Tithing? Come on, are you kidding me?
I was talking to a friend a couple weeks ago about Christianity as a whole and though he grew up in a Christian family, he is currently disappointed in Christianity and has decided that “churches” aren’t worth attending…he now is “worshiping” on his own, doing his own thing. One of the reasons he gave for his decision not to go to church any longer was that he once knew a man who was tithing to his church despite the fact that he was only making minimum wage. “How can a church who says they want to help the poor take 10% of a poor man’s money?!” He asked. Then he asked me if I tithed. “Of course I do,” I said. “God asks us too.”
Does God ask us to tithe or is that an Old Testament command that we no longer need to worry ourselves with?
In America today (I speak of America because that is the society I am familiar with) money is paramount to our daily existence, the more you have the better your life appears to be. Nobody is immune; we all need money to survive. 10% of your income could mean a car payment, a larger home, or even, for many, essential needs for our family. I sometimes look at what others have and calculate in my mind that if I didn’t tithe, I could afford some of those things as well. If God loves us why would he ask us to give Him such a large chunk of our provisions?
Typical arguments for tithing:
We find one of the most definitive Bible passages about tithing in Malachi 3:8-12: (An Old Testament passage)
“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the LORD of hosts; and all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” Says the LORD of hosts.”
Over the years there are a number of ways preachers have interpreted that passage and argued for tithing:
- Some preachers give the Malachi 3 “prosperity” argument:
“Test God on this tithing thing and see that if you give to this church God will make you rich…you’ll be able to afford a new house, drive a new car and wear designer shoes! You can’t out give God…if you sow a $1000 seed to this ministry; God will give you an abundant harvest of 10 fold…100 fold…1000 fold!”
- Other preachers give the Malachi 3 “guilt” argument:
“Did you know that if you don’t tithe to this ministry, you’ll be robbing God? We need your money to survive and continue to do God’s work. When you rob God as you are, the orphans will go hungry and the widows will die.”
- Yet other preachers give the Malachi 3 “send it ahead” argument:
“What this passage means is that God will reward you with blessings in Heaven… You know…I’ve never seen a U-haul attached to a hearse…you can’t take it with you, but you can send it ahead. Tithe to our ministry and you’ll be padding your bank account in Heaven!”
All of these arguments have elements of truth in them…When you tithe, God will bless you, you will enable ministries to help people, and you will be rewarded in Heaven. But, God may bless you in ways other than financially, He doesn’t need your money to facilitate His work, and giving with the expectation that God will owe you in Heaven is just plain ridiculous.
Typical arguments against tithing:
Of course preachers believe in tithing, that’s how they raise money…but others (generally those outside the church) will argue against tithing:
- Biblical scholars who have never studied the Bible argue:
“Tithing is an Old Testament command and because we are no longer under the Law but are now under grace we don’t need to tithe any more.”
- Cynics who watch too much “Christian” television argue:
“The church leaders would just use my money to pad their own bank account.”
- And the person who has everything but wants more will argue:
“I need that 10% to survive.”
All of these arguments have elements of truth in them as well… We are no longer under the Law and there is no tithing prerequisite for a relationship with God set out in the New Testament, some men have misused the tithes of others, and for some 10% takes a big chunk out of their survival money. But, Jesus did say that we ought to tithe (Matthew 23:23), misuse of money by others doesn’t give justification for you to misuse yours, and God has promised provision to his children.
So what then?
Years ago when I moved to South Florida I developed a nagging cough. After a couple years of living here that nagging cough turned into a chronic cough that was steadily getting worse. Now I’m not much for going to the doctor…I’m a tough guy and can heal on my own…I certainly don’t need some college boy to tell me what’s wrong with me…it’ll work itself out. But this cough was getting so bad that I would routinely have to pull off to the side of the road while driving to cough until I threw up…so I decided to go to the doctor for the first time in about a decade. It turns out that I had developed allergies. My doctor (the college boy) gave me a prescription for allergy medication and when I started to take it, lo and behold, I was cured! Quite literally the moment I took that first pill I stopped coughing, I started to sleep through the night, I could drive to work in the morning without having to pull over…I was cured! All it took to cure me was to set aside my pride, go to the doctor, find out the remedy for my cough and administer that remedy. The moment I did that I immediately started to exhibit evidence of the effectiveness of that remedy.
So many in Christianity are trying to do what I was doing for years…stop coughing… or, produce the evidence of being cured without taking the remedy. Tithing, along with so many other weird things Christians do like singing songs, having pot lucks and abstaining from evil, is one of the things that will occur naturally once we’ve effectively administered the remedy...Jesus! It isn’t a requirement to become a Christian; it is the evidence that you are a Christian.
Jesus said, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What he is saying here is that if you want to find out where a persons priorities lie, check out the places where he is stashing his treasure. God has done a marvelous work in my life. I am happier and more content today than I can even express, I have a peace inside me about my eternal destination that I can’t fully explain, and my needs are provided for abundantly each and every day. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is Christ Jesus and my belief in His finished work on the cross that has made each of those things happen in me; therefore, I seek out places to stash my treasure that advance His agenda, not mine. It is when we do that…when we set aside our pride and put God’s agenda above our own…it is then that He begins to fill us with His peace, bless us with His blessings, provide for our needs out of His abundance and set aside wonderful, eternal rewards for us in Heaven!
God has given us a guideline for giving…that guideline is 90%. He has given me everything and out of everything He has given me, He suggests that a good amount that I keep for myself is 90%...so I do…in most cases I hold to His guideline and keep that 90%, but sometimes I go around those guidelines and only keep 80-85% and secretly give the additional 5-10% to those in need…I hope He doesn’t punish me for that!
Seek the remedy and the cure will exhibit itself naturally.
Does God ask us to tithe or is that an Old Testament command that we no longer need to worry ourselves with?
In America today (I speak of America because that is the society I am familiar with) money is paramount to our daily existence, the more you have the better your life appears to be. Nobody is immune; we all need money to survive. 10% of your income could mean a car payment, a larger home, or even, for many, essential needs for our family. I sometimes look at what others have and calculate in my mind that if I didn’t tithe, I could afford some of those things as well. If God loves us why would he ask us to give Him such a large chunk of our provisions?
Typical arguments for tithing:
We find one of the most definitive Bible passages about tithing in Malachi 3:8-12: (An Old Testament passage)
“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the LORD of hosts; and all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” Says the LORD of hosts.”
Over the years there are a number of ways preachers have interpreted that passage and argued for tithing:
- Some preachers give the Malachi 3 “prosperity” argument:
“Test God on this tithing thing and see that if you give to this church God will make you rich…you’ll be able to afford a new house, drive a new car and wear designer shoes! You can’t out give God…if you sow a $1000 seed to this ministry; God will give you an abundant harvest of 10 fold…100 fold…1000 fold!”
- Other preachers give the Malachi 3 “guilt” argument:
“Did you know that if you don’t tithe to this ministry, you’ll be robbing God? We need your money to survive and continue to do God’s work. When you rob God as you are, the orphans will go hungry and the widows will die.”
- Yet other preachers give the Malachi 3 “send it ahead” argument:
“What this passage means is that God will reward you with blessings in Heaven… You know…I’ve never seen a U-haul attached to a hearse…you can’t take it with you, but you can send it ahead. Tithe to our ministry and you’ll be padding your bank account in Heaven!”
All of these arguments have elements of truth in them…When you tithe, God will bless you, you will enable ministries to help people, and you will be rewarded in Heaven. But, God may bless you in ways other than financially, He doesn’t need your money to facilitate His work, and giving with the expectation that God will owe you in Heaven is just plain ridiculous.
Typical arguments against tithing:
Of course preachers believe in tithing, that’s how they raise money…but others (generally those outside the church) will argue against tithing:
- Biblical scholars who have never studied the Bible argue:
“Tithing is an Old Testament command and because we are no longer under the Law but are now under grace we don’t need to tithe any more.”
- Cynics who watch too much “Christian” television argue:
“The church leaders would just use my money to pad their own bank account.”
- And the person who has everything but wants more will argue:
“I need that 10% to survive.”
All of these arguments have elements of truth in them as well… We are no longer under the Law and there is no tithing prerequisite for a relationship with God set out in the New Testament, some men have misused the tithes of others, and for some 10% takes a big chunk out of their survival money. But, Jesus did say that we ought to tithe (Matthew 23:23), misuse of money by others doesn’t give justification for you to misuse yours, and God has promised provision to his children.
So what then?
Years ago when I moved to South Florida I developed a nagging cough. After a couple years of living here that nagging cough turned into a chronic cough that was steadily getting worse. Now I’m not much for going to the doctor…I’m a tough guy and can heal on my own…I certainly don’t need some college boy to tell me what’s wrong with me…it’ll work itself out. But this cough was getting so bad that I would routinely have to pull off to the side of the road while driving to cough until I threw up…so I decided to go to the doctor for the first time in about a decade. It turns out that I had developed allergies. My doctor (the college boy) gave me a prescription for allergy medication and when I started to take it, lo and behold, I was cured! Quite literally the moment I took that first pill I stopped coughing, I started to sleep through the night, I could drive to work in the morning without having to pull over…I was cured! All it took to cure me was to set aside my pride, go to the doctor, find out the remedy for my cough and administer that remedy. The moment I did that I immediately started to exhibit evidence of the effectiveness of that remedy.
So many in Christianity are trying to do what I was doing for years…stop coughing… or, produce the evidence of being cured without taking the remedy. Tithing, along with so many other weird things Christians do like singing songs, having pot lucks and abstaining from evil, is one of the things that will occur naturally once we’ve effectively administered the remedy...Jesus! It isn’t a requirement to become a Christian; it is the evidence that you are a Christian.
Jesus said, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What he is saying here is that if you want to find out where a persons priorities lie, check out the places where he is stashing his treasure. God has done a marvelous work in my life. I am happier and more content today than I can even express, I have a peace inside me about my eternal destination that I can’t fully explain, and my needs are provided for abundantly each and every day. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is Christ Jesus and my belief in His finished work on the cross that has made each of those things happen in me; therefore, I seek out places to stash my treasure that advance His agenda, not mine. It is when we do that…when we set aside our pride and put God’s agenda above our own…it is then that He begins to fill us with His peace, bless us with His blessings, provide for our needs out of His abundance and set aside wonderful, eternal rewards for us in Heaven!
God has given us a guideline for giving…that guideline is 90%. He has given me everything and out of everything He has given me, He suggests that a good amount that I keep for myself is 90%...so I do…in most cases I hold to His guideline and keep that 90%, but sometimes I go around those guidelines and only keep 80-85% and secretly give the additional 5-10% to those in need…I hope He doesn’t punish me for that!
Seek the remedy and the cure will exhibit itself naturally.
No comments:
Post a Comment