When I think of the Father’s love and mercy and all that God says He will do for His children, I become overwhelmed by His goodness. I am so grateful for the promises we have in the Word. Those promises are much like the ones we set down in our homes with our children—promises that have rewards and consequences.
A family is a partnership with plenty of give-and-take situations. When we raised our children, my husband and I established rules and guidelines. We said, “When you obey the rules, here are the rewards. If you disobey them, here are the consequences.”
God established guidelines for us in the Bible. As long as we follow them, He is obligated to perform His Word. If we do not obey, our Heavenly Father is not required to hold up His end of the bargain. One guideline in particular—the giving of tithes and offerings—is often ignored.
Malachi 3:8–10 (NIV 1984) says, “ ‘Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me . . . in tithes and offerings. . . Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’ ”
God has established guidelines for us in the Bible. As long as we follow them, He is obligated to perform His Word.
We all want Heaven’s floodgates to open on us. But surveys show that only a small percentage of born-again Christians tithe regularly.
My parents taught me the importance of tithing and giving offerings when I was a young child. Whenever I received money from my allowance or other sources, they reminded me that the first 10 percent belonged to God. I learned the 10 percent rule long before I learned percentages in math class. The principle of tithing and giving has always been a settled issue with me.
The enemy knows the blessings you will receive when you give to God. So he tries to keep you from getting those blessings by telling lies such as, “If you tithe, you won’t have enough money this week. You won’t be able to pay your bills or eat.”
I am a living testimony of someone who has tithed and given offerings all my life. Never once have I been unable to pay a bill. And I have never gone hungry. I may not have always had an abundant supply, but my needs have been met without exception.
Don’t Eat Your Seed
Our tithe is our seed, but many people are eating their seed! A farmer can have a large amount of fertile land and is able to produce an abundant crop. It may have an abundance of rain falling on it. The farmer could say, “Lord, I thank You that I have a lot of fertile land.” However, if he doesn’t plant any seed, he won’t reap a harvest.
That’s exactly what many Christians are doing. They confess, “Thank You, Father, that I have more than enough, and everything I need is met. My cup is running over.” But their confessions are empty because they are not planting their seed by giving tithes and offerings to the Lord.
One thing to remember about paying your tithes is that the harvest from your sowing won’t always come in overnight. It takes time for a farmer to reap a harvest after planting the seed, and the same may apply in your life. But God is faithful; He doesn’t break His promises. He says in Genesis 8:22 that while the earth remains, there will be seedtime and harvest. I encourage you to keep sowing. If you do, your harvest will come.
Prayer
Father God, I determine to follow Your guidelines and give my tithes and offerings to help further Your Kingdom. No matter how hard I try, I could never out give You. Thank You that I am reaping an abundant harvest of blessings that only You can give, in Jesus’ Name.
Author
Lynette Hagin
Share this Post
One Comment on “The 10 Percent Rule”
I completely agree with you about tithing. I started to tithe a year ago as a Christian and have found that I have more funds now than I did before yet I can’t ‘count it up’ and see that I have more but I have not noticed having less. We still have a long way to go to receiving all the Lords blessings for this earth, (a secure home and enough clothes), but at least we are going forward into abundance now, not backwards into more need (which we were before). The Lord has given extraordinary gifts such as a reliable car for my many road trips (driving alone) – somehow God managed it – and a really good school for my son. Because it’s the Lords plan, somehow its paid and we are not one bit worse off for it.