The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives. (Deuteronomy 14:23b TLB)
Putting God first in your life is not a pressure but it is your privilege and honor. Being in Christ is not like being in any other religion. Christianity is not a religion rather it is a miraculous relationship with the divinity. It is God living His life and carrying out His fellowship and relationship with humanity while being inside of us. Every relationship in order to be strong requires demonstration of love, trust and care from both the parties. While God takes care of you and loves you, it is important that you honor Him and continually encourage Him by doing His word. As a child of God it is important for you to be sensitive towards what God feels about us. While He loves you He expects to be loved by you.
When God had told Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, its purpose was to receive Adam’s love in form of his obedience. Your obedience, demonstrates your love (ref. John 14:15). God is a master personality, while He lives in you through the Holy Spirit, He also lives with you in everyday life. God loved you so much that He sacrificed His Son for you so that He may not lose you but can make you His own child. As a child of God, it is important that you give your Heavenly Father the first position in your life. The concept of tithing is not based on God doing a business with His children. All things are His and He needs no one to give to Him! The reason God introduced tithing to His children was to give a way to His children to keep their Heavenly Father in the first position in their finances. A person would only put his finances there where his heart is (ref.Matthew 6:21).
While God is leading you financially and He is prospering and taking your financial care, he claims ten percent of everything which He supplies to you through all His sources to be His. Malachi 3:9-10; clearly shows us how God considers tithing so important. He even goes forward and challengingly says how He would prevent every calamity to affect those who return their tithe. When you bring your ten percent of wealth to the house of God to return it to God, your heavenly father receives it as a token of your faithfulness and trust in Him. Remember it is a relationship, and encouraging Him by putting Him first is so important.
Prayer:
Dear Father, thank you for teaching me the principles of keeping you first in my life. As I keep you first in my life, I allow all the dreams which you have for me to materialize in my life. As I return my tithe to you, I thank you and demonstrate my trust in you that it is you who makes me prosper in everything that I do. In Jesus Name’. Amen!
