Post by Standing Firm in Christ on Aug 15, 2013 14:18:18 GMT -6
Pastors and spiritual leaders will often quote the latter half of Malachi 3:10 when exhorting their congregations to tithe, “Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
Without a doubt, I can testify that most Church members who respond positively to the pastor's message and "tithe" ten percent of their money to the Church never see those abundant blessings that are so large they don’t have enough room to receive it. While some may testify of certain blessings in their lives after tithing, can one say with absolute certainty that those blessings they have received are not so huge that "there shall not be room enough to receive it"? in all truth, most who "tithe" have a hard time living month to month on what they have. Many struggle to keep food on the table, clothes on the back, and provide for medical necessities.
If Malachi's exhortation is for the Christian today, why are so many that are "tithing" faithfully still struggling? They are proving God just as the pastor tells them to, yet only a minority of them actually see huge returns in any area of their lives; spiritually, emotionally or financially. Is it possible that it is because they are not actually tithing according to God's Law of tithing? (to the Levite and not to the Temple) It appears that those who are seeing the over-abundant blessings are the pastors and spiritual leaders who demand the tithes.
The fact is, the tithes God was speaking of in Malachi 3 were tithes of crops and livestock. They had nothing to do with money. And the blessings promised were not wealth, health, and prosperity. They were crops. God would cause the rain to fall so that the fields would once again produce wheat and other grain. He would rebuke the devourer (locusts) so that the crops could be harvested in abundant supply.
Malachi 3 was not about money at all, and the fact that most Christians who "tithe" their money struggle with financial needs each month proves that Malachi's command to tithe and the subsequent blessings for doing so proves that it is not a command to the Church.
Without a doubt, I can testify that most Church members who respond positively to the pastor's message and "tithe" ten percent of their money to the Church never see those abundant blessings that are so large they don’t have enough room to receive it. While some may testify of certain blessings in their lives after tithing, can one say with absolute certainty that those blessings they have received are not so huge that "there shall not be room enough to receive it"? in all truth, most who "tithe" have a hard time living month to month on what they have. Many struggle to keep food on the table, clothes on the back, and provide for medical necessities.
If Malachi's exhortation is for the Christian today, why are so many that are "tithing" faithfully still struggling? They are proving God just as the pastor tells them to, yet only a minority of them actually see huge returns in any area of their lives; spiritually, emotionally or financially. Is it possible that it is because they are not actually tithing according to God's Law of tithing? (to the Levite and not to the Temple) It appears that those who are seeing the over-abundant blessings are the pastors and spiritual leaders who demand the tithes.
The fact is, the tithes God was speaking of in Malachi 3 were tithes of crops and livestock. They had nothing to do with money. And the blessings promised were not wealth, health, and prosperity. They were crops. God would cause the rain to fall so that the fields would once again produce wheat and other grain. He would rebuke the devourer (locusts) so that the crops could be harvested in abundant supply.
Malachi 3 was not about money at all, and the fact that most Christians who "tithe" their money struggle with financial needs each month proves that Malachi's command to tithe and the subsequent blessings for doing so proves that it is not a command to the Church.