Paying tithe is one of the most misunderstood practices of Christianity. There are those who, out of mindless obedience, look back at the teachings received as a child or as young Christians and perform a habitual routine and miss out on the blissful knowledge of its blessings. Some, who view God somewhat like a mob boss, see tithing as a payoff to that One in the sky who will harm me if I don't honor him. Of the two, I'd rather be the first though I'd rather understand why. I just don't pay tithe because I was taught and I don't pay tithe because I'm scared of God: I pay tithe because of his blessings.
The word blessings found in Hebrews 7:7 is a compound Greek word that connotes action: to pronounce blessing upon. When you break the word down, it comes from two words, Eu (yoo)which means, "to be well off," and Logos, which means the living word, or spoken word of God.
I pay tithe because of the blessings of God. To put it more plainly, I pay tithe because the lesser's (me) state of living is well beyond anything I could hope for because it has been pronounced over me by the living word of the Most Excellent one, Jesus Christ. I know that the Word of God is not a compilation of sayings of faded ink on stale parchment; I and everything around me is the embodiment of God speaking. He said, "Let there be Light," and it has not failed. He said, "Let trees bring forth fruit in its season," and it has not failed. So if these things have not failed, then I pay tithe, not as a forward payment for future considerations, but, to honor the one who has not nor will never fail in my life.
Jason Mathews
Sunday
Hebrews 7
