Tithing??

I admit I am not always the best at tithing, mainly because I am extremely forgetful, I know no excuse. I do try to tithe when I can and what I can. Also not all of my gifts would be concidered traditional tithes as I have given to various other organizations within the LCMS.

 

Most assuredly; RELIGIOUSLY

 

No Way! All we have belongs to the Lord. There is no way we would try to limit it to 10%!

 

A tithe was an OT Jewish TAX. The NT church has no required giving amounts. Giving should be done cheerfully by the beleiver and not out of obligation.

Helen, great answer!!! though again there is no reason to even talk about percentages. All I have is the Lords as well.

In Christ,
Brian

[ July 30, 2002, 11:45 AM: Message edited by: The Briguy ]

 

Warm Christian greetings!

I agree with Briguy - it is entirely up to the individual how much money he/she gives to the
Lord's work and what mission or group to give it to.

We are not under law, but under Grace.

Kind regards

Robert J Hutton

 

OT Jewish TAX is NOT gospel! but some anti-Jesus Christ.

Bro R

 

Hey y'all...

I very much appreciate the attitude of responses such as "All we have belongs to God." However, there has to be a way to get it into God's hands, so we tithe 10%. It just comes out to an amount that we can afford to give; it's a line item in our yearly budget. It has to be, that's how we can put God first, and not as an afterthought Sunday morning.

Interestingly, my off-the-charts liberal wife is the one who insists on giving (I admit to being less than enthused at first). She's the pastor! (I'm just the seminary student.)

YD

 

Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

 

Test me in this (the only place God tells us to test Him) and see if I will not open up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing so big that you cannot contain it.

I have been waiting for someone to cite this passage, and I pose the question: Have you genuinely tested[/i] God in this? I have-- using regression analyses, tests of correlations, covariances and other hypotheses, comparing when I give a tithe or more, and when I do not-- and the answer is: No. Not only is there no significant difference between hypothesis and null hypothesis, but with all other factors remaining unchanged, it is the opposite... more giving is simply less financial balance. You can contend the "blessings" are not necessarily financial {even though tithing, the only way it is taught and practiced today, is financial}, but even so there was nothing like "a blessing so big that you cannot contain it."

So the conclusion is that the promise of "a blessing so big you cannot contain it" is not applicable to NT Christians. And indeed, the agrarian Israelites tithing their livestock and crops {as God controlled the elements which make them grow} to bring into the "house" to take care of the priests and Levites in a complex system of temple worship makes true sense and justice; while churches wanting more money to pay for bigger, more elaborate facilities and stained glass and expensive organs, et al, is nothing like what this system was about.

Should Christians give? Yes; although the NT emphasis is giving to those in need, and elaborate church structures are not even referred to. Should a tithe be damanded? No; if it is given because it is demanded, there is no cheer in giving, but if a tithe and much more is given with cheer, that is commendable.

But if you still think the Malachi 3 passage is applicable, then test God, as He says to do. Just remember-- in a true test, the result is not presumed until the facts are in.

 

Amen, amen, amen. Part of why I can stand tithing to my wife's church is that they do the lion's portion of the social ministry in our town. I would never tithe to the church where I work (different town) because they have cut outreach right out of their budget.

YD

 

You will be getting a call from Enron any day now.

 

Since you asked...

First things first.
Christians need to give Him their heart first.

1 Corinthians 13
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.

Also, threads about tithing almost always end up badly becoming a spiritual one-upsmanship contest.

Jesus said not to let anyone know what you give.

Matthew 6:
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

HankD

[ August 01, 2002, 12:55 AM: Message edited by: HankD ]

 

Amen to that, I gave my fiancee's pastor a hard time because during part of their Stewardship Sunday service he allowed people to come up to the front to place their donations/pledges in the basket. That was just asking for the one-upmanship.

When people ask me about tithing I tell them 10% is a good idea for how much to tithe because it is an nice round number and easy to figure out when planning your gifts to the church. But I also tell them that there is no hard and fast number that they should give and that it is upto them. With the reminder that while grace is free church isn't

 

{I get $2345, but the issue remains, and if you tithe out of the gross, that adds at least $130, bringing the total to $2475, and this doesn't get into taxes unless you include those in "Other payments."}

We religiously tithe off the top and as of todays date we are current on everything, we have no outstanding obligations, and we have money left in the bank. Now explain to me how the heck we increased $1300 to cover $2400 in expenses?

You obviously have more money coming in than your "only income."

My explaination, we followed God's principle and the blessing overflowed. We have had money come from the oddest places and in some cases very large amounts. Money that was not expected and in some cases that had been wrongfully taken from us (nearly 2 years ago) appeared in time to prevent late pays etc.

I would not ask, of course, what these sources-- "the oddest places"-- are, but you obviously know to expect these additional gains, and admittedly you do not cover it all under the "not expected" and "wrongfully taken from us" categories. {And how does money "wrongfully taken" from you equate with 'tithing all you married life' and seeing supposed financial blessings from the principle?}

"...in some cases large amounts" is interesting also. There are obviously reasons people receive 'large amounts' of money-- court judgments, royalties, insurance settlements, et al-- but it is difficult to believe you continually acquire these 'large amounts' that more than cover $1000 per month and they are something "not expected." I don't know how money was "wrongfully taken" from you, but you seem to be getting back in a systematic way, and perhaps a lot more with it in related compensations.

I am not making the accusation that you have "income" you are not claiming as such. But you do have incoming sources that you depend on. I did have a friend once who, after the birth of a diseased child had a hospital bill of more than $400,000 he could not pay. Some unknown person paid it in full for him. These things do happen; but if you ask whether he and his wife were tithers, of course I don't know; I just know they were very wavering and unreliable in their church commitments.

A family of 8 without one jobholder {my conclusion; you say your 'only income' is your husband's retirement} is an unusual family. I can't answer your question "How the heck [you] increased $1300 to cover $2400 in expenses," but it seems logical from the information you have given that there are sources of support or continuous compensation and/or incoming gains which are not unexpeted and have no type of supernatural connections with your tithing.

I find it quite interesting. Those who are not in support of tithing usually don't tithe. I'm sorry you aren't willing to take the chance and experience the blessings of God.

I made it plain enough that I have tested God in tithing, per the Malachi passage you brought up, and the test failed. Conclusion: this passage applies to the ancient agrarian society for which it was given; not to the individual in a modern complex situation.

[ August 01, 2002, 11:11 AM: Message edited by: ChristianCynic ]