by Here is an interesting email our good friend Donnie “Sax” Sanders received through his website. The woman was wrestling with the question of tithing on her gross income, which she didn’t feel she could afford. Here is Donnie’s response:
The answer is in God’s willingness to bless us, because of our decision to be faithful and budgeting our lives in our weekly blessings (God’s ten percent and your ninety percent). You are to give to God the first ten percent of your income, the first fruits and putting His kingdom first (Proverbs 3:9-10; Matthew 6:33). Ten percent is the Lord’s portion and yours is ninety. This is a covenant between you and Him.
God who has the power to cause us to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18) and He is the one who sends you the total sum weekly. He is actually trusting you to invest His portion (ten percent – the tithe) into His kingdom and the spreading of His Word. He gives you ninety percent of the total, right? Why not trust Him to cause your total to get even bigger (greater), because He sees He can trust you and that you are faithful? He said, “Try me and see if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing greater than you can receive” (Malachi 3:8-10). You will quickly find out the ninety percent constantly increases and is much better than the one hundred percent of your total.
The enemy wants to cheat you out of a blessing. He tells you, you can’t afford to pay a tenth (tithe). He is a liar. You can’t afford not to. Your tithe is your seed to invest into God’s vineyard. It’s really for your sake, to learn to trust God. Believe me – God doesn’t fail! He always keeps His Word and promises (Lamentations 3:22-23; 2 Corinthians 1:20; Hebrews 6:18).
When you keep your word and fulfill your end of the covenant, you are opening the door to allow Him to keep His Word and promise to you. This is how partnership in the gospel works, by being faithful to each other. We are talking about being faithful to God and Christ. It is the perfect formula for success. Try it – put Him first, then sit back and watch Him be the God of His Word that He says He is.
By the way, Get excited! When you give, give cheerfully, knowing that in your heart, you have just said, “I love and trust you Lord. I want to bless you and keep my covenant with you. I am excited about pleasing you. I know you love a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).
It’s fresh to see a real debate online and not every one just concurring with the writer for a change.