God created the earth and all that is in it. It all belonged to Him until He gave the dominion over to His prize creation-Adam.  God passed his ownership and authority to Adam instructing him to tend the garden and take dominion.  Adam had the “run” of the Garden. He took care of everything in the Garden and could eat of everything in the Garden including the tree of life – but was NOT to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:15-17)

God retained ownership of one tree in the Garden for Himself; everything else was under the lordship of Adam. I’m not sure how many trees were in the Garden but God only kept one for Himself. It was a way of keeping a relationship with Adam (and Eve), and their way of recognizing Him as Lord. They were to take care of the tree of knowledge of good and evil – but just NOT eat of it.

I look at tithing somewhat the same way.  God wants a tenth of my income and leaves me the rest. It’s His way of having seed to bless me and maintain a relationship with me, and my way of recognizing Him as Lord of my life. Tithing is about ownership.  Ownership of our heart. I’m to manage my income like Adam tended the garden – with good stewardship.

I learned about tithing with I was a child. I was about ten years old at the time. The church my family attended  held confirmation classes for young people. Those who completed the classes were then presented to the congregation as new members of the church.  I started tithing then.  Yes, at ten years old!  Didn’t have much of course, but the amount is not the issue so much as the attitude of the heart. Church members are to support their church. My Mother taught me that when I did make money, usually from baby-sitting, I was to give a tenth of what I earned to my church.

Let’s think of it like famers think of their seed for their fields. They know it’s the best seeds that when planted will produce the best crops. They know better than to eat the best seed. They also know that if they don’t plant, they won’t have a harvest. Tithing is our best seed that we can plant in the Kingdom of God, and the harvest it produces in our lives is God’s blessings. If we don’t tithe, it’s like eating our seed!

Malachi 3:10 tells us to “bring all our tithe 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”. Think of it this way. Meat or food is a necessity sustainable element in our lives and so it is in the Church. The tithe is that necessary sustainable element that the Church needs to take care of the members, bills, and the community. If you were paying close attention to that Scripture, you saw that tithing opens windows of blessings from God, not just a window.

Farmers also know that they must tend the seeds they’ve planted in their fields. Seeds must be watered and weeds must be pulled up that want to grow around them and choke out their life. Our tithing must be tended and watered too, with reading and studying the Bible and prayer. The weeds of temptation that want to grow and choke out the blessings of God in our lives must be pull out too; we must live a life of obedience to God’s Word. We must submit to God and resist the devil. (James 4:7)

Our tithing is the outward expression, an outward indicator, of the condition of our heart that we acknowledge Jesus is Lord in our lives. However, we must also be obedient in other areas of our life as well, such as: walking in love, speaking kindly to and about others, having a forgiving heart, and being generous with other financial giving, and the list goes on. When we learn to seek God first and His righteousness, then it’s easier to be a good steward in everything else.

Perhaps the way the end this teaching is to ask ourselves this question: “who has ownership of our heart, our finances, and our life?” If you cannot answer that Jesus is Lord in those three areas, then it’s time to come before God with a repentant heart and allow Him to change your heart and actions, and become a better steward of the blessings you have.