5. Study the Word
Slide 5 of 5
Malachi 3:9-10 is the best example of what it means to demonstrate God’s goodness to you by giving the best of everything you have earned back to God: In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. 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 there will not be room enough to store it.”
Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” God loves a cheerful giver. When you don’t feel like giving, give anyway. It will help you become less selfish and more others-centered. Just because you don’t feel cheerful about giving doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. It simply means God doesn’t want money you are reluctant to give him. It is the same with your relationship with him. He is not interested in having a relationship with someone who only wants to get to heaven. He wants people who want him, and he will come and have fellowship with them—a relationship with those who want him back. Teach your kids to give money because you know he will provide for you in miraculous ways, not because Scripture simply says so or because someone tells you to do it.
Tithing, like every other spiritual discipline, is one that my regular practice and a good understanding of Scripture will become part of your weekly routine when it comes to your money. Be a family that practices all the tenets of the faith, not just some. This includes tithing. Be a family that gives your money away and gets on their knees to ask the Lord for their daily bread, rather than a miser who withholds their money because of their lack of faith.
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