Text: Proverbs 3vv9-10 "Honour the Lord with your substance, and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine."
I was once a mathematician. So let's play some number games and test out your simple arithmetic.
Eg. 1: Pick a 3 digit number, XYZ
Eg. 2: Take the number of your house; multiply it by 2; add 50; divide by 4; subtract 7; take away half the number you first thought of = 5.5
Eg. 3: Take your weekly income (or a quarter of your monthly income if you get paid monthly) - or your pension etc.; divide it by 10. [Pick up collection plate.] That's the amount you should have put on this plate. If you put on more - that's fine, you're blessing God with a freewill offering; if you put in less, you're robbing God.
[Read Malachi 3vv6-12]
I find it amazing. No doubt you're as perplexed by this as me. I've discovered that there are some people - who from other indications are quite serious about wanting to be Christians - but who do not tithe their income.
Suddenly a great hush falls on the whole congregation as they realize they're not going to enjoy this sermon after all. It is the dubious privilege of preachers to tell people what is actually true - and what they probably already know for themselves - yet get themselves disliked for doing so. "The Perfect Minister", as the parody goes, "condemns sin, but never upsets anyone". You'll know, by now, that that's not me.
A great hush falls on the whole congregation, that is, except those who tithe their income... those who have got this area of their life sorted out with Him... those who are already honouring Him with their money, rather than stealing from Him. And those people are sitting rejoicing, hugging themselves secretly, because the whole subject area of God and money is a reason for joy in their lives, because their money is subordinate to their God. The ones who are feeling edgy and uncomfortable and, yes, even angry with the preacher, are the ones who are trying to subordinate their God to their money.
Which group are you in? The secret huggers, the rejoicing tithers - or the uncomfortable non-tithers who put food, rent and petrol more important than honouring God. Don't tell me it can't be done - that you can't afford to give God one-tenth of your incomings. No! You won't be able to afford it, all the time you're robbing God, because He won't bless you. In Luke 6v38 Jesus says, "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back."
Just try it. Decide to give God a 6-month trial; put Him uncompromisingly top of the claims on your money. Be prepared to walk instead of drive; to make fewer phone calls; to buy less junk food if necessary - and so prove to yourself - and to God - that He really is the most important thing in your life, that you have no idols before Him.
Because if you're not prepared to do that, then whatever you spend the money on which you should be giving to God IS YOUR GOD. It's amazing to me how people who say they can't afford to tithe, nevertheless manage to drive, watch videos, go on holiday and smoke cigarettes. (This is a general sermon, being preached in several churches - so I don't have you in mind; but if the cap fits, then please wear it.) Do you really mean to have your car, your telephone, your food - as your gods??
And when you do put God uncompromisingly at the top of the claims on your money, then you experience two things:
1. The unutterable joy/relief/unburdening of casting down the idols from God's throne, andThe good news is: God's got plenty of money - lots of it. The bad news is: it's in your pocket. This is when the Covenant phrase "I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal" starts to have teeth.
2. God's amazing ability to bless and provide for His obedient children.
So let's review the arithmetic again: if you're earning £12,000 a year then your tithe is £1200 (a year); if your pension is £45 a week, then your tithe is £4.50. If you earn £400,000 a year then, with your £40,000, the church could have a new roof. If you need to ask the question, "Should I tithe my income before or after tax?" then you haven't got into the spirit of the thing. You see, your tithe is not your freewill offering. The tithe is the basic, the requirement. If you put 10%, one-tenth, of your incomings, on the plate, you're not giving a freewill offering. If you put 13% on the plate, you're giving a freewill offering of 3%. If you only put in 5% then you're robbing God by 5%. Every week. You're a serial robber(!)
Someone will ask, "Do I have to give all my tithe to the Church? What about other charities?" It doesn't give us the answer in Scripture, but I would say, "Yes, if it is explicitly a Christian charity", such as Tear Fund or Christian Aid. Otherwise you're not actually giving it to God - you're giving it to someone else. How would you like it if, suppose I owed you £100, and I came to you and said, "That £100, I don't owe you it anymore because I've given it to the Kidney Unit." I guess you wouldn't like that: you'd expect me to give it to you, since it was due to you.
"Well," you say; "all this stuff about tithes is in the Old Testament. But we're Christians - we're under a dispensation of grace, not of law." Dead right. In the Old Testament they were under the law. And if God expected 10% of their goodies in the OT, when all He'd done was give them some laws to keep - how much more does He expect now that He's given us His Son, forgiven all we've ever done wrong, and incorporated us into His personal family?
Give; give; give freely. Let God have what is His. And just see how He blesses His obedient children.
AMEN