During Tough Times You Can't Afford Not to Return Your Tithe

While Israel was experiencing a spiritual drought due to their Baal worship, God allowed a literal drought to fall upon the land as well. This drought affected everyone, including God’s prophet, Elijah.

The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 1 Kings 17:6-9 NKJV

Image © Stan Myers

God has an interesting way of providing for His prophet during this time. First, ravens are scavengers. They are not known for sharing food, but in this story they become quite generous.

Then God sends Elijah to a widow. Widows can be very generous when it comes to giving to missions. Jesus noticed a widow in Luke 21:1-4 giving all she had. Still, most people in charge of fundraising look to the rich for provisions, and not to poor widows.

I believe that in the last days, while many are trusting (even schmoozing up to?) rich people, God is going to provide for His people by using very unlikely and humble sources. I believe that the widow was not Plan B. God did not send Elijah to the widow because the brook dried up. The brook dried up so Elijah would go to the widow. Sometimes God has to close one door so he can get us to open a new door.

So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’ ” So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah. 1 Kings 17:10-16.

Here we have another unlikely scenario. Who goes to a poor widow who is about to starve to death and says, “Feed me first?” But that is exactly what Elijah did. I have heard many people, even church members in good standing, tell people, “If you don’t have the money to tithe, God understands,” or “If you are going through a hard time right now, God does not expect you to give anything.” But the story of Elijah and the widow contradicts such notions. The widow was going through a very hard time, even about to starve to death, and God still expected her to give to His prophet first. Anything less would be a lack of faith, and the just shall live by faith. (see Romans 1:17). Without faith we cannot please God. (See Hebrews 11:6). So the widow had to give first in order to have the faith to live, as well as to please God. While tough times made it appear as though she could not give first and survive, the truth was she had to give first in order to survive. The poor widow was able to feed her household for many days, and the jar never ran dry during the tough times because she gave first.

So today, even in tough times when it looks like you can’t afford to return your tithes and offerings, the fact is you can not afford to not return your tithes and offerings first. During the tough times in Elijah’s day, God used miracles and some very unlikely means to provide for His people. So today, even in tough times God is working miracles to provide for those who give first to Him.

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Comments

During Tough Times You Can’t Afford Not to Return Your Tithe — 6 Comments

Inge Anderson on March 15, 2023 at 8:10 pm said:

Thanks much for this, William! You echo my thoughts exactly. When times are tough, I want to make sure I don't rob God because I need His blessings more than ever, and He has promised to follow me with so many blessings that they will "overtake" me, as we learned in an earlier lesson. (Deut. 28:2)

I think we do people a terrible disservice when we suggest to them they "don't need to" return tithes or offerings when they are struggling financially. When we do that, we infect them with our own lack of faith and deprive them of the blessings God wants to shower on them!

Instead, let us act on faith and expect God to fulfill His promises. Let us share our faith with those around us. If we have acted on faith in the past, we will have our own experiences to share.

With my husband being self-employed for much of our nearly 60 years together, we've had plenty of opportunities to exercise faith. I remember friends not believing how little we lived on because we did not look poor! (And we didn't feel poor either. But God just stretched every dollar so that 80 cents went further than a whole dollar would for others.)

Now I would love to read how others have experienced the fulfillment of God's promises to those who faithfully return tithes and offerings.

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Raewyn Petrie Fish on March 17, 2023 at 12:01 pm said:

Tithing should never be used to exploit or take advantage of vulnerable individuals. It's important for the Adventist Church to be understanding of those who may be struggling financially, rather than adding to their burden.

This quarter's lessons appear to be heavily focused on 'revenue gathering', utilising a concoction of biblical passages. Encouraging a person, living in poverty, to have faith can be a recipe for disaster, and could be harmful. Many church members do, in fact, struggle financially. e.g. an elderly person who can't afford to heat their home in order to return a faithful tithe. This common example highlights the potential dangers of using religious teachings to extract money from the vulnerable. If an elderly person were to catch pneumonia, and die as a result of feeling pressured to pay a certain amount to their church, it would be a serious concern... elder abuse, financial exploitation... Please, it's important for our church organisation to prioritise the well-being and safety of their members, and not engage in practices that could cause harm.

Matthew 25:35-40 talks about showing compassion to the vulnerable, as if they were Jesus himself.

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- Maurice Ashton on March 17, 2023 at 9:37 pm said:
  
  I think that we do tithing a disservice if we ignore the welfare component of the whole tithing package. For too long I have heard sermons about returning a faithful tithe to the Lord and all the blessings that it is supposed to provide. The tithe was essentially a tax on producers. (I don't like the term tax because of its legalistic connotation - but it is the closest term we have in our modern-day language) If you did not produce anything from your flocks, herds, vineyards, and olive groves, you did not pay tithe. Part of the whole package included welfare and inclusiveness towards the needy. When Malachi wrote these words:
  
  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Mal 3: 10 KJV
  
  he wasn't talking about making sure the Levites were well-fed. He was talking about the welfare of the whole nation. It was a reminder that the nation that looks after its poor and needy properly is a happy and prosperous nation.
  
  I think that the Seventh-day Adventist Church's idea of tithing is a good one, but we need to broaden the narrative and not just cherry-pick the bits that suit revenue gathering. There is a responsibility for us to look after and be inclusive of the needy, orphans, and widows in our society. It is not just ten percent!
  
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  - Raewyn Petrie Fish on March 18, 2023 at 9:06 pm said:
    
    Thank you for your response Maurice.
    
    I agree, and tithing is needed to carry on the work of the church, but broaden the narrative...
    
    In some cases, church members in the 'vulnerable' category, may have dedicated countless hours of their time and energy to keep the church running smoothly. They can be very reliable and faithful, despite their financial challenges, and lack the means to travel or take vacations, but often show up at church every Sabbath and perform tasks diligently.
    
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Noma Sithandwa on March 17, 2023 at 8:28 pm said:

Thank you so much for your post, William. I too have a similar experience like Inge Anderson. I bought a house through a bank loan that I'm paying currently, and the interest rates here in South Africa have been soaring over the past 2 years, while my salary hasn't changed much. But I've faithfully returned my tithe and offerings, and haven't skipped a month of not being able to pay my bond, and I've never lacked anything I truly need. God's hand is evident in all my daily living, I've been driving the same car over the past 8 years and I haven't been hurt in an accident, and the car has never given me problems.

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Eddiedwin Ochieng Ka'Midiwo on March 18, 2023 at 7:32 pm said:

Thanks, William, for this sharing. The anxiety in us robs us of the faith we have in God's promises, but with these, I find strength.

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