Can tithing make you a better spouse? Someone believes so. I stumbled across a quote claiming tithing prevents married couples from cheating on one another. Even though it’s a thought-provoking statement, it lacks a biblical foundation.
Table of Contents
- A Tithing Quote Worth Thinking About
- Watch the Video
- Your Tithe to the Local Church Has Its Limits
- You Can Tithe and Still Struggle to Do Right
- The Truth About Cheating in Marriage
- The Wrong Interpretation of Malachi Shows Up Again
- A Call for Being Faithful in Marriage
- Recap
- Find Out More
A Tithing Quote Worth Thinking About
First, let me share the exact quote with you. From there, we can unpack what was said and determine whether it has merit.
“Tithing at the local church will make you to be faithful to your wife or husband. People who cheat on God will surely cheat on their partners. Be inspired to be faithful to God and then you will be faithful to your loved one.”
― Khuliso Mamathoni, The Greatest Proposal
According to Goodreads, ” Khuliso uses the relationship between a man and a woman as an analogy to tell the story of God’s great love for humankind.”
Watch the Video
Your Tithe to the Local Church Has Its Limits
Let’s dissect the first sentence.
“Tithing at the local church will make you to be faithful to your wife or husband.”
Tithing to a local church doesn’t make anyone faithful to his or her spouse. There’s no teaching in the Bible saying tithing will make you a faithful wife or husband. The intent of biblical tithing isn’t improving marriages. The primary purpose of the tithe was to support the Levitical priesthood and the poor, strangers, widows, and orphans. Tithing was never used to train believers on how to be better spouses.
The Bible provides advice, wisdom, and guidance for married couples. One of the best teachings is Ephesians 5:22-33. Apostle Paul encourages wives to submit to their husbands while telling husbands to love their wives as they love themselves. Tithing doesn’t make anyone faithful in marriage, according to the Bible. Rather, it’s love, submission, oneness, and respect.
How did Christ love the church? He was committed, devoted, and faithful. Although he faced temptations, he overcame his earthly desires. He understood his mission. He knew his sacrifice served a greater purpose — the salvation of God’s people.
You Can Tithe and Still Struggle to Do Right
A person can be faithful in one area of life and not another. A husband or wife can be diligent tithers while engaging in extramarital Affairs. The Bible teaches us the scribes and Pharisees were diligent tithers. Yet, they ignored the more important matters, such as mercy and justice (Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42). As we see, tithing neither improves nor exemplifies one’s moral character.
The Truth About Cheating in Marriage
The quote overlooks the myriad reasons why people are unfaithful in their marriages. Here are a few examples:
1. Cheating is a result of a character flaw.
2. Cheating is an act of selfishness.
3. People yield to temptation.
4. People cheat because they’re unhappy in their marriages.
5. Some people cheat to make their spouses jealous.
6. Some marriages may be susceptible to infidelity because God never joined them together. Often, people marry without seeking God’s counsel.
The point is tithing is not the reason why spouses commit adultery.
Tithing isn’t the solution to marital infidelity. Adultery is a symptom of deep-rooted issues. These problems must be addressed with prayer, fasting, and/or counseling. It’s unbiblical to say tithing prevents cheating. Plus, it gives couples a false sense of emotional security.
The Wrong Interpretation of Malachi Shows Up Again
Now let’s tackle the second sentence:
“People who cheat on God will surely cheat on their partners.”
Khuliso presumes you’re cheating on God when you don’t pay tithes. This reminds me of Malachi 3:8, where man robs God in tithes and offerings. Malachi 3:8 is one of the Bible’s most misused and misunderstood tithe scriptures. The Levitical priests were robbing God because they stopped tithing according to the Law of Moses.
New Testament Christians aren’t required to tithe (Colossians 2:14). So believers can’t cheat God when they don’t tithe. However, if we want to be sticklers for the truth, we can argue that Christians who tithe are cheating God.
Like the Levitical priests, today’s believers aren’t tithing according to the Mosaic Law. The Lord required, among other things, the tithes to be paid as crops and livestock. In other words, “tithing” money to a church cheats God because it violates the Mosaic Law.
A Call for Being Faithful in Marriage
Khuliso’s final statement is uplifting. He says, “Be inspired to be faithful to God, and then you will be faithful to your loved one.” Believers should be inspired to be faithful to God. Nothing pleases God more than faith (Hebrews 11:6). faithfulness should extend to one’s spouse. However, we must remember that the so-called tithing doesn’t reflect one’s faithfulness to God or spouse.
Recap
Will tithing make you faithful to your spouse? No. The Bible doesn’t teach this. Nowhere in the Bible is tithing associated with preventing adultery. Biblical tithing serves one overall purpose: to provide for the Levitical priesthood, Levites, widows, orphans, and strangers.
The Bible provides instructions regarding marriage. It tells husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church. If husbands (and wives) follow this instruction, marital unfaithfulness will not be allowed.
Find Out More
Discover the hidden truth about tithes the church doesn’t want you to know. Click here.
