If God is Spirit, why did He establish the practice of giving tithes and offerings for His people?

The Old Testament laws of giving tithes and offerings were created to judge the hearts of God’s people when entering His presence (Exodus 23.15).

Such laws were not revealed to pagans and unbelievers, because it was a privilege reserved only for His Own.

Tithing is a practical acknowledgement that God is Lord of the whole universe, including the life of the one who tithes. Since a tithe is the first fruit of all that the tither has brought in, it reveals what the priorities of the faithful are.

To spend the first fruits on yourself and then place the other 90% on the altar shows you don’t regard Him as Lord.

God established the tithe. But offerings He leaves up to each person.

While tithes are an exact amount (10% of your income), offerings are not! They are a spontaneous expression of the heart, coming from the joy of the giver’s soul (2 Corinthians 9.7), and show exactly what is inside the offering giver. As in the giving of a gift, the one on the receiving end can measure the degree of love the giver has by the gift itself.

The same happens with offerings. The offering speaks for the giver and expresses to God what the giver can’t say in words. It reflects either a sincere love or a casual disregard for Him.

Offerings are also witnesses, either for, or against the giver. Whoever complains to God about having a “Christian” life with no quality just has to look at his own offerings for his answer. “For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6.38).

The value of an offering is not in its quantity, but in its quality. In Luke 21.2-4, the Lord teaches that, in God’s eyes, the good is the enemy of the best.