Jesus understood the tendency of money to dominate our lives. He made it clear that we cannot serve both money and God simultaneously (Matthew 6:24) and further pointed out that where we put our money determines where our hearts go (Matthew 6:21).

Our view of money and the way we relate to wealth can become an obstacle in our relationship with God or it can reflect our commitment to him.

Generosity is important because it breaks the hold that money has on us; it’s our way of saying, “God is more important in my life than money.” Jesus put it this way, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

That feels strange to us – we naturally tend to think that we will put our treasure where our heart already is. But Jesus reversed this, telling us that our hearts tend to follow our treasure, not lead it. Generosity, then, is a way that we bring our hearts closer to God.

We simply cannot be good and faithful stewards if sacrifice is not a part of our lives. Paul calls us in Romans 12:1 to be a “living sacrifice.” Jesus challenges every steward who wants to follow Him in Luke 9:23, “let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Each day, we are to lay down our wishes, our desires, our agenda, and our plans, asking God to align our hearts to his.

Leviticus 27:30 (TLB) says, “A tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, is the Lord’s, and is holy.” And Proverbs 3:9 (NIV) says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.”

By definition, tithing is the practice of giving 10% of your income as an offering.

Tithing isn’t for God’s benefit. He doesn’t need our money. Instead, tithing is meant for our benefit because sacrificing a portion of our income reminds us to rely on God to meet our needs.