Will Tithing Make You Rich?

One of the common questions I get around tithing is, “Will tithing make me rich?” The short answer is yes, tithing can you make you rich. That is, rich in a closer walk with Christ—that’s the only money-back guarantee I can offer you! But stick around—I’ll give you some pointers on how to generate wealth by earthly standards.

Let’s look at how tithing can make you rich and then look at some practical steps to build wealth so you have more to give.

Tithing: It’s Supposed to Hurt

Mathematically speaking, tithing will reduce how much money you have. That’s the point. I guarantee you that’s why only 5% of churchgoers are tithing the full 10% of their income today.[1] Tithing’s uncomfortable. It’s supposed to hurt.

There’s a story in the Bible where Araunah the Jebusite offers to give King David needed items for his offering. You’d think David would be overjoyed! Free stuff! But he’s offended! He says, “I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24). Would that all believers had this attitude today! David knew that God didn’t need his gift to be God, but he needed to give it, and it needed to cost him something.

For thousands of years, tithing has been an act of worship. God calls us to tithe willingly with open hearts to show:

• That money doesn’t have a hold on us
• That we’re holding the things of this world loosely
• That it’s God we truly worship, not the things he’s provided for us

Yet 5% of us are tithing the full 10%.

We’re saying with our mouths that we follow Jesus, but our finances are almost indistinguishable from the world’s. It’s all too easy to hang onto our tithe with a death grip, afraid that if we give it, we won’t have enough to meet our needs and satisfy our appetites. In reality, tithing will make us rich in the only way it really matters: rich in God himself.

How to Get Rich Spiritually

Tithing is undeniably an act of faith. It’s giving to God our first and best, the first 10% before we pay bills or anything else. And it’s trusting God to provide.

Throughout the Bible, God has a record of blessing the generous. Proverbs 11.25 says, “Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” It’s saying that the generous soul will be made rich. You’d think that when you give, you have less. But the opposite is true: When you give, you make room for more. There’s more joy in giving it than in hoarding it for yourself. You also see God come through ways you never would have if you hadn’t been generous.

 If you look at the entire Bible, giving is the only place God calls us to test him. Malachi 3.10 says, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse … And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” This verse is unique because over and over in the Bible, God says not to test him. But giving is an exception—probably because it’s one of the hardest things for us to do. But it’s also one of the biggest blessings because it produces spiritual fruit.

When God allocated the Promised Land to the Israelites, he didn’t give any portion of land to the tribe of Levi. At first, it seems unfair. But he did so to give the priests a greater portion: God told them their inheritance was himself (Ezekiel 44:28). With this allotment, he made them richer than the tribes who would birth the Kings to come. Why?  The other tribes’ land ended up being taken away by their enemies and then reclaimed or lost altogether. But Levi’s inheritance could never be taken away. It was eternal.

Similarly, what we have in Christ can never be taken from us. Jesus said, “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6.20). This means God will eternally reward you for the good works you do for his glory. Those works don’t save you by any means—but God sees and rewards the faith it takes to give. Maybe tithing won’t automatically make you wealthy by earthly standards, but you can guarantee that God will bless you. That’s how to have generational wealth that really lasts.

How to Get Rich Physically

Many people attest that there’s a huge difference between those who give and those who have wealth.  Why do the “have’s” have money to give?

When Israelites were exiled to Babylon, Isaiah told them to build houses, plant vineyards, and seek the welfare of the city where God had placed them even though it wasn’t their true home. As believers, heaven is our true home. The book of 1 Peter refers to us as exiles here. Like the Israelites, we’re called to thrive where God placed us. The more you accumulate, the more you have to give.

Two things can make you rich here on earth:

1. Play Great Offense

 In any game, you have to score to win. Not scoring a point is a sure way to lose. The way you lose in a capitalism system is not bringing value to the marketplace. To create more income, you have to add more value to the market. Most people are not valuable. As a person, they are priceless. But they don’t bring enough value to the market to demand a higher salary or revenue for their business. Bring value by being the best, most creative, most dedicated, most responsible worker you can be. Put away your iPhone while on the job and be 100% present and invested in the work God’s called you to do. You’d be surprised how that alone will set you apart.

You can also play great offense by taking risk with your investments. Working with a financial professional and investing into long-term highly appreciating assets can help you play offense while you’re sleeping because your assets are earning while you aren’t.

2. Play Great Defense

Most people like playing offense and special teams, but few play good financial defense. How do you do that? It’s called a spending plan. The paradox of financial success is that you want to invest aggressively but spend conservatively. The easiest way to make money is simply to spend less money. If you don’t have a spending plan, start there. Journal your expenses for the next month, then repeat this every month. Find where your boat is leaking expenses. Make corrections. Then use those newfound savings to give and invest more.

To recap, today we talked about how tithing can make you rich spiritually—and then we went over some tips on making the most of and increasing the wealth God’s given you.

I’ll end with this: Don’t say, “When I get a raise or a promotion, then I’ll give.” The biggest predictor of future behavior is past behavior. If you’re not giving now, you won’t then. Now is the time to start giving. Now is the time to start investing for eternity. Those dividends will never disappoint!

[1] https://www.vancopayments.com/egiving/church-giving-statistics-tithing#:~:text=Churchgoer%20Participation-,Tithing%20Statistics,%25%20(Health%20Research%20Funding).