08.13. Does Tithing Pay?
13. DOES TITHING PAY? A question often raised by Christians in their hearts, if not on their lips, is, "Does tithing pay?"
I would answer, "Yes." If one tithes in the right spirit, if one tithes because tithing is taught in the Scriptures, if one tithes because he loves God and because it is right, I believe it pays. It will pay spiritually and it will pay materially. You say, "I know people who faithfully pay the tithe who do not prosper." Probably so, but it was not because they tithed. You may have known people who lost all they had who were tithers, but they did not lose it because they tithed. No one ever lost anything by being honest and paying the tenth to God.
Thousands Testify
While you may find a few that were faithful tithers that failed to prosper, that lost all they had, yet on the other hand you can find hundreds, yes, thousands, who will testify that God has blessed them materially since they started tithing. They attribute their prosperity to the fact that they were faithful in paying their tithe.
Jesus said, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over" (Luke 6:38).
A War Veteran
There was a young couple with two small children. He was a cripple from the war. His government check was very small. It was hardly enough to keep the wolf from the door. The little house in which they lived was not their own and it was poorly furnished. They picked cotton and worked at any kind of manual labor they could find to help supplement this government check.
One day the wife was reading the Bible and came across some scriptures on tithing. I assume it was this third chapter of Malachi. Anyway, reading it, she was convinced that this was God’s plan. When the husband came home that night they read it together and, though it seemed impossible, they decided they would tithe.
She said: "To take a tenth of our government check when it came seemed like taking bread from the mouths of my children but we were faithful and, though we are not church folks, we believed that it was God’s plan."
"Three years have gone by, and now we can dress our children so we are not ashamed of them when they go to school. We have better furniture and rugs on our floor. We have a tractor, a wagon, a team, a nice flock of chickens, and some cows for milk."
Then she said, "You ask me, ’Does it pay to tithe?’ We have proved that it does pay." "Prove me ... if I will not ... pour you out a blessing."
The Hailstorm A very dear layman friend of mine, a good Christian and a strict tither, when he was first married bought a ten-acre orchard.
One day while in one of his trees shortly before the gathering of the crop, he noticed what seemed to be a storm coming. He climbed down and got on his knees at the foot of the tree and promised God that, if He would protect his orchard from the hailstorm that seemed on its way, he would pay Him two-tenths of all he made, no matter how much it was.
The hailstorm came on and badly damaged the orchards on all four sides of the ten acres, but his orchard was spared. He made the greatest crop that year that he had ever made in his life, and all over the community people talked about his orchard and how his crop was spared.
You say, "Oh! that just happened." Maybe so, but it happened to a man who paid his tithe. It happened to a man who had just promised God that if He would spare his crop he would pay Him two tithes. It fulfilled the scripture in the lesson of Malachi 3:11, "I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes."
Ask my friend and he will tell you why his crop was spared. It was spared because he promised God that he would pay Him two tithes.
Dangerous Not to Tithe
Over against my friend whose orchard was spared when he promised God he would pay two tithes, a minister friend of mine tells the story of one of his members who was a merchant in a small way. He had been a faithful tither and one who gave offerings during special meetings.
Shortly before a revival began the minister went down to his place of business and noticed the man seemed very nervous as he talked to him and finally asked him about his gift for the coming revival. The merchant said: "No! It is time some of the other people around the church paid some of the bills. I am tired of giving to the church. I am tired of giving to the district and I am not doing it any more. I am not paying my tithe. I am going to enjoy my money."
He pointed to a beautiful car parked at the curb and said, "Do you see that? It is mine. It is paid for. There is not a penny against it." Probably the fact that he paid cash is why no insurance was taken out. Anyway, the pastor went away grieved.
A little while after he left, the man went out and got into his car to enjoy some of the things that he had made. It was only a short while until there was a terrible wreck. The car was completely demolished beyond repair, and not a penny of insurance. The man himself was badly crushed and taken to the hospital, where he remained for six months.
When he regained consciousness and could talk, he said to his pastor: "I have paid an awful price for this lesson but, if God gives me back my strength, I will pay Him one dime out of every dollar I make as long as I live, and I will give offerings besides."
Again someone says: "Oh! it just happened. There are thousands of automobile wrecks every year and many of them involve good Christian people. What you tell about this man just happened." Probably so, but it happened to a man who had just backed down on light and refused to pay his tithe. You can’t afford not to tithe.
Yes, it pays to tithe. It always pays to walk in the light, to obey God, and to follow the teaching of the Word. It pays off in satisfaction, a good conscience, and in that blessing which He promised through the prophet Malachi.
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THE END