Tithing: Lottery or Life Lesson?

Got a great question on the email today, and it said this.

It says, ralph, my pastor says if I just tithe faithfully, God will bless my finances.

But I'm tithing every week and I'm still drowning in debt.

Stressed about bills, and nowhere near blessed.

They go on.

Great.

Honestly, I feel like I'm doing my part, but God isn't showing up.

Am I doing something wrong or is this whole idea just not true?

Let me start by saying thank you for being honest.

A lot of people wouldn't come out and say that.

And I know thousands of people might be listening to this right now, and they feel the same way you do.

So thank you so much for sharing that.

But so many people are afraid to admit that, yes, you're giving, you're praying, I'm assuming, yet your finances still feel stuck.

And trust me, I've been there.

You can feel like your faith is completely shaken.

But here's the hard truth.

A lot of people don't want to hear this.

Tithing isn't a lottery ticket.

So many people that I've met said, oh, Ralph, I'm going to do the right thing.

God's going to bless this.

I'm going to.

I'm going to tithe every week.

I'm going to do all this sort of things.

And they feel like they're in front of a slot machine or a lottery ticket.

They're going to pull the lever and God's going to drop this on them.

See, a lot of people think that there's.

And unfortunately, there's this false notion out there.

I call them the prosperity preachers.

They feel like they give money, they get money.

Well, that's not what the Bible says.

That's not what the gospel says.

That's prosperity teaching.

I talk about that on my show all the time.

Look at the book of Malachi 3:10.

It says, Bring the whole tithe into the store.

Luke 16:11 says, if you've not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?

See, the thing is, so many people think God's blessing is just going to show up like cash in your hand, like you're going to get this mystery deposit.

But you need to realize sometimes God's blessing looks completely different.

It looks like things like wisdom or provision or maybe peace in the middle of stress.

Man, we can all use that.

And here's the missing piece.

A lot of people don't get this part.

Tithing is just the beginning.

Tithing is obedience.

But the real mystery to this, the real Secretness is stewardship.

And see, stewardship.

I talk about that on my daily show all the time.

Stewardship is discipline.

And see, God calls us to do both.

He wants us to be obedient, and he also wants us to have discipline.

So let's get practical for a second.

If you're giving but you're still drowning in credit card debt, the tithe alone isn't going to outrage your debt.

That tithe doesn't go to the credit card companies that pay it off.

What God is really saying to you is, maybe it's time to start budgeting.

Maybe God's saying to you, it's time to cut back.

It's time to have a debt reduction plan.

It's time to attack that debt.

I talk on the show all the time about Proverbs 22:7, about how the borrower is slave to the lender.

But I want you to understand something.

I want you to hear this loud and clear.

Your giving is not wasted.

God sees it.

He sees that obedience.

But he also wants you to align your financial life with his principles.

That's the thing a lot of people don't understand.

Well, I'm going to go give on Sunday.

I'm going to do all the right things, Ralph.

But are you aligning your finances with your faith?

See, sometimes the real blessing isn't a check in the mail.

I've heard so many people say, rob, I've been praying and praying.

I hear these people all the time.

They pray, and then all of a sudden a check comes in the mail they weren't expecting.

Well, sometimes it's not what God's going to give you.

Sometimes it's freedom from debt.

Or maybe it's just peace when you have to make that tough decision, when you have to say to your kids, we can't afford that right now.

So my challenge is this.

Don't stop giving.

Don't stop doing it.

So many people just say, ralph, I'm giving up.

I'm not doing anymore.

But also, don't stop managing your debts either.

Because the truth is, God blesses the faithful steward, not just the faithful giver.

It's a book of things.

Why don't we pray together, Lord?

We just know right now that you're challenging us sometimes, Lord, and we're doing the things that we think we should be doing.

We're being cheerful givers, Lord, but we're not seeing anything coming back to us.

Lord, help us to have a contrite heart, Lord.

Help us to see this not only as obedience, but as discipline.

As well, Lord, give the listeners wisdom, Lord.

Give them courage to change their habits, Lord.

And most of all, give them peace as they work through their financial situations to try to break that cycle of financial shame and do it with confidence.

And I ask this incomplete confidence in the name of Jesus, amen.

I just want to thank you for joining me today.

I out for a little walk here on the farm.

It's strange that it's in August, it's about 60 degrees.

But I was thinking about what can I talk about today?

And God said, hey, you know what?

A lot of people understand the obedience side, but it's discipline as well.

So I'm just going to encourage you today.

You can do this.

I have confidence in you.

Have confidence in yourself.

Stay financially savvy out there.

God bless you.

And you have a great day today.