I was
taught by my parents to tithe. To
me tithing meant 10 percent of all that
I earned, before tax and any other
deductions.
The
scriptures used to back this up were
from Malachi 3:10
"Bring all the tithes into the
storehouse, That there may be food in My
house, and try Me now in this,"
Says the Lord of hosts, "If I will
not open for you the windows of heaven
and pour out for you such blessing that
there will not be room enough to receive
it".
I
followed this diligently, and dared not
rob God. I gave out of fear, that
God would punish me if I robbed him, but
I also new that the money was His in the
first place so 10% did not seem
that much.
God
blessed my giving, and opened the flood
gates on many occasions.
All the
way through varsity and my first three
years of work I applied the 10%
giving/tithing principle.
When I
moved to Piketberg, and started testing everything,
I realised (with God's help) that the
principle of tithing was part of the old
covenant, and that under the new covenant
I was not bound to tithe any specific
percentage, I was only to Love the Lord
my God and my neighbour.
Give more/give
less depending on what you have (2 Corinthians 8:13-14).
This is similar to the percentage,
except there is no percentage given,
just give more if you have more and give
less if you have less.
2 Corinthians 6-9
speaks of God loving a cheerful giver. It
also says “So
let each one give as he purposes in his
heart, not grudgingly or of necessity,
for God loves a cheerful giver.”
This changed my
understanding of giving and I realise
that I am not obligated to give, but
that my giving must come from a longing
to give because of my love for God.
I believe that
even though I gave to God for so many
years out of obligation, God knew that I
loved Him and He blessed my giving, by
caring for me and allowing me to prosper
both financially and spiritually.
Praise the Lord, He is good.
I have not
changed my giving amounts, since
realising why I am giving to God and His
Church. What has changed is the
reason for my giving.
I now give
because I love my Lord with all my
heart, mind and soul, and I have been
released from the obligation to
give. Praise the Lord!
Personal
prayer of thanks
"Thank you Lord for helping me to
understand this at this time in my life
so that I can Love You more and more,
and be set free from the law that binds
me and brings defeat."
Here is a daily
devotional that I received about exactly this topic