Tithe; Simple Reasons why you Should Pay

Tithe as a phenomenon simply refers to paying a tenth of your income to God through the Church. There have been so many controversies surrounding the paying of tithe in the Christian space. This has given the opportunity to non-Christians to join the debates, typically to chastise or make a mockery of Christians who pay it.

In this article, I will talk about why we should pay tithes and give some personal experiences to help you understand.

Tithe did not start from Moses

Many claim tithes emanated from the Law (of Moses) given by God. So in argument, they say since the New Testament was introduced, tithing must be abolished. I beg to differ. Was Abraham affected by the Law of Moses? Not. He lived before Moses so it couldn’t have had any influence on him, yet he practised tithing.

“…and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all – Genesis 14:20.

When Abraham met Melchizedek, he gave a tenth of what he had obtained (income) to him, recognizing him as a priest. We all, knowing Abraham to be someone very close to God, practised tithing before it was mentioned in the Law of Moses. With this, I can say tithing is an ancient Kingdom Law.

Tithing in the Law

“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord” – Leviticus 27:30.

Now we see tithing as an institutionalized practice in the Law of Moses (i.e. Laws given by God through Moses). The Levites (priestly clan) were those supposed to receive tithes from the congregation because of their work in the House of the Lord. In modern times we’d say Levites are Pastors. So they paid tithes to their Pastors.

Tithes mentioned in the New Testament

Jesus never came to abolish tithing, and neither did any of His Apostles. The New Testament emphatically mentioned many things in the Law of Moses that needed to be changed, not tithing. Jesus mentioned; “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone” – Luke 11:42.   He said they do many things (including tithing) but neglect others. Meaning they should add what they have neglected to what they do also. This is not a verse that abolishes tithing in the New Testament.

Reasons why you should pay tithes

This will be based on Malachi 3:10-12

Firstly, you must pay tithe to provide for the Lord’s house – the Church.

I earlier mentioned that the Levites (now Pastors) were paid with the tithes of the congregation (Nehemiah 10:37). It also helped in making provisions for food and other amenities in the church (Malachi 3:10). In simple terms, when you pay your tithes to the Lord your Pastor and the Church is being catered for. A typical example is the Church of Pentecost; proceeds from tithes are what Pastors are paid with. The same tithe proceeds are used for maintaining the church. With this said, I see no reason why you should not pay your tithe.

Open Heavens

Secondly, you must pay your tithes to receive open heaven upon you. “And try 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 such blessing” – Malachi 3:10b.   The windows of heaven here can be ideas or plans that could help you secure or multiply your finances. It could be heaven’s way of providing you with needs you ordinarily may not be able to easily have enough money for.

Personal Experience

They were times in my life when I got some things for free or at cheaper prices in shorter timelines than what I had set for myself.  So these are some of the opened heaven blessings you can receive in your finances.

Devourers

In addition, when you pay your tithes, you secure yourself from devourers – things that eat up your finances unnecessarily. “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes…says the Lord of hosts;”.

These devourers could be terminal illnesses with a lot of health bills, problems with your car, phone, or any worthy item (s) that keep putting burdens on your finances. So the promise is that God will prevent devourers of your finances from harming you.

Personal Experience

At some points in my life, I stopped paying tithes for a few months because I thought I needed the money for things I thought were ‘important’. Honestly, I still can’t recall any important thing I used those tithes for. I robbed God. “You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me” – Malachi 3:9.

The curse was that I never had total control of my money within those months, I kept being anxious for more money because I ran out of wisdom and inspiration in handling my finances. My financial peace was stolen from me. I’m not sure you want to experience that. That 10 per cent of your income you out to give God won’t change your life.

Can I Give My Tithes to Philanthropy?

No, please. Of all the monies we can give in and out of the church, tithing is the only one that is expressly instructed to be brought to the House of God (the Church). You can decide to send any other offering you could have given in Church to philanthropy, but not your tithes – that is for the Church.

If you remain faithful in tithing you will be a delight;

If you believe the source of your financial gains is from God, I hope I concisely elaborated this to help you understand why you need to pay your tithes?

If you don’t pay it God says you are stealing from Him. We have armed robbers – Don’t be a God-robber.

May the Lord mend our nets!