WHAT IS TITHE?
Tithe simply means one-tenth or ten percent of material possessions. The first mention of it in the entire Bible is in Genesis 14:20 and the first person to do it is the father of faith himself: Abraham. Abraham (Who was known as Abram at this time) gave a tenth of all the possessions he acquired after defeating kings whom he took on in battle to a rather strange King called Melchizedek. King Melchizedek blessed Abram upon meeting him and Abram gave him ten percent of all he had taken in battle.

WHY DID ABRAHAM PAY TITHE TO KING MELCHIZEDEK?
It worthy of note that in the sequence of events that led to Abraham giving tithe to King Melchizedek, King Melchizedek blessed Abraham before Abraham gave him tithe and not after. Why is this important? This is because King Melchizedek’s blessing of Abraham was not an atmospheric reaction to Abraham’s giving; it was a preemptive, unconditional gesture of goodwill (very consistent with the operation of God in the New Covenant). Abraham’s tithe did not inspire the blessing, the blessing inspired Abraham’s tithe.

GIVING AND THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST
As stewards of God, we have access to all of God’s riches even though He owns everything including us. This means every resource that comes to our hands is not primarily ours to claim, it is the Lords. This revelation can only be caught in deep and consistent communion with God. The revelation of the lordship is not received in one contact. It is received and ingested on incremental basis. God gradually teaches us about His lordship and empowers us by His Spirit to respond accordingly. Oh, yes, no one can catch a revelation of the lordship of Jesus Christ except it is given them by the Holy Spirit. The Bible says
…no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3, NKJV)
In very deed, no one can acknowledge the lordship of Jesus Christ except by the enablement of the Holy Spirit!
Anyone who therefore acknowledges the lordship of Jesus Christ knows that they do not own anything as everything they own and who they are belong to Him. So when they give to His cause, they do not do so out of obligation but in submission to His lordship. This brings great pleasure to Him and this is really what worship is: any action or inaction that brings pleasure to God.
Giving is a proof of love. You can’t love someone without giving to them. God Himself loved us and that was why He gave His only begotten son (John 3:16). So you can’t say you love God and not give back to Him (His cause.) Just like Abraham gave after he was blessed by Melchizedek; so also do we not give to be blessed but we are blessed so we give.
The law in the Old Testament has been replaced by the government of God in the New Testament the administrator of which is the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament the Holy Spirit teaches us how to obey God in every step of the way as we execute His will on earth.
TITHE AND GIVING
The journey of Abraham’s giving did not stop at ten percent. It progressed to 100%! When he gave ten percent that was the beginning of the journey.

The problem we have today is that the resources dropped at the apostles’ feet are not being faithfully distributed by stewards but are being malignantly handled by hirelings and wolves. This is the bone of contention in many quarters today where those saddled with the responsibility of distributing the resources are helping themselves massively to them without compunction. Such people have one lord: their belly! Hence, the uproar by some aggrieved people who declare bitterly that resources should not be dropped at the apostles’ feet altogether. As painful as this is, only God can judge his own and clean his church. Abuse is no excuse for apathy. That there are ministers out there who are out to use God’s riches for personal aggrandizement does not mean we should not be committed to His stewardship. After all, as believers, we study the Bible not the imperfections or crookedness of people!

IS A BELIEVER UNDER ANY CURSE FOR NOT TITHING?
Tithe under the law was an obligation and as we have established already, its origin is not the law but the foretaste of grace under which Abraham lived. Tithe was not an obligation; it was an expression of the acknowledgement and acceptance of the lordship of God. Anyone in |Christ cannot be under the curse of the law. So, no, not tithing does not attract any curse from God. But again, you cannot really say you love God and not cheerfully give everything you are and have to Him.

IS PROSPERITY TIED TO TITHING?
The answer is a thunderous NO! We prosper because first we are blessed of God (spiritual prosperity) and second, when we engage in the production of value for which we get paid (material prosperity). God does not give manna any more; He gives the power to get wealth for the execution of His will and establishment of His kingdom on earth. The power to get wealth is best exercised through enterprise.
You do not give to prosper; you give because you love God and acknowledge His lordship! More than 99% of the people on the world’s list of billionaires do not pay tithe but they give heavily. Some of them even pledge 99% of their wealth to charities. Again, do not be deceived, you do not give your way to material riches. You acquire material riches by using your God-given power to get wealth through productive, value-adding enterprise. God’s blessing does not function in a vacuum. Jesus did not feed the five thousand by calling forth bread and fish from thin air; He used existing five loaves of bread and two fish to do the miracle. He blessed, and broke the little that was available, and it multiplied. Thus, the available became the magnificent (Matthew 14:13-21). [I have discussed this in great detail in my book GO INTO ALL THE WORLD]
However, giving itself attracts the blessing of expanded opportunities. You cannot give and not be multiplied by God to give more (Luke 6:38)!
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s been roughly two thousand years since the church began. The challenges, demands and expressions of the work of the ministry have changed dramatically as have culture and human civilisation. So the way and manner in which resources are pooled and used today have equally changed. But the call for faithful stewardship has not changed.
Giving must therefore be done cheerfully out of a revelation of Christ’s lordship. You do not give primarily to be blessed; you’re already blessed so you give. This way you open yourself up for higher opportunities. Each time you give with this understanding, you are like Abraham lifting your hands in surrender and worship to the possessor of heaven and earth. Giving of course is not limited to money as there are so many things money cannot get done.
If the Lord can entrust you with the spoils of battle He can as well trust you with an Isaac. Every believer has an Isaac who the Lord will definitely demand for at some point in their walk with Him. Not because He needs Isaac but because He wants to establish His lordship in unmistakable terms in the believer’s life.
Our response to the perversion currently going on in the body of Christ however should not be visceral lest the devil take advantage of it and plunder the church further. Rather we should remain committed to God in prayer and remain in the comfort and admonition of Scriptures for Him to come through. The same God who showed great mercy killed Ananias and Sapphira for tampering with the resources of His church. Let’s not allow the greed of Judas discredit the work of the faithful eleven. The Lord help us all to step into His stewardship as we acknowledge and submit to His lordship daily.
Remain blessed.
Jesus is Lord forever!
Your brother,
Arome Osayi.

God bless you. This is the message we have preached to these our tithe people over the years.

Goshen360:
God bless you. This is the message we have preached to these our tithe people over the years.

As a matter of fact, I had to truncate the entire message. It was too Long for a Nairaland Post. But there is so much sense in it.

Your ignorance