings from the Lord, something may be seriously wrong. I’ve seen evangelists say that if you give all the money you possibly can to them, then God will bless you financially (like make you rich!); but if you don’t give generously, then God won’t bless you at all. And people have told me that after visiting a church, someone from that church came over to their house and asked them to donate significantly towards a new building.

Churches and evangelists should be distributing their funds to organizations and missionaries to help those in need. Yes, they have their bills to pay, but they also should be giving to those in need as God sees fit. If a church or evangelist is trying to pressure you to generously give to them, I suggest you stay away and find somewhere else to worship.

One Tenth:

One tenth was a percentage decided a long time ago around the time of Moses (Scriptures 1 – Offer One Tenth). It wasn’t something a person made up, but it came from God. Moses actually met with God and when he would return to his people, his face would be radiant. So radiant that it scared the people. Therefore, Moses had to cover his face after meeting with God, so the people wouldn’t be afraid.

Humble Servants & Cheerful Givers:

So what did Jesus teach us how to live? He wants us to be compassionate and giving to those in need. Most of all, He wants us to be humble servants. To think of others as ourselves. To not be prideful like the Pharisees (See web page Why Did They Crucify Jesus?). Tithing is all part of being that humble, giving servant.

It should bring us joy to give to God (Scriptures 2 – Give Cheerfully). And you should give how much you decide for yourself to give. Today, we don’t have to follow all the old Jewish laws. We can decide for ourselves how much we should give to God. It should bring us joy when we give.

Personal Testimony:

When I first came to know the Lord, finances were extremely stressful. So for the first couple of years, I decided to give $20 a month to the church. I know that’s a ridiculously small amount, but that’s all I could afford at that time. Through the years, the Lord blessed me and I was able to give more.

Give What You Decide You Can:

I believe the Lord wants us to pay our bills. If you’re facing collection agencies and/or bankruptcy, maybe you can just give what you can, if anything. That’s not to say if you have a good income but have had excessive spending habits, that you shouldn’t give to the Lord. In that case, you should probably sell some stuff or downsize and get your income/debt ratio more on track, ready to give to the Lord appropriately.

Conclusion:

So, why tithe? That’s easy. Tithe to give back to God and help others in need. Just think of all the Lord has done for you. Wouldn’t it make you happy to give some of it back? Have joy in that and be generous.