10% Offering rule:

Lets see what saith the Scripture.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8

6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:


'nuff said?

 

The ten to twelve people who respond to this will probably tell you ten to twelve answers.

I know the Bible says God loves a cheerful giver. If you can't give any of the above cheerfully, what is the point?

 

An almost identical question came up here: http://www.baptistboard.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=34&t=000034&p=

You may check this out in the money forum.

 

Hickam, eh? My jealousy reigns supreme!

As an AF guy myself, let me just relate: Tithing (10%) should be off the first fruits; i.e., the gross.

I'm not telling you that you HAVE to tithe, much less that you HAVE to tithe off the gross. It's really between you and God. All I'm gonna tell you that you HAVE to do is give something back to the one that gave it to you in the first place, in order to honor Him.

When I first started tithing, I didn't think I could do it either; a SSgt's pay barely covers the bills, and I can only imagine the bills in Hawaii. However, to our surprise, not only were we able to tithe, we ended up with extra money.

In other words, God took care of us.

Yes, it's scary. But that's what faith is all about, isn't it?

 

Amen, Don!

We used to be a 2 income family, but we finally "gave in" and went to one income as my pay didn't go far after child care expenses. So needless to say, that was scary... on top of tithing! BUT... we went against our fleshly fear, and the Lord has blessed us so much! My husband was the one freaking out, not me. I just said, "Honey, the Lord will provide. I know He will. We are going to be ok." And we have been for the past 6 yrs.

Don't be afraid. God is so mysterious!... and God is SO good!

Take care, God bless, and SMILE!

Wendy

 

Since trusting God, I have noticed that after every Sunday offering, I always have enough to pay my bills, eat, & treat my daughter to something nice. If I give more, I am happier. Not proud, but satisfied.

 

Hebrews 11:1" Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Malachi 3:10' Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, 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."

Put God's promises to the test,,,,practice your faith....

My family stepped out in faith and began tithing 5 years ago, and have not wanted since.

 

Just a personal testimony. We always give God the first 10% of any money we make and He has blessed us in so many ways. Two times since we were married our finances fell low. Once we were visiting family for Christmas and when we returned and I entered all the withdrawls we were at -$298 in the checkbook. In the mailbox was a check sent to us from an undisclosed person for $300! Another time we fell behind by $495 and a couple took us out to dinner and handed us a card with $500! We didn't even know we needed it until I again entered our debit slips. God is so good!

 

On the subject of giving and tithing, I have, since the age of apporoximately 9, noticed how people tell their 'testimonies' in such a way as to make it sound like something incredible. example: "Since I started to tithe I have always been able to ends meet when I thought it couldn't be done." Yeah, sure. The average American worker or family makes much more than is necessary to meet needs. Those constantly short and in debt are there because of this silly determination to live so far beyond their needs. The difference between an economy car (as I drive) and a big SUV can easily be $20,000 to buy and 3 or 4 times the cost of operation. Housing is a worse proposition. Going to one's credit limit in the thirst for bigger, better, newer things is simply poor management. So when someone makes adjustments to their budget and lessens some of these expenses, it is not some kind of "miracle," it is simply shifting some resources and maybe some priorities. But these 'great' testimonies about how you've been "blessed" because you became faithful in tithing should be seen for what they are. I will always be skeptical about stories of getting a sum of money, as if out of nowhere, to cover a bank deficit that was achieved by not staying on top of one's finances competently in the first place; or else the person knew about the incoming cash and tells the story as if it just appeared.

 

Cynic, in a way, you are correct. Tithing, in a lot of cases, is the first step towards sound financial management.

And in that regard, it makes it that much more wondrous, that God teaches us obedience, responsibility, and faith all in one step!

My wife used our tithing one payday to buy one of those home interior knick-knack shelf thingies. When she came out of the party and started the car to come home, something went off like a gunshot under the hood. It was the battery cracking. And guess how much a new battery cost me?

AF Guy, as I said, I, too, am in the Air Force, and have been in your position. Whatever you decide, do it with a cheerful heart and with a heart of obedience towards God.

 

This is the only guidelines that a New Testament faith has toward giving. Tithing was an Old Testament practice that guaranteed the general welfare of the Levites, widows and orphans. Give as much as you are able, do it cheerfully, and don't confine it to just monetary giving. We are obligated by our faith to contribute in whatever fahion is needed.

 

Here's a few more places where the subject of tithing has come up on this board:

http://www.baptistboard.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=10&t=000166&p=

http://www.baptistboard.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=10&t=000532&p=

http://www.baptistboard.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=10&t=000810&p=

 

< My wife used our tithing one payday to buy one of those home interior knick-knack shelf thingies. When she came out of the party and started the car to come home, something went off like a gunshot under the hood. It was the battery cracking. And guess how much a new battery cost me? >

This is another demonstration of my point of how people tell these stories meant to imply divine intervention, even though this is in the opposite direction from most. In the first place this is a false premise that your wife spent "tithing." It is money, or a medium of trade, that is 'spent.' In the second place, have you ever failed to give a tithe, then not had some unexpected expense? And yes, I am basically aware of what Wal-Mart's batteries cost.

If you really want to check on correlations between your giving and your finances overall, then go over the records if you have them and make comparison graphs. If you know statistics, take it further and do a regression analysis. I have done that, and my conclusion is there is not a significant correlation between giving/tithing and 'financial blessing.' Thus, the principles for ancient Israel in Malachi 3 are simply not applicable to NT Christians.

 

Okay, I'll meet you half way. My wife spent the money we had earmarked for tithing.

Now, since you want to speak about statistics, did you actually look at how much that cost me? Not only did we spend the exact amount that we had set aside for tithing on a knick-knack thingamabob, we additionally spent exactly the same amount for a new car battery (which was bought at Autozone; I don't buy car parts at Wal-mart).

So that one incident cost me twice the amount I had set aside for tithing. Kinda plays havoc with the statistics thing, ya know?

And have I ever NOT had an unexpected expense when I didn't tithe? Sure; during the period when I was backsliding, and not being obedient to God with anything I was doing....