Tithing

I started writing this entry in October 2009. It has been languishing in the draft folder ...

"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 you will not have room enough for it." (Malachi 3:10)

I saw a brief exchange between two friends on facebook on the issue of tithing that specifically mentioned the verse. Both agreed that the verse had often been misinterpreted. Over the years, I have heard different interpretations depending on who made the discourse.

The first group of people are those who are struggling to give even 10%. These people think that 10% is not an absolute number because the verse is from the old testament. The other belongs to those who believe that 10% is actually the minimum requirement. They believe that 10% is what rightfully belong to God. If you tithed, you have not even begun with your giving. Still there are those who object to the verse because it insinuates a quid pro quo, an exchange between God and the believers. Others object to tithing that is seen as a lure to get God to open the floodgates of heaven. Or the other way round, some believers resent being enticed to tithe by a promise that heaven floodgate will be opened for them.

The one thing that Christians often forget is that by dying on the cross, Jesus has redeemed us. He bought us and the price is fully paid. "Jesus paid it all, [and now] all to him I owe," goes the lyric of a song and I agree with that. All we own belongs to God. This is the spirit by which we should interpret Malachi 3:10.