My focus over the next several posts in this teaching series will be on faithfulness in tithing. Over the years in my work as a minister, I’ve received a lot of complaints from Christians – both those in my ministry and those from other churches – concerning this issue of faithfulness in tithing.

The complaint usually takes this form: I’ve been faithful in paying my tithe, but I don’t see the blessings of God in my life. God has not been blessing me, despite my faithfulness in paying tithe.

Usually, my response to such folks – and to you if you are in this category – is this:
Really?
Have you truly been faithful in giving your tithe to God, or are you claiming faithfulness?

It is one thing to be faithful, it’s another thing to claim to be faithful; they’re not the same. The fact that you claim to be faithful does not mean that you’re faithful. Unfortunately, talk is cheap. I usually tell such people, “No Sir, no Ma, you’ve not been faithful to God. It’s a claim, but it’s not a fact. You claim to be faithful but you’ve not been faithful, and that is why you complain.”

By the way, if you claim to be faithful to God, and then accuse God of not blessing you, you’re actually leveling a false accusation against God.

Faithfulness in tithing means that you’ve always done it cheerfully, under all circumstances, and according to God’s word. You’ve always given a tithe of all under all circumstances, cheerfully, and according to God’s word. If you’ve done that, then you cannot say that God is not faithful.

However, the truth of the matter is that most Christians are not truly faithful in tithing. In fact recently, a survey was conducted in the United States – that’s some place where they keep track of these things. In that survey, they found out that less than 8% of churchgoers regularly pay their tithe. And they said that by regularly they don’t mean 100% of the time.

Check yourself; can you confidently say that you’ve been faithful in giving God a tithe of all cheerfully, under all circumstances, and according to God’s word? If the answer is yes, then you won’t be complaining that God is not faithful.

Memory Verse:
Malachi 3: 13-14
“You have said harsh things against me,” says the Lord. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we said against you?’ You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out His requirements…?’”

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, please give me a heart that will be faithful in giving You a tithe of all, cheerfully, in all circumstances, and according to Your word, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.