Who Benefits from Tithing?

Tithing is giving 10% percent of your gross income to your local church. Maybe you aren’t tithing because you don’t see the point. Or maybe you are faithfully giving, but you don’t know the impact that it’s having. Who benefits when you give? It’s a longer list than you probably realize.

God

When you tithe faithfully, God is glorified through you obeying his Word.

God doesn’t need your tithe, but you need to give it to show that he is first in your heart and in your worship. We give to him because he has first given to us. In 2 Chronicles 29, David makes an exorbitant offering of gold and silver to build the temple, and he prays, “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you” (29:14).

David knew the irony that when you tithe and give, you are only giving back to God what he’s given you first. Tithing glorifies God because it’s all about what God has done for you, not what you are doing for him. By giving to him, you are magnifying the Lord and making his name great.

The Church

Your tithe also benefits the church you give to. In Malachi 3:10, God tells Israel, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse.” By storehouse, he means bring it into the temple, the house of worship. It wasn’t to be allocated elsewhere. These tithes and offerings fully funded the priests’ ministry. It’s the same today. Tithes fuel the church’s day to day operations, including:

• Maintaining a building where people can come and worship and be discipled
• Paying pastor’s and staff’s salary so they can be fully dedicated to the ministry
• Funding global ministries that provide discipleship and evangelism through overseas missions
• Supporting local ministries like food pantries, disaster relief, humanitarian efforts, community outreach, and more

When you tithe, the church is blessed because it can keep its doors open, needed supplies can be purchased, ministries are funded—and we could go on and on.

Don’t hesitate to ask your church for its budget to see the full range of how your specific tithe is being used. Without tithe money, the church would have to close its doors. That’s why it’s so critical that your tithe goes to here instead of to a charity or a family member or other places.

The People Being Ministered To

What you might not think about is how your tithe benefits people at the end of the line who are being ministered to by the church you’re giving to.

This is anyone from the kindergartener hearing the Gospel in children’s church to the unreached people groups who have never heard the name of Jesus. You can also include the poor and needy, orphans and widows, those with mental health issues in need of counseling, and the people who walk in the door every Sunday who are spiritually hungry for Christ. You’ll probably never meet most of them in this life. But your tithes are the catalyst to them receiving ministry in the name of Jesus in ways you don’t even realize.

You

God doesn’t need your tithe. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. So why do you need to tithe? Because Jesus said that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Where your money goes shows what you really worship. Tithing puts God first in your finances to show he’s first in your heart. Plus, anyone who lives a habitual lifestyle of generosity will tell you that there’s a blessing in it. I’ve seen it time and time again where the most generous people I know are also the most joyful people I know.

But you don’t just benefit in the here and now, but for eternity. 1 Samuel 30 shares how David made it a rule in Israel that the warriors who stayed behind to guard the supplies received the same pay as those who fought in the battle. This story has spiritual implications. Maybe you can’t go to China or Nicaragua. But when you pray and tithe, you’re supporting your church’s ministry efforts, and you’ll share in the eternal reward for the lives that were touched through the money that you faithfully gave.

This doesn’t mean you get to take a back seat. It’s important to serve and volunteer at your church. Then let your tithe facilitate ministry to the places you can’t go and people you may never meet.

Summary

Tithe, and there are ripple effects across your community and even across the globe with the lives that are impacted. Yet according to Barna research, just one in ten Christians say “to serve God with my money” is their ultimate financial goal! Many believers in Christ are missing out on the blessings of generous living. If every Christian tithed, it would amount to around $300 billion per year.[1] Think about what God could do with that!

Start tithing today—or if you’re already tithing faithfully, think about how to sacrificially increase your giving to fuel more Gospel ministry.

[1] https://www.rethinknow.org/5-things-that-could-happen-if-the-church-tithed/