Yesterday we set the stage for the topic of tithing and Christian giving.
Today we want to delve a little further into giving and try to answer this question, “How much should I give?”.
We are going to take a bit of a journey to get there, but that’s where we’ll end up.
This post might be a little controversial for some, and downright uncomfortable for others – but that’s exactly what I’m hoping for.
Ready? Let’s go!
Why Tithing is Such a Polarizing Topic
A reader yesterday commented that he never realized tithing was such a polarizing topic – and you know, he’s right.
Why is it that Christians get so worked up about the concept of giving and tithing.
I think the answer lies in the reason why Jesus spoke so much about money and possessions – because money has a way of subtly blinding us to what’s really important!
The topic of giving is controversial because in our heart of hearts we want to clutch our possessions with tight grips and we don’t want anyone telling us we need to give things up!
C’mon, be honest – what’s in the very depths of your heart, the place that you don’t anyone to go? I know what’s in mine - selfishness.
We want things for ourselves - don’t leave me hangin’ here…
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Why We Want to Know Exactly How Much to Give
Alright, so we are selfish by nature. We naturally want things for ourselves and our hearts are little idol factories - and money is one of our greatest idols we treasure!
So if we ask the reason why we want to know how much to give, what do you think our answers would be – so we can make a budget, it’s good planning, God tells us to purpose in our heart what to give might be a few answers?
Those are all good things and very accurate – but here’s my theory of why we want to know exactly how much to give:
Because you and I want to know the minimum requirement we can give to God and still make Him happy!
Too many of us are working on a To-Do List with God; so we give our 10% (although we know that it’s really much less than that on average), check it off our list and feel good about ourselves that we gave God his money.
We view tithing as some sort of tax that God is exacting from us and we think if I give Him this money then He’ll bless me because I did what I was supposed to do.
Why the New Testament is Eerily Silent About Percentages
Have you ever wondered why percentages are not mentioned in the New Testament? I have.
I mean, if it’s so important why didn’t Jesus say, “Give x%!” or the Apostle Paul when he was writing half the NT didn’t just once say, “Well you know Ephesians – you are to give x% so let’s keep it up!”
I believe that it’s silent because if it gave a percentage we would give exactly that percentage and no more. We would satisfy the minimum requirement.
In Order to Excel at Giving You Must Do This First
There’s a great passage about giving in 2 Corinthians 8:1-9 that I will highlight later in this series, but I want to take a look at verses 3-5:
For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.
Ok, so here’s what’s going on – Paul is writing to the Corinthians urging to excel at giving (v.7) and he gives the Macedonian church as an example of excelling in giving.
But notice what he says about those Macedonian believers – they gave themselves first to the Lord.
What we need to do before we give anything is we need to surrender!
We need to surrender our hearts, our lives and our idols to God! We surrender our finances to Him, we give up our conrol over our lives and we let go of all the stuff we want to clutch so tightly to.
That means, if you are a believer – you get down on your knees, repent of anything that you’ve placed above Him in your heart.
And it means if you are not a follower of Jesus, you carefully consider what He said and surrender your heart for the very first time to Him!
God wants our surrender because He loves us and He knows what’s best for us - we’ve been created in His image to worship Him and He knows that He is the only thing that can truly bring peace and lasting joy to our lives!
Understanding This Truth Will Help Excel Us in Giving
I like what Tim Keller says about giving:
The solution to stinginess is a reorientation to the generosity of Christ in the gospel, how he poured out his wealth for you!
Here’s what will help us answer the question of how much: The Gospel!
2 Corinthians 8:9 says:
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
Look to Jesus – by His sheer act of grace He gave up all the riches of heaven to come to earth, live the life that you never could and died the death that you should have.
He gave up everything for your sake, so that you might experience those same riches of heaven – not wealth, but true riches!
One of the reasons we don’t give more is because we don’t see the great grace by which God has saved us and we don’t trust that God is good and He’ll provide for our needs.
Thankfully Jesus didn’t “tithe” His blood or we’d all be in big trouble!
So how much should we give? As much as we possibly can – it’s the least we can do.
Questions to consider
Readers, do you think we should always be looking to give more and more by increasing the percentages that we give?
Do you think we should set a percentage and as long as we give cheerfully then that’s good enough?
Will you change your giving habits, if so how?
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{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
Amen, Jason! Jesus’ example is the exact reason I prefer not to teach tithing. If we look at what He taught about giving, we’ll see He talked very little about tithing but a lot about generosity/generous giving. The same is true in the rest of the New Testament (which says virtually nothing of tithing as a practice – just one brief mention).
I agree that the solution to stinginess is to focus on the generosity of God through the gift of His Son. How can we respond in any way but extreme generosity when we consider this marvelous Gift?!
.-= Paul Williams´s last blog ..You Don’t Need to Be an Expert to Be Successful =-.
Paul, thanks for checkin’ in again. I think we (myself included) need to spend more time savoring the marvelous Gift of the Gospel and when that truth sinks deeply into our hearts we will naturally want to give more and more, not just stop at some percentage!
Tithing is a form of obedience, and God does demand that of us in different ways. But that said, we have to be careful not to think of it as something like an indulgence that buys us into heaven.
I’ve always thought that a mathematical tithe–10%–starts becoming the “God Tax”, we want a number so we can fit it in the budget. It’s a convention, a target, and as you say, it has a way of becoming the maximum–”I paid my 10% now I’m done”.
There’s also a danger that we can use it as a justification to point ourselves toward making more money, ie, God wants me to be prosperous so I can give Him more money, or The more I make, the more I give God, the more He’ll bless me and the more I’ll make. The last one is a loose play on the prosperity Gospel.
The OT tithe was something specific, required of a specific people at a specific time in history, which MAY be why 10% isn’t specifically emphasized in the New Testament. 10% may be real burden to some, but a walk in the park for others.
I think we should give regularly and sacrificially, which means we may be able to give more at sometimes than at others. But we shouldn’t think that our salvation hangs on it either. We should give for what God has done for us already, not because we think He’ll do even more if we tithe. Some of the stuff we hear and read on tithing should make us wonder if we’ve grasped this.
.-= Kevin@OutOfYourRut´s last blog ..How to Buy Health Insurance Without Paying Too Much =-.
I love this post. 10% is my minimum and what I use as a baseline. I have to admit having that guideline was extremely helpful to be sure I didn’t forgo my giving while blasting out of debt. That being said I look forward to the day where my giving far outweighs my house payment!
Great Comments from Kevin & Paul. I think that God has given us freedom and is delighted to see our generous attitude more than giving out of obligation. However as you noted yesterday Jesus did not come to abolish the OT law but rather to fuilfil it.
If statistics are correct, less than 5% Christians tithe; and that is with understanding that tithe is 10% what if there was no known numbers\percentage would christians give anyway? I doubt!
If my assumtions are true then it really comes down to the heart.. as you mentioned yesterday and other commenters have written.
10% is my minimum for what I pay as far as giving to my church for churchy things goes. But Christians, I believe, should be giving more than that. We give additional money to charity, and for other offerings within the church. My church engages in local welfare, global humanitarian and education projects, and we like to support those programs on top of the 10% that we give for church operations. In the end, though, it’s all about what you feel you can give. And whether you feel right with God when you are doing it.
Since I don’t believe in the supernatural, the whole concept of tithing seems silly. But, based on what you write in this post it would seem that the logical conclusion for ‘true’ Christians would be to give everything away and take a vow of poverty (like some monks do). After all, if your aim is to give ‘as much as possible’, well, that’s obviously 100%!
I think Christians should only give 2%.
Actually, perhaps it could be more.
When I talk with people who are new Christians they ask how much should I give? I often suggest 10% as a place to start and then encourage people to adjust it from there if necessary. I have heard of people increasing it, but not decreasing it.
10% becomes an issue when it is a tax and when it is demanded. In general I’m comfortable encouraging people to try the 10% gift. But, I always emphasize that it is not a legal requirement.
Quote “We want things for ourselves – don’t leave me hangin’ here…”
Well, so you know you’re not hanging there alone.. I’m there with ya!
Oh man, I’ve never realized what a clutch “things” had in my heart until – I had to give it away. I remember being in China, thinking, wow, I have so much stuff. Stuff! God.. I want to give it away. Where do I give it? Well, shortly after that, someone came through – a pastor from Cambodia. I asked him what he needed. He said EVERYTHING. He could use books, shoes, bags, clothing, ..anything. Well, that was great! I was so happy. God answered my prayer! Now I could give my stuff away to a good cause!…. well… that joy didn’t last too long. Because that night, as I stood there, sorting out my excess of clothes and things, deciding what to give.. oh man… it was like tearing toys out of a spoiled childs hands! It was the hardest thing I had to do. I would look a shirt and think.. no.. I need it.. wait.. I don’t… wait I WANT IT… wait, I need to let go.. OH man, it was the most miserable time of my stay there! But what a revelation it was – I never realized how much my heart had clutched those things!
Well, I wish I could say, that in the end I gave all my excess away. truth is, I gave about 70% of what I could have given. I don’t beat myself up over it anymore but it was that day that I realized how hard it was. And it’s been a process to wean my heart off material wealth.
I learned an important lesson that day,which I am still learning to put into practice. Where your treasure is, your heart will be also.
But the blessing is this: if I successfully move my treasure from earthly things to heavenly things… my heart will follow. And I *do* want my heart to be in the right things – things of eternal benefit!
Thanks for pointing us back to the gospel! I think that’s where we need to keep our focus all the time. We are so selfish (or at least I am), that I won’t let go, until I see that there is something better to hold on to. And thankfully, the gospel makes that clear. Now the struggle is to believe and to work out that belief! Like the seed that needs to be sown, and bear fruit over time with patience!
Question on giving:
Hey Jason. Something that’s been bothering me for a while. I don’t mind giving, because it’s for the Lord’s work, but at what level are we responsible for what the money goes to?
The reason I ask (and maybe this is revealing a wrong attitude in me) is often I find myself at odds with what the church uses the money for. Should I only give to what I feel is promoting the gospel? Or just give, and let God take care of the rest?
In the NT days, the people gave a collection for the saints and they had Apostles to ensure the money was being used rightly. And good eldership. Today, there often is a disconnect between the lay-people and leadership, and I find that there is a lack of strong eldership. How much should that factor in? Or is this a “control” aspect that should be left to the Lord?
The widow put in her life savings to the temple, where the pharisees devoured the money. Was that wise?
Likewise, should I give, and just let God deal with the rest? To what extent, should giving be done in knowing where it is going?
If I may stretch this further – in giving to good causes (ie the poor), is it better to give to a Christian organization that does good work, or does it matter if it’s a secular organization that does good work? The work, in either case, is done for the good of people which God desires, but one promotes God’s name, the other doesn’t. How would that factor in to the believer’s decisions? Does it matter?
Thanks!
Kevin – I couldn’t agree more – giving does buy our way into heaven. I think the key to our giving is the word “sacrificially”, which sadly is glaringly absent from today’s giving as evidenced by the #’s.
Paul, that’s great you’re using 10% as a baseline and that you didn’t stop giving just to get out of debt! Thanks for the faithful example!!
Joe – I don’t think it’s just assumption, I think it’s evidenced in the Bible that giving is a heart thing, as all of obedience is. Our pocketbooks simply act as a mirror to show us going on in inside there!
Miranda – thanks for weighing in on the topic – one caution is to not just rely on feelings alone in determining our giving. Sometimes we don’t feel like giving just like we don’t feel like praying or reading the Bible, but that doesn’t justify not doing it.
Maybe this relates to feeling a bit, but I think we should give generously & cheerfully what we’ve purposed in our hearts to give.
Thanks for your example of generosity also!!
Moses, great comments and great question!
I think the answer is it depends. It really depends on where the church is giving and where you’d rather give. If you feel it should be given to overseas mission, but they are giving it to homeless shelters here and thats where the disagreement lies then you may just have to let that go.
If they are frivolously wasting it, then I think you have a responsibility to sit down with the leaders of teh church and voice your concern. Don’t stop giving without saying anything or asking about the differences you have with them.
The problem with only giving to what we feel is doing good things is that our feelings change. I think we should be first and foremost giving to organizations that we are receiving the most blessing from – that is usually (or at least should be) the local church you belong to.
The church does have a responsibility for good stewardship just like individuals have, so going to the leaders is an important thing.
As far as giving to Christian org’ or non-Christian ones, we should probably have a priority to Christian ones that practice good stewardship, but I think at the end of the day we, as Christians, need to realize that our greatest impact comes in seeking the common good of our cities and communities. I think giving our time, energy and resources to promoting that is a good witness.
Hey Jason
Thanks for your reply.
Yea, I agree when you say our feelings change so it really isn’t wise to do “what feels” right and the need to know the stewarding practices of the church. I guess, in my particular church, the laypeople are so disconnected with the leadership. But in thinking about this – that’s really my own fault for not looking into where the money is going etc. Ok. I need to be more informed!
Thanks for the reply! And btw, thanks so much for taking the time to write up on these topics! It’s HUGELY inspiring and helpful to hear from someone that has such experience in money matters write from a Christian world view!
It’s awesome
Keep it up!!!
Moses, thanks the kind words! I think we each have a responsibility to know where the money is going etc. I think it may just mean sitting down with some leaders, expressing concern and ask God for direction in it.
Thanks Moses – glad you are liking the topic! I hope it goes well with getting informed by leadership!
Enough Wealth – thanks so much for your great comment!! That is a very good point and question. In fact, I liked it so much I did a whole post in response to it! Check it out!
Hi
I just came across this blog today researching on tithing. i must say i believe tithing is a heart attitude. When you are able to give away something thats important to you, you show the value you place on the person you are giving. maybe thats all God is looking for . For us to be able to give generously as an expression of our love. As a parent how do you show your child you love them? You do not just say I love you feel good about saying it and it ends there, you give of your material possessions because you love.
Charmaine, thanks for your comment. The parent analogy is a great one. I am willing to give everything to my kids because I love them – mine is theirs. When we love God we should be willing to give it all up. Again, you’re right – it’s a heart attitude. Thanks!
Why are people supporting Tithing with no biblical backing. The rules and laws in the old Testimate including Malachi have been superceeded thanks to the death and rise of our saviour Jesus. 10% is no minimum. There is no minimum. We give as much or as little as the Lord leads us. The fact is 10% for some people is more than 10% for others so talking “biblical” percentages is wrong and in my ind sinful.
Galatians 3:10-14 (New International Version)
10All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”[a] 11Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”[b] 12The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”[c] 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”[d] 14He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
The other thing I have learned is that if we give to get we are like the older brother in the Parable of the two sons. We end up trying to control God and curse him when things go wrong. Read Timothy Kellers Prodigal God to get a real understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those who teach the prosperity Gospel and who teach that Tithing is a command do not understand the Gospel. There is nothing we can do to make God love us more or even bless us. We can ask and he may or may not bless but if we link this to our “work” or the money we “give” away than we will end up hating God.
A story for all
The trial of Pastor Jones
Judge: Mr. Jones you have been charged with multiple counts of extortion. Your crime spree covers 20 years and thousands of victims. You have defrauded people out of their money with fear and manipulation, telling them they had to tithe 10% of their income to your church and that God would bless them if they did. You also told them that if they didn’t tithe God would curse them. How do you plead?
Mr. Jones: I plead not guilty your Honor, I have done nothing wrong. I have only preached what the Bible says. In the Bible Abraham tithed to Melchizedek and God blessed him for his faithful giving. The Bible even says he was rich in silver and gold.
Judge: Is it not true, Mr. Jones, that in Genesis chapter 13 verse 2 the Bible says Abraham was rich with livestock, silver and gold?
Mr. Jones: Yes, you are exactly right, that’s what I just told you.
Judge: Ok, we read about Abraham being a rich man in chapter 13 but it is not until Genesis chapter 14 that we read about Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek. So Abraham was already a rich man before he tithed to Melchizedek, wasn’t he?
Mr. Jones: Yes, I suppose you are right.
Judge: So his riches were not the result of his tithe to Melchizedek?
Mr. Jones: No.
Judge: Mr. Jones, you also say God blessed him for his faithful giving. How many times is it recorded that Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek?
Mr. Jones: Well, just once.
Judge: So the Bible never said that he gave week after week?
Mr. Jones: No it does not.
Judge: Where did Abraham get the things that he gave to Melchizedek?
Mr. Jones: Well the Bible says it was from the plunders of war?
Judge: So you are telling me that he gave from the plunders of war?
Mr. Jones: Yes that’s what the Bible says.
Judge: So he basically took things that were not really his in the first place and gave them as the tithe?
Mr. Jones: That is what the scripture seems to indicate.
Judge: Is it recorded that he ever took anything from his own possessionsand tithed them to Melchizedek or anyone else?
Mr. Jones: I guess not
Judge: You guess not, you are a Pastor and you are only guessing, is it oris it not written that he ever gave any of his own possessions as a tithe to anyone?
Mr. Jones: No it is not written anywhere that I have seen.
Judge: Is it recorded as to what exactly Abraham did give Melchizedek?
Mr. Jones: I believe it says plunder?
Judge: So plunder could be any number of things?
Mr. Jones: Yes, I suppose
Judge: It could have been food, cattle, sheep, the people’s
possessions or any number of things. It does not say it was all money
correct?
Mr. Jones: Yes you are correct, it does not say just money
Judge: As a matter of fact money is never mentioned in that account at all is that correct Mr. Jones?
Mr. Jones: Yes your Honor, money is never mentioned just goods and food and people.
Judge: So there is no way you can say with any certainty that Abraham in fact gave Melchizedek any money at all?
Mr. Jones: That is right.
Judge: I only have one last question for you Mr. Jones, did God command Abraham to give this plunder tithe to Melchizedek?
Mr. Jones: No, it appears that he did this voluntarily.
Judge: So are you trying to tell me that because of this voluntary, one time gift by Abraham, that may not have even consisted of money, all Christians everywhere are obligated to bring 10% of their weekly paycheck to a local church?
Judge: Considering all the evidence I would say you are beyond any shadow of a doubt guilty of deliberately trying to make the scriptures says things they have not said for financial gain.
Mr. Jones: Ok your Honor, I can see how foolish I was to try and use the story of Melchizedeck to try and get the people to tithe money. But there are many other verses that will support my belief on tithing. Jacob said he would give God 10% of everything. I think we should follow his example.
Judge: Let’s see what Jacob said. Please read the verse you are talking about for me Mr. Jones.
Mr. Jones: In Genesis chapter 28 starting at verse 20 it says. Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and Yahweh will be my God, then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God’s house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give the tenth to you.”
Judge: You said we should follow Jacobs’s example, is that right Mr. Jones?
Mr. Jones: Yes that is right, he vowed to give a tenth and we should too.
Judge: Let me point out one thing for you Mr. Jones, Jacob said he would Give God a tenth, ONLY if He blessed him first. So as you said previously, we should follow Jacob’s example and tell God that we will only give him a tenth if he blesses us first. Is that right?
Mr. Jones: That is not what I meant.
Judge: What did you mean then?
Mr. Jones: That we should give God a tenth also.
Judge: There you go again, trying to make the scripture say what you want it to say for your benefit. I would also like you to tell me the scriptures that say that Jacob kept his vow with God. I would also like to know where he gave the tenth to because there was no temple or levites to give it to at that time.
Mr. Jones: I can not think of any scriptures that say where or if he ever tithed after his vow.
Judge: It seems fairly obvious to me that Jacob made a voluntary and conditional vow to God. This in no way can be used as a reason to demand others to bring their income to you or any other place.
Mr. Jones: I do have a few more scriptures that I believe will show that we are supposed to tithe.
Judge: You have not said anything yet to convince me one little bit that people are obligated to tithe money to the local churches and that you were justified in what you were doing. You have taken scripture and misapplied it to your beliefs and for your gain. But in order to be fair to you I will allow you to present more evidence.
Mr. Jones: In the book of Malachi chapter 3 starting at verse 8 it says, will a man rob God? yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, In what have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now with this, saith the LORD 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. So you see your Honor, we are commanded to bring the tithes into the storehouse or God will curse us.
Judge: Answer me this Mr. Jones, were you aware that God never required anyone to tithe money?
Mr. Jones: No I didn’t know that.
Judge: The tithe spoken of here was always edible products never money.
Mr. Jones: well your Honor that is because they didn’t have money at the time so God had them tithe food instead.
Judge: Not true, money is first mentioned in Genesis and Malachi was written hundreds of years later. God had them bring food in so that the levites, the fatherless and widows may eat and be satisfied. The tithe was used mainly to take care of people. Also notice it says in the verse you quoted, that there may be food in my house. How do you completely overlook the word food in those verses?
Mr. Jones: I don’t know
Judge: I also want you to know that these verses speak to people under the Old Testament law. As you may or may not know Jesus fulfilled the law, it is no longer binding. Tithing was part of that law that has been abolished.
Judge: Once again you have tried to completely take a scripture out of context and apply it to others for your benefit. Can you give me a single scripture where God changed the tithe from food to money?
Mr. Jones: I do not know of any.
Judge: So if God never changed it from food to money who did?
Mr. Jones: Man must have.
Judge: So far all you have done Mr. Jones is take Old Testament scriptures out of context and try to apply it to believers under the New Covenant. Is this all the proof you have?
Mr. Jones: I do have a New Testament scripture that will show that Jesus told us to tithe.
Judge: Ok let me hear it.
Mr. Jones: Jesus said in Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. See Jesus said we should be tithing.
Judge: Let me ask you a question, who was Jesus talking to?
Mr. Jones: The scripture says the scribes and Pharisees.
Judge: Are you a scribe or Pharisee?
Mr. Jones: Of course not.
Judge: Jesus also said in that passage, you have left undone the weightier matters of the law. Are we under the law Mr. Jones?
Mr. Jones: No.
Judge: Why not?
Mr. Jones: Because Jesus fulfilled it.
Judge: When did Jesus fulfill the law?
Mr. Jones: When He was crucified.
Judge: So the law was still in effect until Jesus death?
Mr. Jones: That is correct.
Judge: I think you know where I am going with this don’t you?
Mr. Jones: Yes your Honor. Since Jesus had not yet been crucified and the law was still binding the Pharisees were required to tithe because it was part of the law. Once the law ended, tithing ended also.
Judge: I want you to take a look at that verse again. Also tell me, what were they tithing?
Mr. Jones: The scripture says it was mint, dill and cumin.
Judge: Is money mentioned?
Mr. Jones: No it was not.
Judge: Once again it was edible products that they were tithing, not money. Do you have anything else you would like to say?
Mr. Jones: If people only tithed edible products like the scripture says, then how would the church survive? We have our mortgage payment, utility bills, my salary and a host of other things that we have to pay each week. We depend on the money from the people.
Judge: The need does not justify the means. In other words, just because you have all these debts does not give you the right to twist and manipulate scripture and cause people to give under fear of being cursed by God to meet your needs. In closing, let me recap a few things for you Mr. Jones. The tithe was never money; the tithe was an Old Testament law, which is no longer binding. When it was binding the tithe was used to take care of people, not buildings. We are under a new covenant now. Paul instructs the Corinthian believers how they are to give. He says in second Corinthians chapter 9 verse 7, Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly, or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. So each believer is supposed to give as he or she has determined in his or her heart. If you are trying to make people give under the threat of being cursed or any other reason you are wrong. Someone can not give cheerfully if they are being forced to give. If your church can not survive on freewill offerings maybe God is not part of your church at all.
Mr. Jones: I never realized all these things, I have always been taught that we had to tithe money to the local church and that is what I have always taught. I can see now that I was completely wrong. I did not study the scripture for myself, I only took mans word for it. Yes I am guilty. I will not teach this error anymore.
Judge: Mr. Jones, I can see that you done this in ignorance and are repentant, this court will not hold you accountable. It is your responsibility to know the truth. I would advise you and everyone else in this courtroom to really start studying the Bible and seeking God on the subject of tithing and your eyes will be open. Do not just take mans word any longer. Start seeking God as to how and where He would have you give. Court adjourned.
Great eh??
Kish, I’ve read Keller’s Prodigal God – fantastic read! I don’t think you’ll catch a support of tithing from my post – what I am trying to get at is examining our hearts more and living lives with a looser grip on our money! Sometimes we (I) hang on too tightly to what we have and become selfishly consumed with money and possessions rather than looking for opportunities to give to those in need.
It’s all about grace. Because of His grace through the Gospel and Jesus’ wealth being poured our for us so we could become rich (2 Cor. 8:9) we should respond with grace towards others with our money.
Kish – wow! That is quite the screenplay! Again, we don’t give to get, we give because of what we got. Our giving does nothing in terms of earning favor with God – rather it is a response to abounding grace and love poured out from the Father to us. The gospel, when rightly understood, frees us up to give lavishly to those in need.
I agree with your posts
. You give what you can cheerfully. It has nothing to do with the 10% proportion which is preached at many churches. You can give more or you can give less. As you rightly say we can never out give God and yes we should give to those who are in need if we are willing and able to do so.
Hi Jason
Just a thought….In 1 Tim 5:4 it says that we put our religion into practice by FIRST giving to support our natural families…including elderly relatives. This is seldom taught in churches. 1 Tim 5:8 says that if we do not do this, we are WORSE than unbelievers.
There can only be ONE first….clearly the New Testament is saying that it is NOT tithing…or giving to poor….BUT fullfilling the God given obligations to support our families.
Your thoughts please?
Chris
In the New Testament Paul tells Timothy how to instruct christians who are wealthy how to behave with their money….
1Tim 6:17 says for them not to be proud or put their hope in wealth but in God
1Tim 6:18 says ‘command them to do good’ (not give all their wealth away)…and tho be generous and willing to share (this refers to the hospitality which the bible encourages, Luke 14:13, Parable of Good Samaritan, Gal 2:10, James 3:16, 3 John
Telling people what they ‘should do’ beyond this is usually coveteous….or legalistic
Chris
I have a prison ministry and even my salary is not enough to support it. I gave 100% of my salary and double it with my allowance, which I save up by going to the public transport instead of taxi. What is left is barely 10% of the allowance and I gave 10% of that to my church outside of the prison ministry. If there are any lovegift which is very minimal for bible study teachers, I even give that out back to the church. I am looking for generous hearts to support the prison ministry as all my givings are still not enough. God Bless You all!
I really appreciate your example of generosity.
Jesus didn’t give up everything for us. Cause last time I checked, he’s still God, just sayin. And do you really think God will take care of all our needs? If that’s the case then we would all live forever on this Earth. Obviously, God doesn’t take care of everybody, even devout Christians. I don’t know what to say about the verses in Matthew, where Jesus says not to worry about what you will eat, but maybe he’s just saying not to worry. 29,000 children die of hunger related causes everyday. Worrying doesn’t help, but God isn’t helping either. What is the difference between wealth and riches! in Heaven, also known as the NEW EARTH, we will have everything we could ever want; this means materials! Sure, we probably won’t have cash, but the only reason people want money is so they can have the materials they really want. Personally, I’m probably going to give 10%. I figure it’s a good number, and I’m joining the Marines so I won’t have much money anyway. At the same time, I won’t have a lot of expenses, but I’ll need to save lots of money in order to have any chance at a decent retirement. I can’t give with a cheerful heart, but I will try to give out of obedience. i’ve also heard that the more you give now, the greater your riches will be in heaven. I don’t know if this is true because some verses support this and others don’t. But I’m not about to start a discussion with some random people about that anyway. so thats about it
Tuna, thanks for checkin’ out the blog. You said a lot in that comment, but I’ll just tackle the first thing you mentioned. Christ gave up his life for you. He came to live the perfect live that you and I never could, and died the death that we deserved, taking our sins upon him. We should’ve been punished for the many sins we’ve committed, but yet God saw fit to send his own Son to die for us in our place. That’s amazing. He was fully God come in the flesh to fulfill the great rescue plan that God had in store for us.
When that truth grips our hearts, we are much less likely to cling tightly to our earthly treasures.
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