by Dan Hiland

Created on: September 17, 2009   Last Updated: September 18, 2009

The ancient law of Tithing, specifically mentioned in the Old Testament book of Malachi, is a principle with promise. By asking His children to pay tithing, God is offering us yet another avenue through which He may bless and protect us.

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and provide me now, herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it" (Mal. 3:10).

The Lord then goes on to say that He "will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruit of your ground..." (Mal. 3:11).

The Lord is offering both blessings of prosperity and protection to those willing to trust in Him.

The simple definition of tithing is the payment of 10% of all your income to the church to which you belong.

If you make $10,000 a year, you pay $1,000. If you make $100,000 a year, you pay $10,000 in tithes. If you don't have an income, you don't pay anything.

This is how I pay tithing: Say I make $2000 a month at my job. I get paid $500 every Friday. I pay $50 from that paycheck for tithing. If I do that each week for each paycheck, by the end of the month I've paid $200 in tithing. I have kept the law of tithing.

Some people pay all their tithing in one lump sum at the end of the year. Others pay quarterly. I don't know how they do it, but they do. I prefer to pay a couple times a month. It's easier. That being said, though, the number of times you pay tithing isn't important- it's only required that you pay 10%.

As to concerns about confidentiality, your donation should be placed in an envelope and then given to your church leader. The amount you pay will only be known to that leader and the person handling the financial affairs of your congregation. Once they have collected all the donations on any given Sabbath day, they will then sit down in a locked room and count all the donations, then enter the amounts in the computer (or a ledger), then either e-mail that information to their church headquarters or send a letter with donation totals included.

Then they will head to the bank with the donations, where they are deposited. (I used to do this, so I know.)

These men are required by church policy to keep all financial information, including how much you pay in tithing, strictly confidential. It's really only between you and the Lord, with the church leader there to counsel you about any concerns you have about paying tithing. No one else in the congregation should or will ever know how much you pay.

The bottom line on tithing, though, has to do with how much we are blessed by paying it. If tithing is new to you, you will only gain a testimony of it in one way- by actually paying it. The scriptures say to "Try me and see".

The Lord is constantly asking us to take a leap of faith and experiment upon His words, and He will open the windows of Heaven to us.

It isn't because He needs the money. It's because He loves his children and takes every opportunity possible to bless us.

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