It is critically important to understand that the money we have is not our own. It is God's money, and he has entrusted it to us to manage. A responsible money manager will do four things with the money God has given him: worship God (Leviticus 27:30), meet our own needs (Philippians 4:19), meet the needs of others (Acts 2:45), and yes, have a little fun (1 Timothy 6:17). Interestingly, two of the four areas of money management involve giving: worshiping God and meeting the needs of others. Through the giving of gifts back to God, we do both.
The phrase we use at Pee Dee Community Fellowship to describe our giving back to God is "Giving God's Gifts." The Bible uses the word tithe, which means a tenth and refers to the first ten percent of all our income. The Bible tells us that the tithe belongs to God, is to be immediately set aside for Him (Leviticus 27:30), and is to be brought to the storehouse (Malachi 3:10). Today, that storehouse is the local church, and God wants our tithes to go to the local church for the same reason He wanted them to go to the temple's storehouse, "that there may be food in my house". The church's job is to meet the needs of people. You can think of the local church as being a hospital for spiritually sick people where Jesus Christ is the doctor. But just as a hospital cannot heal the physically sick without funds, the church cannot heal the spiritually sick without funds. When we give back to God, we give to others through the church.
Worship is anything we do whose purpose is to praise and glorify God. We worship God with our mouths when we pray, tell others of His love, or sing to Him. We worship God with our bodies by eating right, bowing in prayer, or even dancing. We worship God with our money when we tithe. By giving God the first ten percent of our income, we are showing Him that He is more important than the cable company, the mortgage company, even the IRS. We are saying that we believe him when he promises to provide for us (Genesis 22:14) and that he will bless our lives through our giving (Malachi 3:10, Proverbs 3:9-10). As faithful Christ Followers, tithing should be as natural as bowing our heads during prayer.
The phrase we use at Pee Dee Community Fellowship to describe our giving back to God is "Giving God's Gifts." The Bible uses the word tithe, which means a tenth and refers to the first ten percent of all our income. The Bible tells us that the tithe belongs to God, is to be immediately set aside for Him (Leviticus 27:30), and is to be brought to the storehouse (Malachi 3:10). Today, that storehouse is the local church, and God wants our tithes to go to the local church for the same reason He wanted them to go to the temple's storehouse, "that there may be food in my house". The church's job is to meet the needs of people. You can think of the local church as being a hospital for spiritually sick people where Jesus Christ is the doctor. But just as a hospital cannot heal the physically sick without funds, the church cannot heal the spiritually sick without funds. When we give back to God, we give to others through the church.
Worship is anything we do whose purpose is to praise and glorify God. We worship God with our mouths when we pray, tell others of His love, or sing to Him. We worship God with our bodies by eating right, bowing in prayer, or even dancing. We worship God with our money when we tithe. By giving God the first ten percent of our income, we are showing Him that He is more important than the cable company, the mortgage company, even the IRS. We are saying that we believe him when he promises to provide for us (Genesis 22:14) and that he will bless our lives through our giving (Malachi 3:10, Proverbs 3:9-10). As faithful Christ Followers, tithing should be as natural as bowing our heads during prayer.
Printer Friendly Format