What is this thing called tithing? by D. W. Cram
W hat is this thing called ‘tith ing’?” The qu e s tio n was asked me by a lady demon strator in a grocery store, where I was making a few purchases, de signed to quiet the pangs of hunger. “Tithing,” I said, “is giving a tenth of all our income to God, to be used in the work of His king dom.” She had recently changed churches. She had come from a church where the matter of the tithe was never mentioned. It was a non-tithing church. She had joined a church where more than 600 of its members were tithers. In her moments between serving cus tomers, I asked her if she had not received the pastor’s financial let ter, enclosing the booklet, God in Account W ith Me (Moody Press). She said, “I haven’t noticed it.” I said, “I’m sure you got it, be cause it is mailed to every mem ber.” The next day she was demon strating in the same place. As soon as she saw me she said, “I found the letter and the little book.” I said, “I felt sure you would.” She said, “My husband and I talked it over last night, and we decided to go on the tithing basis.” I said, “I’m very happy about that. I ’m sure you’ll find it will pay. God promises a special bless ing for those who tithe.” “It changes our church giving,” she said, “but we’ll do it.” “Wonderful!” I said. “I hope you do.” I estimated the combined income of the family at $8,000 per year. It meant $800 for God. Take another illu s tr a tio n . A group meeting was being held in
the church. A young couple was there. They were married and had two children. The speaker said, “If we will give a tenth of our income to God’s work, God will make the nine-tenths do the work of ten-tenths.” That statement is scriptural. Mai. 3:10: “Bring ye all the tithes.” Not half of it—not just a part of it. Bring all of it. Where? “Into the storehouse.” And when we do God says He will open the very windows of heaven to bless us. In Malachi’s day the storehouse was in the temple. There was a chamber there in the temple for the purpose of receiving the tithes of “com and new wine, and the oil.” Today God’s storehouse is the church. Not any particular name or sign—any organization where true believers are gathered together for the “furtherance of the gospel.” A Christian college—a Bible insti tute—a radio broadcast proclaim ing God’s truth—a church organi zation—all of these and many more may be God’s storehouse. But to come hack to our young couple. They went home. They discussed the statement of the lead er. They decided to tithe. He was getting $400 a month. She told a friend of mine, “$40 a month seems a lot of money to give to the church, when you’ve been giving only a dollar a week.” They were game though. They went through with it. They re vamped their church pledge. Each child got an allowance for Sunday school and junior church. They in creased their support for a friend of theirs—a missionary in Alaska.
They kept a surplus for emergen cies. How did it turn out? The company for which the father . worked often sent him on missions to other plants. For these trips they gave him a bonus of $5.0. The next trip after they began to tithe, the bonijts was $100. No one in the company knew that they were tithing. The mother’s voice rang with joy as she told me the news over the telephone. And then —believe it or not—a few weeks after that .he received a raise in pay. It was $40 a month. That fam ily had been faithful in ministering the tithe. God had kept His prom ise in Malachi 3:10. I was asked by a man at the General Assembly of the Presbyter ian Church recently, “When should one set aside his tithe for the church?” The Word of God answers that question in five letters. First. “Up on the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God has prospered him.” “. . . seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and . . .” you know the rest. “First!” I love Elijah. I love him for his work at Carmel. I love him for A bout th e A uthor Rev. Cram, author of the book, “Moody at the Fair,” served as a mis sionary in Point Barrow, Alaska for a total of 25 years together with his wife who taught English to teen-age Eski mos. Now 86, he is one of the oldest living alumni of the Moody Bible In stitute.
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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