Chapter 9
TITHING,
THE ROAD TO
PROSPERITY
Charles Fillmore
Prosperity
AS YE abound in
everything, in faith, and utterance,
and knowledge, and in all earnestness,
and in your love to us, see that ye
abound in this grace also."
"Honor Jehovah with thy
substance,
And with the
first-fruits of all thine
increase:
So shall thy barns be
filled with plenty,
And thy vats shall
overflow with new wine."
Under the Mosaic law a
tithe (or tenth) was required as the
Lord's portion. Throughout the Old
Testament the tithe or tenth is
mentioned as a reasonable and just
return to the Lord by way of
acknowledging Him as the source of
supply. After Jacob had seen the vision
of the ladder with angels ascending and
descending on it he set up a pillar and
made a vow to the Lord, saying, "Of all
that thou shalt give me I will surely
give the tenth unto thee." In the 3d
chapter of Malachi we find God's
blessing directly connected with
faithfulness in giving to the Lord's
treasury, but gifts should be made
because it is right and because one
loves to give, not from a sense of duty
or for the sake of reward.
That there will be a
reward following the giving we are also
assured by Jesus in a direct promise
"Give, and it shall be given unto you;
good measure, pressed down, shaken
together, running over, shall they give
unto your bosom. For with what measure
ye mete it shall be measured to you
again."
Promises of spiritual
benefits and increase of God's bounty
through the keeping of this divine law
of giving and receiving, abound in all
the Scriptures. "There is that
scattereth, and increaseth yet
more;
And there is that
withholdeth more than is meet, but it
tendeth only to want.
The liberal soul shall
be made fat;
And he that watereth
shall be watered also
himself."
"He that hath a
bountiful eye shall be
blessed;
For he giveth of his
bread to the poor."
"He that soweth
bountifully shall reap also
bountifully."
"Blessed are ye that sow
beside all waters."
We are living now under
larger and fuller blessings from God
than man has ever known. It is meet
therefore that we give accordingly and
remember the law of the tithe, for if a
tenth was required under the law in
those olden times, it is certainly no
less fitting that we should give it
cheerfully now. One of the greatest
incentives to generous giving is a keen
appreciation of the blessings secured
to us through the redemptive work of
Jesus Christ. "He that spared not His
own Son, but delivered him up for us
all, how shall he not also with him
freely give us all things?" "Freely ye
received, freely give." True giving is
the love and generosity of the
Spirit-quickened heart responding to
the love and generosity of the Father's
heart.
In his second letter
Paul made a stirring appeal to the
Corinthians for a generous gift to
their poorer brethren in Jerusalem. He
suggests some principles of giving that
are always applicable, for giving is a
grace that adds to the spiritual growth
of all men in all times. Without giving
the soul shrivels, but when giving is
practiced as a part of Christian
living, the soul expands and becomes
Godlike in the grace of liberality and
generosity. No restoration to the
likeness of God can be complete unless
mind, heart, and soul are daily opening
out into that large, free, bestowing
spirit which so characterizes our God
and Father. Therefore it is not
surprising that Paul classes the grace
of giving with faith, knowledge, and
love.
A very simple yet
practical plan for exercising this
grace of giving had been suggested by
Paul in his first letter to the
Corinthian church. "Upon the first day
of the week," he said, "let each one of
you lay by him in store, as he may
prosper"; that is, each member was
asked to contribute to the establishing
of a treasury. This was to be the
Lord's storehouse, into which each one
was to put his offerings regularly and
in proportion to his means. In adopting
this plan the offerer became a steward
of the Lord's goods and entered upon a
course of training and discipline
needed to make a good steward, for it
takes wisdom to know how rightly to
dispense the bounty of God. Perhaps no
simpler way to begin one's growth in
the grace of giving can be suggested
for our own day. Those who have
followed this method have usually found
that they had more money to give than
they had thought possible.
In order that the plan
of giving may be successful there are
several things that must be observed.
First there must be a willing mind. "If
the readiness is there, it is
acceptable according as a man hath, not
according as he hath not." "God loveth
a cheerful giver." Secondly, the giving
must be done in faith, and there must
be no withholding because the offering
seems small. Many of the instances of
giving that are recorded in the Bible
as worthy of special mention,
commendation, and blessing are
instances where the gift itself was
small. The widow who fed Elijah in his
time of famine gave him a cake made
with her last handful of meal. For her
faith and her generous spirit she was
rewarded with a plentiful daily supply
of food for herself and her sons, as
well as for Elijah. "The jar of meal
shall not waste, neither shall the
cruse of oil fail."
This same truth is set
forth beautifully in the New Testament,
where it is clearly shown that not the
amount of the offering but the spirit
in which it is given determines its
value and power. "And he [Jesus] sat
down over against the treasury, and
beheld how the multitude cast money
into the treasury: and many that were
rich cast in much. And there came a
poor widow, and she cast in two mites,
which make a farthing. And he called
unto him his disciples, and said unto
them, Verily I say unto you, This poor
widow cast in more than all they that
are casting into the treasury: for they
all did cast in of their superfluity;
but she of her want did cast in all
that she had, even all her
living."
This poor widow
exemplified what it is to give in
faith; and were ever two mites so great
a gift as when they brought forth such
praise from the Master Himself! The
results of giving in faith are just as
sure in this age as in the time of
Jesus, for the law is unfailing in all
ages.
A third requisite for
keeping the law of giving and receiving
is that the offering shall be a just
and fair proportion of all that one
receives. The amount was settled by
Paul and the measure he gave was: "as
he may prosper." There is a certain
definiteness about this, and yet it
admits of freedom for the giver to
exercise his individual faith,
judgment, and will.
The question of wise
distribution is closely related to the
matter of filling God's treasury. To
whom shall we give and when are
questions quite important. There are
several truths that may be considered
in this connection, but then each
individual finds it necessary to trust
to the Spirit of wisdom manifest in his
own heart, since there are no rules or
precedents that one can follow in
detail. This is as it should be, for it
keeps the individual judgment, faith,
love, sympathy, and will alive and
active. Yet a careful study of the
underlying laws of spiritual giving
will help one to exercise these divine
faculties as they should be exercised.
If we follow the Spirit of wisdom we
shall not give to anything that is
contrary to the teaching of Jesus, but
spend every penny in the furtherance of
the good news of life that He proclaims
and in the promotion of the brotherhood
of man that it is His mission to
establish on earth among all those who
become sons through Him.
True spiritual giving
rewards with a double joy: first that
which comes with the laying of the gift
upon the altar or in the Lord's
treasury; then the joy of sharing our
part of God's bounty with others. One
of the blessings is the satisfying
knowledge that we are meeting the law
and paying our debt of love and justice
to the Lord. The other is the joy of
sharing the Lord's bounty. Justice
comes first; then
generosity.
Even the so-called
heathen recognize giving as a part of
worship, for we find them coming with
offerings when they worship their
idols. All ages and all religious
dispensations have stressed giving as a
vital part of their worship. In this
age, when we have so much, more is
required of us, even to the giving of
ourselves with all that we are and
have. This privilege carries
immeasurable benefits with it, for it
looses us from the personal life,
unifies us with the universal, and so
opens our inner and outer life to the
inflow and the outflow of the life,
love, bounty and grace of God. This is
the blessed result of faithful
obedience to the law and exercise of
the grace of giving.
The people were amazed
when the prophet Malachi told them that
they had been robbing God and desired
to know wherein they had failed when
they thought they had been serving the
Lord so faithfully. People are as much
amazed today to learn that they have
been untrue to God's law, for the
message of Malachi is for us quite as
much as for the ancients. The Spirit of
God gave this message through the
prophet: "Bring ye the whole tithe into
the store-house, that there may be food
in my house, and prove me now herewith,
saith Jehovah of hosts, if I will not
open you the windows of heaven, and
pour you out a blessing, that there
shall not be room enough to receive it.
And I will rebuke the devourer for your
sakes, and he shall not destroy the
fruits of your ground; neither shall
your vine cast its fruit before the
time in the field, saith Jehovah of
hosts. And all nations shall call you
happy; for ye shall be a delightsome
land, saith Jehovah of
hosts."
Study this 3d chapter of
Malachi carefully if you would know the
happy solution of the problem of giving
and receiving. See how practical it is
for people in every walk of life and
for nations as well. It offers the
solution to the problems of the farmer.
It sets forth clearly a law of
prosperity for all classes of people;
for those who need protection for their
crops from frosts, droughts, floods;
for those who would escape the plagues,
pestilences, and manifold things that
would destroy their supply and support.
It is a simple law but so effective:
simply give a tithe or tenth or the
"first-fruits" or their equivalent to
the Lord. God should not be expected to
meet all man's requirements in the
matter of giving this protection and
increase unless man fulfills the
requirements of God. The act of giving
complies with the divine law, because
it involves the recognition of God as
the giver of all increase; and unless
we have a recognition of the source of
our supply we have no assurance of
continuing in its use.
Many people have doubts
as to whether it will really do any
good to ask the Lord for protection and
for plenty in regard to crops or other
supply. Many who are employed in cities
or who are in business think it strange
that they should believe in omnipresent
prosperity. Thus unbelief is present
with them at the very time when an
unwavering faith is most necessary.
There is a psychological reason why
people should obey spiritual law. When
a person obeys the law of God along any
line, his faith immediately becomes
strengthened in proportion and his
doubts disappear. When anyone puts God
first in his finances, not only in
thought but in every act, by releasing
his first fruits (a tenth part of his
increase or income) to the Lord, his
faith in omnipresent supply becomes a
hundredfold stronger and he prospers
accordingly. Obeying this law gives him
an inner knowing that he is building
his finances on a sure foundation that
will not fail him.
Everything in the
universe belongs to God, and though all
things are for the use and enjoyment of
man, he can possess nothing selfishly.
When man learns that a higher law than
human custom and desire is working in
the earth to bring about justice,
righteousness, and equalization, he
will begin to obey that law by tithing,
loving his neighbor, and doing unto
others as he would have them do unto
him. Then man will reach the end of all
the troubles brought upon himself by
his selfishness and greed, and will
become healthy, prosperous, and
happy.
The pastor of a small
church in Georgia suggested to his
congregation, composed largely of
cotton farmers, that they dedicate a
tenth part of their land to the Lord
and ask Him for protection against the
ravages of the boll weevil, which had
devastated the crops in that vicinity
for several years. Seven farmers in the
congregation decided to do this. They
took no measures to protect their crop
on these dedicated acres, yet the pest
did not attack the cotton there. The
quality of the fiber was better on
those acres than on any that adjoined
them. The experiment was so successful
in fact that practically all the
farmers in that community have decided
to follow the plan in the
future.
Many experiences such as
this are awakening men to respect our
relation to the infinite principle of
life, everywhere present, that we know
as God. This divine element of life
that manifests itself as growth and
substance resides within the factors
that combine to produce cotton, wheat,
and all other forms of vegetation. Then
certainly if the farmer works in
acknowledged sympathy with this life
principle, it will work in sympathy
with him and for his good. Each
contributing in love and understanding
to the other, a larger crop will be the
result, and a larger measure of
prosperity for the farmer. Not only the
farmer but the banker, the tradesman,
the professional man can work in
sympathy and harmony with this
principle of growth and increase. The
infinite life principle is as
responsive in one field as another, and
it is everywhere present. Even
so-called inanimate objects are filled
to the full with this infinite life,
and even coined gold is tense with the
desire to expand and to grow. The
materials handled by the tradesman are
made of the same substance that makes
the universe and contain within
themselves the germ of growth and
increase. All men are therefore daily
associated with life, and through
rendering it the reverent
acknowledgment that is its due and
through witnessing this acknowledgment
by dedicating a part of their increase
they are prospered.
The tithe is the
equivalent of the increased fertility
of the land. If by acknowledging God as
the giver of all life the farmer raises
two or six or twenty bushels more on
his field, that extra portion, which he
would not have had otherwise, is the
Lord's portion. In trade the tithe is
the equivalent of the increased quality
of goods. In professional life the
tithe is the increased ability or the
increased appreciation. The tithing
principle can be applied in all of our
industrial and social relationships. In
every case where it has been applied
and followed for a time, the tither has
been. remarkably blessed; quite as much
so as in the case of the cotton farmers
and their tithe acres.
There are many people
who wish to give but seem at a loss as
to how to go about it or where to
begin. They do not know how much they
should give, or when or how often to
offer their gifts, and there are a host
of related questions. To answer these
questions there must be found a
definite basis for their giving, a rule
to which they can conform. This is
where the law of tithing fits
beautifully, for it is a basis and a
sound one, tested and proved for
thousands of years. The tithe may be a
tenth part of one's salary, wage, or
allowance, of the net profits of
business, or of money received from the
sale of goods. It is based on every
form of supply, no matter through what
channel it may come, for there are many
channels through which man is
prospered. The tenth should be set
apart for the upkeep of some spiritual
work or workers. It should be set apart
first even before one's personal
expenses are taken out, for in the
right relation of things God comes
first always. Then everything else
follows in divine order and falls into
its proper place.
The great promise of
prosperity is that if men seek God and
His righteousness first, then all shall
be added unto them. One of the most
practical and sensible ways of seeking
God's kingdom first is to be a tither,
to put God first in finances. It is the
promise of God, the logical thing to
do, and the experience of all who have
tried it, that all things necessary to
their comfort, welfare, and happiness
have been added to them in an
overflowing measure. Tithing
establishes method in giving and brings
into the consciousness a sense of order
and fitness that will be manifested in
one's outer life and affairs as
increased efficiency and greater
prosperity.
Another blessing that
follows the practice of tithing is the
continual "letting go" of what one
receives, which keeps one's mind open
to the good and free from covetousness.
Making an occasional large gift and
then permitting a lapse of time before
another is made will not give this
lasting benefit, for one's mind channel
may in the meantime become clogged with
material thoughts of fear, lack, or
selfishness. When a person tithes he is
giving continuously, so that no spirit
of grasping, no fear, and no thought of
limitations gets a hold on him. There
is nothing that keeps a person's mind
so fearless and so free to receive the
good constantly coming to him as the
practice of tithing. Each day, week,
pay day, whenever it is, the tither
gives one tenth. When an increase of
prosperity comes to him, as come it
will and does, his first thought is to
give God the thanks and the tenth of
the new amount. The free, open mind
thus stayed on God is certain to bring
forth joy, real satisfaction in living,
and true prosperity. Tithing is based
on a law that cannot fail, and it is
the surest way ever found to
demonstrate plenty, for it is God's own
law and way of giving.
"And all the tithe of
the land, whether of the seed of the
land, or of the fruit of the tree, is
Jehovah's: it is holy unto
Jehovah."
Let us give as God
gives, unreservedly, and with no
thought of return, making no mental
demands for recompense on those who
have received from us. A gift with
reservations is not a gift; it is a
bribe. There is no promise of increase
unless we give freely, let go of the
gift entirely, and recognize the
universal scope of the law. Then the
gift has a chance to go out and to come
back multiplied. There is no telling
how far the blessing may travel before
it comes back, but it is a beautiful
and encouraging fact that the longer it
is in returning, the more hands it is
passing through and the more hearts it
is blessing. All these hands and hearts
add something to it in substance, and
it is increased all the more when it
does return.
We must not try to fix
the avenues through which our good is
to come. There is no reason for
thinking that what you give will come
back through the one to whom you gave
it. All men are one in Christ and form
a universal brotherhood. We must put
away any personal claim, such as "I
gave to you, now you give to me," and
supplant it with "Inasmuch as ye did it
unto one of these my brethren, even
these least, ye did it unto me." The
law will bring each of us just what is
his own, the reaping of the seeds he
has sown. The return will come, for it
cannot escape the law, though it may
quite possibly come through a very
different channel from what we expect.
Trying to fix the channel through which
his good must come to him is one of the
ways in which the personal man shuts
off his own supply.
The spiritual-minded man
does not make selfish use of the law
but gives because he loves to
give.
Because he gives with no
thought of reward and no other motive
than love, he is thrown more completely
into the inevitable operation of the
law and his return is all the more
certain. He is inevitably enriched and
cannot escape it. Jesus said, "Give,
and it shall be given unto you; good
measure, pressed down, shaken together,
running over." He was not merely making
a promise but stating a law that never
fails to function.
So inexhaustible is the
bounty of the Giver of all good that to
him who has eyes to see it and faith to
receive it God is an unfailing source
of supply. The munificent Giver
withholds nothing from him who comes in
the name of a son and heir and lays
claim to his portion. It is the
Father's good pleasure to give us the
kingdom, and all that the Father has is
ours. But we must have the faith and
the courage to claim it.
Men who accomplish great
things in the industrial world are the
ones who have faith in the
money-producing power of their ideas.
Those who would accomplish great things
in the demonstration of spiritual
resources must have faith to lay hold
of the divine ideas and the courage to
speak them into expression. The
conception must be followed by the
affirmation that the law is instantly
fulfilled. Then the supply will follow
in manifestation.
