What’s the most important thing to you? We see the way our culture encourages us to store up treasures on earth and exalts materialism to the point where debt has become acceptable. We can probably even recognize that truth by looking at our own checkbooks. As Christ-followers, however, we are called to free ourselves from the bondage of debt so that our resources are available for His purposes.
Long before tithing was a practice of the Israelite people, Cain and Abel, the 2nd generation of the human race, brought an offering to the Lord. Abel brought the “firstborn of his flock,” while Cain brought “some of the fruits of the soil.” The Lord blessed Abel’s offering, but rejected Cain’s. God wants to be first in our lives.
The 1st Century church modeled for us what it means to give generously and joyfully so that more and more people could find their way back to God.
God uses the tithe as an investment where everyone involved gets a return. If we are blessed beyond our needs, it is not for the purpose of living more lavishly but to bless others. The church and the kingdom are blessed, and yet God’s nature is to also bless the giver.