“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Mal. 3:10 KJV).
We all want the blessings of God to pour out upon us. “Just pour it on me Lord,” we say. Then we want to reason with God in the area of doing our part to receive the blessing – tithing.
There’s no point asking God about something that He’s already made clear. For example, you don’t have to pray about whether or not to pay your tithe, because it is already written in the Bible as a command to you.
When we talk about tithing, we are talking about obeying God. The key to walking in the blessings of God is to have a lifestyle of obedience. You can’t say, “Well, I was obedient one time.” No, obedience has to be a consistent way of life. There is no such thing as partial obedience. Partial obedience is disobedience. You can’t be half way obedient.
When my wife and I first began our Christian walk, we didn’t have enough money to tithe and pay our bills. So we had to decide whether or not we were going to obey God. We decided to tithe despite what the circumstances were. We didn’t always understand how things were going to work out, but we were tremendously blessed, and still are, because of our obedience.
Obedience is a decision. For example, in our marriage, my wife and I agreed early on that divorce was not an option. No, everything wasn’t always rosy with us. But I tell you, the decision to obey God puts you in position to get the blessings of God.
But without the decision, you will yield to the flesh. A decision of quality must be made to obey God in everything you do. To obey God’s Word is simple because it’s God’s Word, and that’s enough.
You have to be obedient to the Word of God. When you find out about what the Bible says about tithing, you need to be honest enough and courageous enough to obey the Word. It may not be comfortable at times but God is big enough to take care of all you needs and desires. Obey Him today!
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Keith Butler has been an ordained minister since 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds diplomas from Canada Christian College and Rhema Bible Training Center.
He serves in ministry with the support of his lovely wife, Pastor Deborah L. Butler, and their children: Pastor Andre Butler (granddaughters Alexis, Angela, and April), Pastor MiChelle Ferguson and husband Pastor Lee (grandson Lucas), and Minister Kristina Jenkins and husband Pastor Joel (grandsons Andrew and Austin, and granddaughter Alyssa).