How And When To Pay Tithes

Money matters are serious matters. Money must be handled with care. Most of the wars fought by nations over generations have been mainly because of resources. Money represents resources and therefore anybody handling it should handle it with care.

Banks employ highly educated people with high moral standards to handle customer’s money. Procedures and systems in a bank are very elaborate to ensure the safety of every coin deposited there.

The Bibles recognizes that money is important and therefore need to be handled with care. The scripture says “..but money answereth all things.” Ecclesiastes 10:19

If you are working for a bank or any other financial institution, you must strictly follow the laid down procedure while handling monies passing through your hands. Likewise, there is the right way prescribed in the scriptures for the payment of tithes. Paying tithes is a form of worship to God.

The book of Deuteronomy has various scriptures that clearly demonstrate to us how we need to prepare and present our tithes.

And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein; That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there. And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us. And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God. (Deuteronomy 26:1 -4)

From these four scriptures, we capture the following things.

1.     Tithe is paid as first fruit.
You give it priority over other things.

2.     Tithe is paid at a chosen place.
The place is chosen by God. You don’t pay just about anywhere.

3.     Tithe is payable by those who have been given an inheritance and a possession by God.
You don’t pay tithes from what you don’t have.

4.     Tithe is paid to God through the priest.
The person receiving the tithe is receiving it on behalf of God and must be an ordained priest.

Reading further in the same chapter of Deuteronomy, we get more insights.

And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression: And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey (Deuteronomy 26:5 – 9)

In the above scriptures we discover the following:

1.     Tithing gives us an opportunity to speak to God

2.     Tithing is an act of appreciation to God.
We pay tithes to appreciate God for delivering us from our past and for giving us the things we are enjoying. We remind ourselves of the things God has done for us.

The scriptures further down reveal to us that tithing is a form of worship.

“And now, behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God: And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you” (Deuteronomy 26:10 -11)

Verse 15 in the same chapter indicates that tithing is a prayer for more blessing.

“Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey” (Deuteronomy 26:15)

Verses 18 and 19 reveal to us the benefits of tithing. God singles out the tithe paying Christians and make them peculiar persons and blesses them high above other people.

“And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken” (Deuteronomy 26:18 – 19)

It is your turn to experience a turn around. It is your turn to be separated from the rest. It is your turn to be highly blessed above all the people around you.

ANONYMITY IN TITHE PAYMENT

Payment of tithe is not an anonymous affair. There is a group of people in church who do not want their identity to be known in money matters. They drop their tithes secretly, without marking it, and never say anything about it to anybody. Friends, this is the wrong way of doing it.

The scriptures in Deuteronomy 26 verses 2 to 4 give us insight on the matter.

That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there. And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us. And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God (Deuteronomy 26:2 – 4)

You are expected to go to the sanctuary and present the tithe to the priest. The priest is to take the tithe from your hands. In our days in which most people earn salaries or profits, you put your tithes in an envelope and present it to the priest (Our Lord Jesus Christ) in prayer in the church and drop it in the offering busket, or the tithe box. You do not drop it without marking it. In the Old Testament they did not have to mark it because the priest took it from their hands directly.

WORSHIP WITH TITHES

While in the church, before you drop your tithe envelope into the offering basket or box, remember to be thankful to the Lord for giving you a new life and bringing you into the kingdom of His dear Son – the lord Jesus Christ. Be appreciative; be glad that you even have the opportunity to bless the Lord back with your tithes.

It is also important to speak over your tithe and praise the lord with a dance before dropping it in the offering basket.  I actually recommend dancing with your tithes together with your family at home before you bring them to the church.

Tithe paying day is a day to remember how good God has been to you, how you were lost, and God through the Lord Jesus Christ brought salvation to you. Take note also that each time you are paying your tithe, you have to ask God for His blessing upon the land where you are and to keep blessing the work of your hands.

BRING ALL THE TITHES

If you properly understand the motive behind the payment of tithes, it will help you iron out so many malpractices that exist today among some tithe payers.

For instance, there are those who divide their tithes into four parts and drop one part each Sunday in church. By the end of the month, they figure they would have finished paying the whole of the tithe. This is not right. The tithe is not a normal offering. There is a different between tithes and offering. Let me remind you here what the scripture says:

Bring ye ALL the tithes(the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove 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 (Malachi 3:10)(Emphasis mine)

It is all, the (whole lot) of tithes that must be paid once. You are not permitted to divide it. You cannot pay your tithes by installments. Pay it all at once.

This also answers the question of those that have more than one place of worship. Tithes are not divided to be distributed to more than one church. There are those who belong to one church and attend a fellowship somewhere else. Such people are not supposed to divide the tithe into portions, to give one portion to their church and the other portion to the other fellowship. Tithes must be paid in one place; where you are taking your spiritual nourishment. You pay your tithes where you are being feed spiritually. You can however, give offerings and other donations to other fellowships but not tithes.

WHEN IS THE TITHES DUE?

Tithe is due when you receive your income. If you are a monthly salary earner, you pay the tithe at the end of the month; if you are a self employed trader the tithes are due at the end o each trading cycle. So it could be monthly weekly or even daily if you are a daily wage earner.

To the daily wage earner, I suggest that you separate your tithe daily and keep it in a safe place and pay it over to the church on a weekly basis. It will save you the trouble of having to go to the church daily. You are not in bondage in the payment of tithes. Remember, God is watching your heart not the “anise and the cummin”(Matthew 23:23)

RECORD KEEPING

God keeps records.

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.(Revelation 20:12)

God has a book with records inside. If God keeps records, we should also keep a record of our tithes. There are many advantages of keeping tithe records but one major one is being able to lift the records to God when you are making special prayers. Any time devourers want to strike, you lift up your records as Moses lifted up his rod to win battles (Exodus 17:9)

Your records will make you bold while approaching the throne of grace in prayers.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16)

I highly recommend getting and using a tithe booklet to enhance your record keeping.  If your Church does not print tithe booklets, I suggest you talk to your pastor and recommend to him the need to have tithe booklets.