Bring Your Tithe

Last Sunday Robert Morris was with us again at NewSpring as he continued his teaching on tithing and firstfruits. One of the comments he made that I had not thought about was the difference in bringing the tithe and giving the tithe. In the 9 or 10 references in the Old Testament to tithing, the term is always bring.

Why is that important? Because the tithe is returning to God what is rightfully His. You can't "give" someone something that already belongs to him. Lots of people quibble over the tithe and in fact most who claim to be Christian do not give bring anywhere near a tenth of their gross income back to God.

As I was reading Psalm 50 this morning I came across, "For every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills..." God owns everything! And if I have accepted His Son, Jesus Christ, as my Lord and my Savior, God owns me.

My brother had a chronic illness for 20 years. The last 2 years of his life he was on disability but he still tithed. The disability was not enough to pay his bills anyway and he was so thankful that God allowed him to live for 20 years when he'd been told by the doctors he'd live 3 to 5. All during those last two years, God stirred the hearts of friends and fellow believers and just when the mortgage or the power bill or something was due, a check would show up in his mailbox. God was ALWAYS faithful to take care of my brother's financial needs.

Tithing is not about money; it is all about thankfulness. It's a matter of the heart. I tithe because I recognize that God supplies it all - money, life, health, family, home - EVERYTHING I am or have is because of God. The last verse of Psalm 50 states, "The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly, I will show the salvation of God!"