Do You Give Your Tithes and Offerings from a Loving Heart?
It's time to talk about the topic of giving. This would be a very touchy topic because man is inherently selfish after the fall. I remembered reading across the rules on offerings and one verse struck me the most. I remembered what Malachi 3:10-11 says that people can rob God in tithes and offerings. The tithes and offerings were used to support the Levites' work. Anyone who says tithes are unbiblical need to reread that verse.
Tithing has been silent in the New Testament. I haven't read much about tithing being emphasized. Instead, we have the emphasis of the cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). It's amazing how some pseudo-Christian sects and some churches that's supposedly Christian (ex. some Baptist and Evangelical churches) have even gone as far as to monitor and chase their members for not tithing. While I do still believe in tithing is necessary to help maintain the local churches but no church should coerce the tithes out of their members.
Do you know that while you can never love without giving but you can give without loving? The Apostle Paul declared in 1 Corinthians 13:3 that he may give everything he has to the poor or give his body to be burned but it's meaningless without love. You can give all the tithes and offerings you want but it doesn't done out love for the LORD then it's nothing. It's just like how 1 Samuel 15:22-23 has Samuel warning Saul that obedience is better than sacrifice. Giving offerings without a loving heart is indeed an abomination to the LORD.
I want to go back to Genesis 4:1-15 where we read of Cain and Abel. Cain was the tiller of the ground. Abel was the keeper of the flock. There are many theories behind why Cain's offering was rejected and Abel's was accepted. I would believe that Abel brought his offerings out of love for the LORD. God warned Cain about his offering with about doing well and not doing well. This was the problem. Cain may have brought the best offering he could but it was done out of arrogance. Abel brought his best offering with a loving heart. Cain's arrogance would have been cause enough to reject his offering even if it were the best of his harvest.
Today, it's time to ask members on why do they pay their tithes and offerings to the church where they attend fellowship. While some Christian churches don't emphasize on tithing (instead focusing more on cheerful giving) but some still do. Tithing is viewed by some as an excellent source of discipline for one's income. It also shows how one loves God and that love increases with faith promises and love offerings. If the giving of tithes and offerings is done out of need than love for God then there won't be any blessing for that. God loves a cheerful not a frowning giver. A cheerful giver willingly gives 10% for the work of the LORD. That person may think that it's not be enough and may want to give more little by little to for the furtherance of the Gospel.
See also:
Tithing has been silent in the New Testament. I haven't read much about tithing being emphasized. Instead, we have the emphasis of the cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). It's amazing how some pseudo-Christian sects and some churches that's supposedly Christian (ex. some Baptist and Evangelical churches) have even gone as far as to monitor and chase their members for not tithing. While I do still believe in tithing is necessary to help maintain the local churches but no church should coerce the tithes out of their members.
Do you know that while you can never love without giving but you can give without loving? The Apostle Paul declared in 1 Corinthians 13:3 that he may give everything he has to the poor or give his body to be burned but it's meaningless without love. You can give all the tithes and offerings you want but it doesn't done out love for the LORD then it's nothing. It's just like how 1 Samuel 15:22-23 has Samuel warning Saul that obedience is better than sacrifice. Giving offerings without a loving heart is indeed an abomination to the LORD.
I want to go back to Genesis 4:1-15 where we read of Cain and Abel. Cain was the tiller of the ground. Abel was the keeper of the flock. There are many theories behind why Cain's offering was rejected and Abel's was accepted. I would believe that Abel brought his offerings out of love for the LORD. God warned Cain about his offering with about doing well and not doing well. This was the problem. Cain may have brought the best offering he could but it was done out of arrogance. Abel brought his best offering with a loving heart. Cain's arrogance would have been cause enough to reject his offering even if it were the best of his harvest.
Today, it's time to ask members on why do they pay their tithes and offerings to the church where they attend fellowship. While some Christian churches don't emphasize on tithing (instead focusing more on cheerful giving) but some still do. Tithing is viewed by some as an excellent source of discipline for one's income. It also shows how one loves God and that love increases with faith promises and love offerings. If the giving of tithes and offerings is done out of need than love for God then there won't be any blessing for that. God loves a cheerful not a frowning giver. A cheerful giver willingly gives 10% for the work of the LORD. That person may think that it's not be enough and may want to give more little by little to for the furtherance of the Gospel.
See also: