Ikakke Bassey|19 June 2016|2:47pm
Series: $urebet: What is Tithe or Tithing and why should we give Tithe?
"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house…"
Malachi:3:8-10
I couldn't hold my tears as the Holy Spirit began to unvail to me (not only) the mystery and usefulness of tithing, but the generic implication of failure to do so.
Tithe means tenth: a tenth part of an increase arising from a profit.
To start with; an unbeliever may give tithe as an act of obedience to spiritual financial law, but we (believers) should do so as an act of faith and understanding. When a muslim – for example – sends his/her tithe (money) to Meca, he does not just do it as an act of obedience to Prophet Mohammed, but as a demonstration of his faith in the religion of Islam. Hence, his expectations goes beyond Alah's blessing to him, but to the spread of its religion. So, whenever there is a major takeover of cities and states by Islam, either by terror or mild persuation, he knows that his tithes and offerings are working. That then becomes his motivation!
Christians on the other hand approach tithe and tithing from the selfish and personal benefits point of view. Here's the problem! When we eventually give tithes, we do that solely to move God towards us and our personal desires, and not to move the world towards God's Kingdom. We don't approach it as workmen together with Christ, we do it as gamblers!
Now, here's how we rob God. Our tithes and offerings we withold or scarcely give, and the wrong appropriation of the same is impacting on the overall outcome of souls and the gospel. For this we rob God, not because He is out of money, but because He is not seeing the desired result – souls. Any time you refuse to give your tithes or send in offerings, you are practically killing the growth possibility of the gospel. And if everybody (like you) stop giving, the gospel will seize to spread.
Tomorrow we'll link up the connection between Souls and the phrase "that there may be meat enough in my house". But here's what the Holy Spirit said to me about us Christians:
He said the problem with us christians is that; "we are selfish, ignorant, proud and shortsighted"!
Stay tuned!
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…raising men of relevance,
Ikakke Bassey
Threshing Place Ministries, Nigeria
