Blessed Be the Tithe That Binds

¹²        What shall I render to the Lord

          For all His benefits toward me?

¹³        I will take up the cup of salvation,

          And call upon the name of the Lord.

¹⁴        I will pay my vows to the Lord

          Now in the presence of all His people.

―Psalm 116:12-14

I am blessed to be the pastor of church of tithers. Sometimes people think the pastor is worried about the finances for personal reasons, but a faithful pastor is concerned about the giving because it’s a matter of faithfulness and righteousness. It’s an indication of whether people are trusting God or something else. And, as I pointed out in the last post, it also speaks to who the true authority is and who is due tribute. The person or thing that we give our tithes to is the one we look to for our blessings [happiness]. When we tithe to the Lord, we acknowledged that He is the giver of all good gifts and that we trust Him to take care of us.

Since God requires the tithe, we are therefore bound to do so. Most of us have taken church vows that publicly declared before God and His people that they could count on us to be faithful and obedient in this area of our spiritual lives. Moreover, like many other parts of our walk with God, tithing is connected to all the other aspects of our spiritual lives. Disobedience in this area is an indication of a lack of faith in God as well as a lack of gratitude for all His benefits and for salvation itself. Jesus reminded us that God gives far more that we ever could: “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38).