The Man Who Couldn't Afford to Tithe

The Man Who = Couldn=92t=20 Afford to Tithe

by=20 Herbert W. Armstrong

It was late in 1933 =97 the very = depth of the=20 great depression. Ed Smith was a well-driller by profession, but nobody = seemed=20 able to afford to have wells drilled.

Ed and his wife, Emma, attended = services I=20 was then holding in a one-room country schoolhouse twelve miles west of = Eugene,=20 Oregon. Ed made no profession of Christianity until later. But he = attended=20 services and went up and down the countryside discussing Bible doctrines = with=20 his professing Christian neighbors.

"You=92ve got to pay tithes and = obey God," he=20 insisted. "The Bible says so. It=92s PLAIN!"

One of his neighbors became=20 irritated.

"Look here, Ed," the neighbor = exploded, "why=20 do you come around here trying to talk me into these things, when you = don=92t obey=20 the Bible or pay tithes yourself?"

"Because," came Ed=92s quick and = ready answer,=20 "I don=92t profess to be a Christian, and you do. Besides," he added, "I = can=92t=20 afford to tithe, anyway."

Thousands Like Him

There are thousands who, like Ed = Smith,=20 reason in their own minds that they can=92t afford to tithe, even = though, like Ed=20 Smith, they realize the Bible commands it.

I heard about the above = conversation and=20 preached a sermon on the question of whether the unconverted should obey = the Ten=20 Commandments and pay tithes, or whether, as Ed had reasoned, these = things were=20 only for Christians. I pointed out that God=92s Law was put in motion = for man=92s=20 good. It is the WAY of life that brings peace, happiness,=20 prosperity; the full, abundant, interesting life; success, joy here and = now, as=20 well as eternal life through Christ for the saved.

I showed that it PAYS and is the = only=20 sensible way of life, entirely apart from the matter of salvation =97 = and that he=20 who sins little shall be punished with few stripes, but he who = sins much,=20 with many stripes (Luke 12:47-48). I pointed out God=92s = promises to=20 prosper the tithe-payer, and that this is a definite law God has set in = motion,=20 which operates inexorably and automatically, on the just and the unjust=20 alike.

Ed began to obey the Bible. At the = very next=20 service (we were holding services at this little schoolhouse three times = a week,=20 and three other nights a week in a hall in downtown Eugene at the time), = Mrs.=20 Smith smilingly handed me a one-dollar bill.

"That=92s Ed=92s first tithe," she = said=20 triumphantly. "We are now down to $10, and Ed decided to start tithing = with what=20 we have on hand."

The very next service she came to = me with=20 another happy smile.

"Here=92s a five-dollar bill," she = said. "The=20 very next day after Ed gave God=92s Work a .tenth of all he had, a = customer who=20 had owed him $50 for a year came and paid up. So here=92s the tithe of = that $50.=20 After paying the total $6 tithe, we now have $54 on hand instead of the = $10 we=20 had the other day."

It was beginning to pay =97 = but only=20 beginning. By the next service, as I remember it, Ed had received = his=20 first order in one or two years to drill a new well, for which he = received cash=20 payment. Before he finished that job, another one was contracted. Soon = he had=20 three or four jobs coming in at once and was forced to begin employing = men to=20 work for him.

Ed Smith was only one of = many I have=20 known who learned by experience that one cannot afford not = to pay=20 God the tithe that belongs to Him! I remember Ed Smith did encounter = some=20 troubles of a different nature later, when his wife and son were sent to = the=20 state tuberculosis hospital, and he finally broke down in real = repentance,=20 accepting Jesus Christ as Saviour. He came to me, according to the = command of=20 James 5:14, and both his wife and son were completely healed and = returned=20 home.

This is a true story, and the name = is not=20 fictitious. Ed Smith died several years ago, but I=92m happy to remember = these=20 incidents in his life, in the hope that they may start many others on = the right=20 and profitable, as well as the Christian, way of life.

Why did God ordain tithing? Was it = to place=20 increased burden and taxation upon us? Let us not misunderstand God=92s = love and=20 wisdom!

It isn=92t that God really needs = your first=20 tenth. He could have established some different system for carrying on = His Work.=20 But to have done so would have robbed us of the blessing that flows back = to us=20 if we are faithful in tithes and offerings!

The tither is invariably a = prosperous man. I=20 do not mean necessarily wealthy =97 but one whose actual needs are = always=20 supplied. Tithers, if faithful and obedient to the Eternal, are not = often found=20 in want. "Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may = abound to=20 your account" (Philippians 4:17). God promises that His = children=20 will always have something to give (Deuteronomy 16:16, 17). It is = only=20 when they withhold and misappropriate tithes and offerings that He fails = to=20 prosper them. For through John He tells us, "I wish above all things = that thou=20 mayest prosper and be in health," (Ill John 2).

"Honour the Lord [Eternal] with = thy=20 substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy = barns=20 be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine"=20 (Proverbs 3:9-10). Try it! "Prove me now herewith," challenges = the=20 Eternal to us, in a prophecy for our day (Malachi 3:10), "if I = will not=20 open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there = shall not=20 be room enough to receive it" =97 financial blessings! Are you behind = financially?=20 In debt? Your unfaithfulness in tithing and offerings may be the=20 reason!

Tithing While in Debt

Yet so many say: "I don=92t think = it would be=20 right for me to tithe while I=92m in debt." Yes, it is right, and the = other way is=20 WRONG. "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end = thereof are=20 the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25). God=92s Word tells us = what is=20 right, and God tells us to pay to His Work the first fruits of all our = income=20 (Proverbs 3:9-10). Regarding our material and financial needs, = even=20 debts, God says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His = righteousness; and=20 all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew = 6:33).

The tithe is the debt that you = owe=20 God. This debt is first in time and principle. Pay your debts to God, = make Him=20 your partner in your finances, and receive His blessing in temporal = affairs.=20 This will enable you to pay your debts, or to get a job, or to have your = needs=20 supplied more quickly than if you evade His debt.

Remember your ALL belongs to Him, = not to you=20 (Deuteronomy 10:14). You are in the position of a steward = handling that=20 which belongs to another. He is your silent partner, and the first = tenth, in=20 addition to offerings, is His share. The rest he gives freely to you. = But if you=20 appropriate for yourself His share, you are stealing, and robbing God=20 (Malachi 3:8). Would you pay your debts with money another man = had left=20 in your trust? If a man working in a bank does that, we call it=20 embezzlement!

The only sure way to know you have = God as a=20 partner, and that He is taking care of your interests, is to obey Him in = tithing.

When God receives His portion of = all your=20 income, God becomes your partner, sharing in your profits. He causes His = partners to prosper, so if you are in debt, take God into partnership = first, and=20 watch Him prosper you until finally you are out of debt! Remember the = debt you=20 owe God comes FIRST.

Your Glorious Opportunity

Some will say, "I never tithed, = and I know=20 God never frowned on me, for I have the feeling in my heart that I am = His child=20 without having to tithe." God has blessed you according to how you have = yielded=20 to Him, according to the light He has revealed to you from His Word! = While you=20 have the light, WALK in it, lest darkness come upon you! (John = 12:35-36).=20 "Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord" (II Peter = 3:18). See=20 also Romans 11:22. If every professing Christian would accept = this plain=20 instruction from God, honoring Him instead of themselves with their = substance,=20 the Work of the Eternal would go forth with such mighty power that the = world=20 would be shaken to its foundations!

Seek ye first the Kingdom, and = your material=20 needs shall be added. Try it! Take God at His Word! PROVE HIM! = (Malachi=20 3:10). See how you begin to prosper! Be a faithful steward; make God = your=20 PARTNER! Receive His blessing! God=92s Work is waiting on you!=20