Midweek Devotion By Gregory Harewood

Throughout scripture, we are encouraged to give the first part of our resources to God as an expression of honor and gratitude. “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine. (Proverbs 3: 9-10) One way to give our first fruits is to provide a tithe or the first 10% of your income.

Tithing is mentioned throughout the Old Testament particularly when God commissioned the first tribe of Levi to serve as priests in the Tabernacle providing spiritual leadership for the people of Israel. It's the tribe of Levi that was given these two unique responsibilities. God did not assign them a portion of land as he did to the other tribes but instead, he instructed the rest of the Israelites to bring tithes of their increase to provide for the priest and Levites. (Numbers 18)

In the New Testament Jesus affirmed the practice of tithing along with social principles of the Christian life. In Matthew 23:23 Jesus admonished the scribes and Pharisees. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”

Jesus was saying that tithing was an important aspect of our Christian walk. He pointed out that the scribes and Pharisees emphasized one area of the law at the expense of another. Similarly, we can become so preoccupied with external rules and regulations in the church that it causes us to forget or misplace the principles behind them. Sometimes we act on compulsion, overlooking the moral responsibility of sharing, and faith-building.

The Apostle Paul hit the nail on its head in 2 Corinthians 9:6 “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God can make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”

These thoughts must take us back to Malachi’s conclusion: “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me!” Tithing is one way to worship God, to know Him as our provider, and to remind ourselves that all our resources are provided through His grace. When we give back that off-the-top ten percent of our income, we set the course for ourselves in a time-honored mandated tradition that honors God and sets us on course to experience an increase in the growth and management of the remainder of our incomes and financial obligations.

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, in his Sermon #50 titled “The Use of Money” lays out the foundation of teaching regarding money in the United Methodist Church. According to Wesley, Methodists should strive to: “Gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” Often Christians are great at gaining and saving all they can, but the giving factor is left out of the equation. Tithing is an act of sacrificial worship. It’s not always easy to give, but giving provides others with more opportunities which will further the Kingdom of God on Earth.

The United Methodist Church encourages members to give tithes as a benchmark for generosity. However, it also motivates them to go beyond ten percent. Tithing is not a rule, but a revelation that a generous life is the best way to live. It's a way to acknowledge that God is the source of all gifts.
 
Mission: Let us enter into a prayerful discourse that leads us into the full spiritual arc of God’s grace by developing a faith that matches that of the widow who gave two mites in the box at the temple gate.