Giving God Your Best Not the Rest

by The Rev. Matt Kennedy

The Church of the Good Shepherd

Contrary to popular belief, tithing isnot a topic that preachers enjoy. It plays into the stereotype that the church only wants your money. False teachers focus on tithing because they know the fastest way to get rich is to tell people that Jesus wants their cash. Others focus on money because they truly believe that God wants everyone to be wealthy and healthy and if you're not, they'll say, then you don't have enough faith. If you want a Mercedes, name it, claim it in Jesus' name, and then wait for God to bring it. Name it, claim it, and its yours. That is, of course, so long as you send a check. You send 200 dollars God will give you 2000 Dollars. This ‘prosperity gospel' is a serious distortion of the Word of God. Jesus never says “give to get.” He says give because God has given to you. Give for the love and the glory of God. And while God doesn't promise profit, he does promise to provide.

  For the last 3 years, Chris Jones has pushed me to preach on tithing. I've ducked it each year. I didn't want to play into the stereotypes and, frankly, I hate talking about money. But we've been together for 4 years. You know me. The time has come.

Before getting started, let me address two common misperceptions. The first has to do with the well known stewardship slogan: Stewardship means giving your “time, talent and treasure.” That's very biblical. Notice it does not say, “give your time talent OR treasure.” God provides all three so the biblical model is to tithe all three. What if God decided to give us time talent or treasure? “I've got lots of treasure to give you this year Matt but no time. I'm gonna have to take you out. God graciously provides time, talent, and treasure. Out of gratitude, we offer him the same.

 Second, biblically speaking, the tithe is not something to be distributed among a wide range of charities. The tithe is specifically designed by God for the building of the Kingdom. From the very beginning of the NT Church believers were called to bring tithes and offerings to the leaders of the church who would distribute them wisely and charitably in accordance with the Word of God. It is great to give to charity, but biblically speaking that's not a true tithe. A tithe is specifically for the Church, for the building the kingdom.

So let's dig into the scriptures. What it is a tithe and why it is important.

  Let's start in Genesis 4:2-7:

“Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.” (Genesis 4:2-4)

Why is God pleased with Abel's offering and not Cain's? Look closely. Cain brought “some” of the fruits of the soil. Abel brought the “fat” portion of the “first-born” from his flock. Abel gave God his best. Cain gave his leftovers.

If you wait till the end of the month and give God whatever you can afford after everything else, that's giving God leftovers. Abel trusted that God would provide so he gave his first and best freely. Cain did not trust God to provide so he provided for himself first and then gave to God. The author of Hebrews says that those who have faith do what Abel did. They give their first and best. They set aside their treasure before paying taxes and bills. They set aside time for worship and bible study first and schedule everything else around that time. It's not I'll make it if there's not a soccer game or a sit-com I want to watch or whatever else. That's giving God your leftovers. The same goes for service. Commit to a ministry in the church and make that commitment sacred. If you've volunteered to mop the floors, you're mopping for God. Stewardship of time talent and treasure is the manifestation of your faith. You give the first and best to God, even when you don't think you have the resources, trusting that the God who promises to provide will provide. And he does. I'm never more broke, more rushed, and more overworked then when I don't tithe my time talent and treasure.

Now let's turn to Deuteronomy 14:22-29. “Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always…Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice….” (Deuteronomy 14:22-23, 26b-7)

 Here's where we learn that a tithe is a tenth. Note that Israelites were to eat their tenth in the presence of the Lord. The tithe is not a bill. It's designed to deepen your fellowship with God. God invites his people to enjoy the fruits of his provision and blessing in his presence. “Eat it there in the presence of the Lord and rejoice!” Do you rejoice when you put your offering into the plate? Do you enjoy your time at worship and bible study? Do you enjoy your reading or acolyting? You should because when you give time, talent, and treasure to the church it's as if you're laying it at the feet of Jesus Christ himself. You are saying: Jesus I want to enjoy the best portion of my time, talent and treasure with you.

  Let's turn to Malachi 3:8-12:

""Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.”

Everything we have and enjoy is a free gift directly from God. Investing none of it to build the kingdom of God or giving only the leftovers is, in his eyes, a form or robbery.  And there's a cost. How many believers worry about money or time or having enough energy to get through the day? That's not the way God wants you to live and God has promised to make provision so that you don't have to. After I started living on my own, I worried alot about paying bills, and having enough. That worry was new. I never had it living at home. I was so worried about these things I didn't tithe the first 6 years of my Christian life. I didn't have the money. I never went to a bible study. I didn't have time. And if something came up, I didn't go to church. And I was the poorest, most overstretched, tired Christian on the block. That's the “curse”. Anne and I started tithing after seminary with fear and trembling. Ten percent off the top of an already overextended budget should have killed us. And we did make sacrifices, and we still do, but since we started tithing, money has never been a problem. I worry about a lot of things, but never money. It drives Anne crazy. But since we started tithing we've always been able pay our bills and have money left over to enjoy...That's in keeping with God's promise in Malachi:  

 “Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it…Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:6-12)”

  This promise also applies to your time and talent. Once I made it a bedrock commitment to pray and read my bible no matter what, to go to bible study no matter what, to go to church no matter what, I suddenly found that I had all sorts of time. Once I made it a commitment to pour out the best of my efforts for the church, I found I had a lot more energy than ever before. I get stressed and worked up and anxious when I falter in one of those commitments. You give God your first and your best, and God opens the floodgates. You don't you'll always be worried about money, overstretched for time and tired.

So a tithe: 1. comes from the first fruits or the gross of your time, income, and talent. 2. in monetary terms it's ten percent. And 3. If you tithe your time talent and treasure God promises to provide all three in abundance.

Tithing is one of the most difficult and profound steps of faith a believer can make. If you're not there yet, don't feel like less of a Christian. I don't know who tithes and who doesn't. I don't ask. That's between you and God. But I do know that it's brought joy and blessing to my life because it forced me to change my priorities. God doesn't call for a tithe because he's short on cash. He doesn't need anything from us. He calls for a tithe because he knows that left to ourselves we'd put everything else in the world, money, schedules, sports, classes, careers, before him and he knows that when we do that, we're not living in accordance with the way he designed us to live and so our lives spin out of control. God doesn't need your money. He wants your heart.

“As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.

"I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." (Luke 21:1-4)

  This widow gave everything because compared to Him her money meant nothing. She knew that God would provide. Her heart was on the Lord. He wants to build that same trust into your heart. 

  The best way to build up toward a tithe is to start small. Make a commitment of your first fruits like Abel did. If ten percent is too much, start with 2 or 3 and take it from the gross. Commit to Church every Sunday and a Bible study every week. Find a ministry and commit to it. As you do it you'll, maybe for the first time, experience God's direct providence. You'll have what you need when you need it. That's his promise and as you see that his word and promise is true, your faith will increase and you'll be able to give more and more as God pours his blessings into your life.

Amen

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