Present your BEST argument for church tithing

I believe God wants us "to give our best" to the Master, and that is not my money.

I also believe the bible says for us to be cheerful givers, and in today's economy that can be a budget-buster for some families who are barely making it to the end of the month paycheck wise.

All of that said - I also believe that churches NEED funds to keep going. It costs to operate a church, and Pastor's earn a living. So, if you can afford 10%, give it. If you can afford 50%, give that. If you can only afford 1%, give it cheerfully, but .. give your best talent to the Lord. If you can sing, sing for Him. If you can write, write for Him.

 

I think it is "imposed" in some churches, which is a pity because it leads to a situation where some give beyond what they can afford, and others give less than they could.

 

You wrote I just can't stand when a church strong arms it's people by telling them they must tithe 10% or they are out of God's will and are on the brink of financial disaster. and I agree 100%.

I will never forget - when I was single, my sister and I were sharing an apartment, and looking for a church home. We visited a rather large Baptist church in our new city, and two days later a man from the "visitation" team showed up at our house with a pledge card, asking us to sign a pledge card.

(By the way, those things are a pet peeve with me as I know for a fact some churches pull those things to determine if someone is "fit to be a deacon" or not. How do they know that the check someone writes every week is 10% of their income? Even if they can prove that, how does buying your way onto a deacon board make you a better Christian?)

 

I do believe in tithing, but like someone else said, that's between me and the Lord. I do give cheerfully (I would love to be able to give more). I do agree with what's been said here so far.

But I also believe that we need to put our spending and giving in perspective. We need to get our priorities in order. God should come first.

What I'm trying to say is, I personally don't see how God could be pleased when someone pays $75 a month for satellite or cable TV, but puts a dollar in the offering plate each week. Taking a good look at our checkbook will tell us where our priorities are.

 

OUCH!!!, my toes are still hurting from that one. Good point.

 

Many poor Baptists don't go to church because they can't afford to pay the “admission fee.” And yes, I have been to a church where the pastor told the congregation from the pulpit to either pay their tithe or get out!

 

There is no mention anywhere in the New Testament of anyone paying a tithe to their church. Zaccheus, however, set a good example for us who are not poor,

Luke 19:8. Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much." (NASB, 1995)

 

That may be an excuse but I haven't seen anyone who compared to the widow who give all she had in Jesus day.

Not picking at you on this but there are actually very few "poor" people in our society when judged by the historical or even current world standard.

I have also heard pastors make those types of statements. They are inexcusable examples of someone turning the faith into merchandise.

 

A tithe is a decent baseline. But we should give as we are able and "share all things in common with the brethren".... which is a much higher standard than the legalists who demand a tithe hold to.

Those who concern themselves with imposing a tithe on someone else should concern themselves with what more they could give rather than how little someone else is giving.

 

Amen!

 

That is irrelevant. A poor family, and there are plenty of them in this world, should not have to choose between paying a tithe and buying life-sustaining drugs for their children.

 

Good to agree with you.

Sorry about the contentious nature of the other subject... and my harshness. I just want to make the point that there is room for honest, intelligent, educated people to disagree.

None the less, I hope you will forgive the offense.

 

That is irrelevant. A poor family, and there are plenty of them in this world, should not have to choose between paying a tithe and buying life-sustaining drugs for their children.

</font>[/QUOTE]The widow chose between eating and giving. I think she makes a good example for putting one's faithfulness to God in giving before life itself.

She gave what she had today with no guarantees for tomorrow.

What should happen per the first century model is that the need should be made known and supplied by other believers- sharing all things in common.

I don't necessarily think we should be communal like some of the earlier "Baptists"... but we should be alot more concerned about the needs of the person sitting in the next pew over than we are.

 

Amen! I could not agree with you more!

 

There is no Biblical argument for the tithe.