Financial prosperity can be elusive. Money problems burden many of us—debt, lack of savings, unemployment or underemployment—and as a result, we’re robbed of real happiness and joy. Yet, our Creator God wants everyone to truly prosper in the area of personal finances. Notice the prosperity He gave to Joseph anciently: “The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” (Genesis 39:2-3) Years later, God promised the children of Israel the greatest prosperity and abundance of material wealth—conditional, of course, on their faithful adherence to His way of life (Leviticus 26:3-5). Just before Israel entered the Promised Land, Moses reminded the Israelites that “But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.” (Deuteronomy 8:18)
Another example of God’s generosity can be found in the book of Job. In his day, Job was the richest man in the East. Once he repented of his sin, God gave Job double his original wealth (Job 42:10). Solomon, another exceedingly wealthy ruler, noted in Ecclesiastes 5:19, “Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.” Jesus, the Son of God, said that one of the main purposes for His being sent to Earth was that we “might have life” and that we “might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10) The Apostle John concurred: “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” (3 John 2)
Prosperity is not a sin. It is a blessing. God is the greatest giver of abundance and prosperity. It is His will that we prosper and enjoy the “good things” in life. If God wants everyone to prosper and live abundantly, then why are many of us wracked by debt and weighed down with financial worries today? There are reasons! God will not bless anyone who is breaking His laws. If we are breaking the Tenth Commandment by coveting goods we cannot afford, for example, then we will be far likelier to overspend and go into debt. If we are putting material goods before God, then God, in order to correct this, may curse us by withholding the prosperity He would much rather give us!
The Bible is the foundation of all knowledge—including the knowledge of how to manage money properly. The key to financial success is to realize an important biblical fact: your income is not yours! You probably never realized this fact before—but it is a fact. God Almighty the living Creator of the universe claims it all. Your Maker who gives you the very air you breathe tells you it all belongs to Him, not to you!
Scripture is replete with proof of this vital understanding. Let’s notice several important verses. In Exodus 19:5, God Almighty says: “All the earth is mine.” Through the inspired pen of Moses, we read, “To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.” (Deuteronomy 10:14). Yes, God Almighty owns this Earth and everything that exists or lives upon it! “for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.” claims our Maker (Psalm 50:10-12) According to the Bible, “your” money—“your” income—rightfully belongs to God. “The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty.” (Haggai 2:8)
This biblical principle is important to remember when considering how we ought to manage our finances. What we may earn in wages or receive as a return on investments is not really ours—that is, not until two prior claims on our income are satisfied, taxes and tithing. One claim is taxes. Jesus said that Christians should “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Matthew 22:21).
With this statement, Christ pointed to another fundamental financial law that we must keep if God is to be able to bless us with the prosperity He promises—that is, the law of tithing. Throughout the Bible, God makes it a law that the first tenth—or “tithe”—of every individual’s income is to be paid to Him through His chosen servants. God is a God of love. (1 John 4:8,16) He knows our needs and wants. Indeed, He has your well-being in mind. He is concerned for you; that is why He has made this law regulating your income.
God’s law concerning what you earn is, in fact, a deal He has made with you. God allows you to work on His Earth, to use its resources, its forces and energies—to use what others have extracted from this planet, in manufacturing, distributing, selling, buying, investing. Whatever your occupation or profession, you are actually working in partnership with God! When we stop and analyze this, we are forced to admit that God truly supplies about 90 percent of everything we make or produce. Our own thinking, planning and working supplies, at best, only about 10 percent.
Yet God doesn’t claim 90 percent of the proceeds, or the income. Nor does He claim 50 percent, or even 30 percent or 20 percent. God is exceptionally generous. He has reserved for His use only 10 percent of your income. And after you have been honest in paying God’s claim—HIS 10 percent—only then does God declare that the other 90 percent becomes legally yours. Our nine-tenths actually does not belong to us until we have paid God His tenth. That’s God’s law!
Although the Creator God has unlimited resources, He has always conducted His Work among and through human beings. Tithing (or “tenthing”) has been God’s financial system for millennia and continues to be a binding obligation for Bible believing Christians. Long ago, even during the time of Abraham, God used the tithing system to underwrite His Work. In Genesis 14:18-20, we see that Abraham, who was the human “father of the faithful”; one who feared God and kept His commandments, tithed 400 years before Israel was commanded to do so. Leviticus 27:30 and Numbers 18:20-21 spell out the details of tithing and show how the people of Israel were to tithe in support of God’s religious system.
Even after Christ’s death, the Apostle Paul called tithing, which was confirmed by Christ, a law (Matthew 23:23; Hebrews 7:4-10). Today, God’s Church uses the same tithing method to finance its commission to preach the gospel of the soon-coming Kingdom of God—the very message Christ preached—to this unhappy, debt-ridden world. Those who pay God’s tenth are prosperous—not necessarily wealthy, but their needs are always supplied.
Have you ever wondered why so many are experiencing financial difficulties nowadays, even in this economically advanced age? Families that should have a minimum of three to six months’ income in savings in case of emergency instead have virtually no savings—and are plunging even deeper into debt. If you are suffering from a lack of abundance or blessings, how can you turn things around and begin to prosper in these increasingly difficult times? The Bible gives us the answer. Today’s problems were foretold centuries ago in a remarkable prophecy!
Notice what God asks through the Prophet Malachi: “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “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. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty. (Malachi 3:6-12)
That is God’s promise! Why not put God to that test? Why not prove Him to see if He doesn’t increase the value of your income in this period of looming recession so that your own 90 percent God gives you will be worth more than your whole income now? Unfortunately, some lack the faith to obey God’s positive command to tithe. They use carnal reasoning to attempt to justify their failure to pay God His rightful tenth, saying, “I’m just behind in paying my tithe. I can’t afford to tithe until I pay down some of my debts.” This type of thinking is deadly. “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 16:25). We can, and must, pay the first 10 percent of all our income to God’s Work—even if we are in debt! Do you realize that if you have not been honest in your tithing that you have been stealing from God? Do you recognize the fact that you are guilty of sin and you are under a curse—and that your sin negatively impacts God’s Church and His Work?
God’s system of tithing is a financial law. It is sure to bring financial blessings. More importantly, though, it is guaranteed to yield tremendous spiritual dividends! Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21). That, too, is a law. If your treasure is in this world’s entertainments and pleasures—if “your” money—God’s money—is being spent only on yourself and your own needs and selfish desires—then your whole heart and interest is in this world and not in the Kingdom of God. Jesus also said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (verse 33), and then all these material needs will be added to you besides. Seek God first, and He will see that your needs are met—even in hard times. Seek His Kingdom with all your heart, and your financial troubles will begin to melt away; your life will become happy, full with assurance of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yes, tithing is a law that produces manifold blessings. Why? Because it reinforces God’s way of giving and actually helps us to develop holy and righteous character. Jesus taught, in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Notice this beautiful cycle! See how the principle also applies to tithing: God gives to us—and we give back to Him on a return circuit that which is rightfully His—and He gives us more! There is no way we can ever out-give God. Truly it is “more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) When we honor God with our substance, our own material needs—and even many of our wants and desires—will be supplied. In addition, God will shower tremendous spiritual blessings upon us.
Yes, God wants us to prosper spiritually most of all. But He wants His people to prosper in the area of personal finances too. Here’s the key: “We must learn to put God first in everything. Backing and supporting God and His Work, which includes faithfully paying our tithes, must take precedence in our lives.” Notice the “secret” to success and prosperity, “If you want the ultimate prosperity give your tithe to His Work.” After all, doing God’s Work was Jesus Christ’s life (John 4:34)—and it still is! If you want to help God’s Work with all your being, do you think that, as a general rule, God would take away your prosperity and health? Or will He say, “Bless that individual, because I know he will put my Work first with his energy and his money!” If you want to use your prosperity and health for God’s Work, you are going to have more prosperity and health! That doesn’t mean you will always be prosperous but you will have more blessings.
If your life is filled with little or no prosperity, then you should closely examine yourself for sin. God wishes “above all” that we prosper. Like Christ, our first priority must be invest our prosperity in God’s Work. When we invest our prosperity in God’s Work—and when we support the Work of God by faithfully obeying the law of tithing—we express our recognition of God’s ruler ship over the entire Earth and over us individually. We show our cheerful adherence to the first great commandment—worshiping the one true God and Him only. And the man or woman who keeps God’s financial law will reap the physical and spiritual blessings promised in His Word. God will open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings so great there will not be room enough to receive them—guaranteed!
As Bible believing Christians we are to give as we are able. Sometimes that means offering more than 10 percent. It all depends on the ability of the giver and the needs of the body of Christ. Every Christian should diligently pray and seek God’s wisdom in the matter of participating in tithing and/or how much to give (James 1:5). Above all, offerings should be given with pure motives and an attitude of worship to God and service to the body of Christ. “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)
An offering is that which is freely given by Christians to the work of the Lord, the local church, ministries and missions. But offerings are far more than simply the check we write. We are to offer much more to God than our monetary resources. Romans 12:1 exhorts us to offer our bodies “as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God” as part of our worship. Romans 6:13 gives the reason for offering ourselves: because we are “those who have been brought from death to life,” and, as such, we are to “offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.” God is not nearly as interested in our monetary offerings as He is in our submission and obedience. The truth is that He doesn’t need our resources to accomplish His plans and purposes. After all, He owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10) and needs nothing from us. What He desires, however, and what He values, is the heart that overflows with gratitude and thanksgiving to the God who saved us and who gives us all things, knowing our needs before we even ask (Matthew 6:8). Such a heart gives generously, willingly, and cheerfully in response to the love and grace that abound in Christ. (2 Corinthians 9:6–8)
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