Tithe to avoid the curse?

"Everything is cursed!" declared this controversial preacher. "From Gen 3, we know that the ground is cursed! Trees grow from the ground, from which we make paper, and money comes in paper form! So, your money is cursed! Your salary is cursed!"

(However, his illustration doesn't quite fit, as our money is now plastic. Nevertheless, I shall continue his illustration).

"The only way to turn the curse into a blessing is to tithe! If you give your 10 per cent to the Lord, the 90 per cent of your salary will be blessed!" he finished dramatically.

After hearing all that, I decided to use Bible Gateway to look up passages on the tithe.

The first instruction on the tithe comes form Lev 27:30:

A tithe of everything from the land...belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.

That's pretty clear. Ten per cent of what we earn belongs to Him. No argument about that.

But God doesn't need the tithe -- He owns everything! What's the tithe for?

In Deuteronomy, we learn more: The Israelites are instructed to bring the tithe "to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name", and

There, in the presence of the LORD your God,
you and your families shall eat (the tithe)
and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to,
because the LORD your God has blessed you. (Dt 12:7)

First, the tithe is a reminder that God is the source of all our material blessings. We are to rejoice that He has blessed and provided for us. We are to have an attitude of gratitude.

Second, it's a reminder to learn to "revere the Lord your God always" Dt 14:23.

Third, the Israelites are to share their tithe with their family, their servants "and the Levites from your towns, who have no allotment or inheritance of their own".

Our present-day Levites would be those who have given up secular employment to serve Him in the church and in the mission field. This includes the church secretary, the administrator, the pastor preaching from the pulpit, and the missionary way out there.

Dt 14:28 expands the list of beneficiaries of the tithe to include the aliens, the fatherless and the widows -- all those who are marginalised in society.

We are to provide for them, "so that they may come and eat and be satisfied," so that the LORD "your God may bless you in all the work of your hands".

It's pretty clear. If you use your ten per cent to bless the Church as well as those who are marginalised in society, God Himself will bless you.

So, don't tithe out of fear, an emotion which the controversial preacher seems to be inspiring. Tithe out of love and obedience to God.