God Dares Us to Tithe
By Steve Siege
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
Do we pay our bills, save for our nest egg, put money into the college
funds, save a little for that special item and then see what we have
“leftover” for God? We have heard about tithing all our lives and the
people of the Old Testament tithed as a way of life. The first ten
percent would go to God.
We tithe for several reasons. First, it is a way of thanking God for the
blessings He has given us as we realize all we have comes from God.
Secondly, we tithe to keep our priorities right with God. “The purpose
of tithing is to teach you to put God first” (Deut 14:23). It reminds us
to put God first in our lives and in our finances. Finally, we tithe as
a demonstration of our faith. When we tithe, we are telling God that He
has always provided in the past, and we trust Him to always provide for
us in the future. It demonstrates our faith and belief that He is in
command.
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be
food in my house. Test Me in this says the Lord, ‘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. ~ Malachi 3:10
The Lord wants to bless us. He asks us to trust Him. He asks us to test
Him. He dares us to tithe.
One afternoon I was walking to my car to pick up my wife and head to
Amarillo for my son’s football game. I was approached by a very
distraught man
asking for money with a story of being stranded with his wife and kids
and needing gas money. I was touched and had some bills in my pocket
including a $100 bill. “Something” made me give him the $100 bill, and
he was floored. It warmed my heart to see his gratitude and disbelief. I
had a huge smile on my face when I drove away. The way I felt was worth
the money but God was not done with me yet. At the game in Amarillo,
they were raising money
for the Amarillo High baseball team with a $20 raffle. I bought a ticket
and waited for the announcement at half time of the game. Yes, I won the
raffle and won almost $700. I know the two events were related. God
says, “I dare you to put me first.”
Many of us have similar stories about the timing and blessings of God.
He dares us to put Him first in every part of our lives and our
finances. Whether you sneak up on it a little at a time or go head first
into tithing, it will change your life.
Last Updated: 12/13/2011