When you were a child and it was your birthday and your mom made you that special cake and decorated it and saved it just for the moment that it would be presented to you to make you happy; although you were more than willing to share the cake, you didn’t want anyone to touch it until you cut it. If anyone did touch it first, it would no longer be as special to you anymore, because you did not receive it whole.

In a much more important and serious way, that is what tithe means to God. Although He gives us most of the cake, He doesn’t want it touched until we honor Him first. And when we give to Him, He wants it done out of love and reverence, not out of obligation.

I will never forget one day a long time ago in another country when I was holding a service and happened to be speaking about the tithe. When I called those forward who wanted to present their faithfulness to the Lord, I saw a man walk up to the altar and just throw some money on the altar. That action really saddened me, because although the man presented money, and perhaps it was even ten percent… but it most certainly was not tithe.

The Word of God says,

Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; (Proverbs 3:9)

Honor is shown not only in what you do but in how you do it. God does not just want money, because He is not a bank teller or a gas station attendant. God wants to be honored. And when you present your first fruits to Him with joy and respect, He will feel honored, and of course, as a result, He will honor you with whatever you need from Him.

It’s that simple… honor for honor.

May the God of the Bible bless you

Bishop Joshua Fonseca