(Mal 3:10 NKJV) Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
We had several people ask us questions about yesterday’s Bible Verse of The Day on tithing, so we wanted to address them here, just in case anyone else might have had the same questions but didn’t write to ask us.
Here are the questions that were asked:
1 – Who should we tithe to if we don’t have a church?
2 – Does the 10% have to be to the church only or can part be to other causes?
3 – Does your tithe need to be given in the church or anywhere? Maybe to someone on the street?
Below are our answers:
If you attend a local church regularly and consider it your “home church” your tithe should be given there. If, however, you don’t have a home church your tithe should be sown into whatever ministry “feeds” you on a regular basis.
For example, if there is a Christian ministry that gives you spiritual food and nourishment regularly and you look to their teaching as your source of godly inspiration, understanding and knowledge, you should sow into that ministry.
Giving your 10% to a non-Christian organization is not considered a tithe. God tells us specifically in Malachi to bring your tithes into the “storehouse”, which is God’s way of saying to “bring it into the place that feeds you”.
Regarding giving it to someone on the street; while this is honorable, it can also be dangerous. Not so much from a standpoint of physical harm to you, but that you never know where that money ends up. The person you give it to might very well need help, but then again they might be a regular panhandler who makes their living by collecting money from people on the streets. Or they could be a drug addict who will take your money and go buy their next fix.
There is a fine line between helping people and hurting people when we give to random people who are begging for money. Some of these people are more than able to work, but they “work” by spending their days on the street asking people to give them money. That might come across as harsh when you first read it, but we have learned a lot about this kind of thing over the years.
The important thing to remember in all of this is that God gives us His word and he gives us certain things that we are supposed to do. These are not optional, even though we sometimes treat them as though they are. Tithing is one of those things.
We know that this isn’t always a popular teaching, but that’s OK because we’re not in this to win any popularity contests. We’re in it to teach the word of God in an uncompromising way, with the love and compassion of God.
Don’t neglect your tithe. It’s very important.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-377-5400
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