Genesis 14:17-24

Tithing is the way some people try to cheat God out of 90% of what is His. I once spoke to an evangelist who said that if he gave 10% to the church the other 90% was his to do with however he wished. I felt sorry for him. He had no understanding of the price Christ paid for his salvation.  He had no concept of what it meant to be a steward. His salvation came at a price he could never hope to pay. Everything he had was a gift from God. It had been entrusted to his stewardship. God was expecting him to be faithful.

Melchizedek king of Salem was also a priest of the same Most High God that Abram served. Abram gave Melchizedek 10% of all that he’d taken in his victory against the four Kings. He did not give it to Melchizedek the king; he gave it to Melchizedek the Priest. It was a symbolic act. It was an acknowledgement that everything he had was his because God had given him the victory.

In this particular instance God also required Abram to give up the other 90%. He gave every single cent back to the king of Sodom. He kept not even a thread or the strap of a sandal.  He was following God’s instruction. God does not want us to own a single solitary thing that allows the world to lay claim to us. What the world has to offer comes with strings attached. God does not want us to be in bondage to the world. Abram was a wealthy man but he recognized everything came from God. Anything we have that does not belong to God should be given to Him. Anything that God does not want should be gotten rid of.

Tithing is not giving 10% of what is ours to God. Tithing is giving 10% of what is God’s to the work of His priesthood in blessing the world.