Archive for the ‘tithing’ Category

Stop Tithing for Lent

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

I know, it’s a little late to stop tithing for lent. But if you haven’t started stopping anything yet, then here’s your perfect opportunity to give up tithing for lent. Many churches have started the 90 day tithing challenge. Basically, it asks you to commit to tithe for 90 days, and by the end, if you are still struggling with your bills, then the church will refund your money. Note they didn’t tell you that they will want you to open up your checking account to them so that they can analyze that you’ve spent too much on vacations, parties, or entertainment.

So, I’m throwing out the stop tithing lent challenge. Give up tithing for the next few weeks before Good Friday. This is not a challenge to stop giving. This is a challenge to begin a journey of sacrificial, spirit led giving. By the end of this journey i want to see how blessed your life has been. By the end of lent, if you feel that Spirit led, freewill giving has devastated your spiritual life, then by all means, go back to tithing (No, i’m not gonna offer any refunds)

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Incompatible Systems: Tithing v. Holy Spirit

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Could you imagine if God told the Israelites to use the laws in the Roman tax code to pay for the Levitical service in the temple? I’m sure a lot of objections come to mind right now. here are a few of my objections:

  • The Roman law does not know how much resources are needed to run the temple operations
  • The Levites have no influence or authority over the Roman laws
  • Old Testament laws and the Roman laws have 2 different duties to fulfill
  • The two different statutes are just incompatible, so there would be no way to merge Roman law with the Levitical laws

Using the laws in the Roman tax code to pay for the services of the Jewish temple seems ludicrous. But, as bizarre as it may seem, the Church today is financing it’s ministries in this same bizarre fashion. We are using two separate statutes that are incompatible with one another to either govern or finance Church ministry. The Church body uses the Holy Spirit as our guide and our counsel. He is responsible for ordaining evangelists, teachers, apostles, and prophets; and yet we use a different tax code to pay for the service of these offices.

Instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to finance the same ministries that He governs, we use the tithing tax code to pay for them. Since the law used tithing to support the Levites and a type of priesthood that does not exist today; why do we use tithing to support ministries that have no connection with the law still? Here’s my objections:

The tithing law does not know how much resources are needed to run Spirit led operations.

Let me give a practical example. The U.S. Constitution delegates specific powers to our government. So naturally, our constitution delegates funding for it’s own operations. We couldn’t use the financial data from European laws to pay for U.S. government operations. So, how can we use tithing laws to finance the operations that the Holy Spirit has delegated? Tithing has no ability to predict the amount of resources that the Holy Spirit needs.

Also, what better way to confirm that a ministry was  called by the Holy Spirit, then by the same Spirit calling us to give to support it?

The Spirit led Church has no influence or authority over the tithing laws

Let’s just hypothetically say that in the Old Testament, Roman laws distributed a tithe proportionately to 10 levitical districts. What influence would the Levites have over these Roman laws if they felt a change in finances was necessary? The Levites do not have any authority over the Roman government, let alone any of the benefits of Roman citizenship. The needs of each levitical district varies year after year, but the Levites are stuck with the proportions delegated by the Roman laws.

Today, the Spirit led church has no influence over where their tithe must go. You may think that my claim is biased since the church leaders distribute the tithe and offerings after each Sunday. But I’m not talking about what Church leaders do with what others have given. I’m talking about what you do with what God has given you. You and I are the Church. Pastor Bob and his staff is not the entirety of Church operations.

According to most tithe teachers today, our tithe belongs in the local church storehouse. So, if we were to give our 10% anywhere else besides the local church, then we would be in danger of putting ourselves under the Malachi 3 curse. In some cases, our extended family could use some help with groceries this week, but choosing where our tithe can go is not our decision to make. We have no authority to change where the tithe must go, because neither the Holy Spirit, nor your ambitions have no authority to change it.

Even though Christians are to be led by the Spirit of God, what tithing really means is that once you’ve achievedthe minimum guidelines and standards, you are finally free to be Spirit led. Until then, you are under the authority of something other than the Holy Spirit.

Both the Old Covenant, and the New Covenant operations have different duties to fulfill

I’ve already stated that tithing was used to support the Levitical system and a type of priesthood that does not exist today. Tithing financed the duties of Levites in the Old Testament who held governmental positions, couldn’t own land, were guards, and also treasurers of the cities. The tithe in the Old Testament was their government welfare system and also funded multiple yearly festivals. The tithe did not pay for any salaries, nor did the tithe did not go towards any buildings or programs.

There is no way that tithing could have been integrated into a completely different New Testament system without any instructions in the bible on how to modify or migrate tithing into the Spirit led Church. The new testament Church is not the old testament system donning a new costume; so why should tithing be slipped under the cloak of the New Covenant legislation?

In the Old Testament, worship for the Israelites, Levites, and Priests was instructed through the Law. There was no question as to who was to serve, where you were to serve, and how long. This systematic worship, and governance made it quite simple to use a tithe to finance these straight-forward instructions. If the new covenant had laws that dictated who the ministerial class was going to be, as well as where and when they served; then i could see no problem with implementing a systematic way of financing that legalistic operation.

In the New Testament, because we all participate in the operations of priestly worship, our duties are not clear-cut for us. We are all given gifts that differ according to the delegations of the Holy Spirit. Since we all have duties of the priests, there is no Levitical class, there is no priestly portions. We do not have instructions written on who is to serve, how long, or where. The Holy Spirit is spontaneous, and radical. But please take note, that we have the responsibility to develop plans and create order. Spirit led giving is not the presence of anarchy and chaos.

The Holy Spirit and tithing are just incompatible

You cannot use water to fuel a combustion engine, and neither can we expect tithing to fuel the Spirit filled Church. The restrictions of tithing make it impossible to coordinate with the spontaneous and radical movements of the Holy Spirit. You cannot expect a dead, static law, such as tithing, to be fully compatible with a living, spiritual organism.

God’s children are born of the Spirit, so the letter of the law is dead. Nothing screams “letter” more loudly than prescribing a mathematical formula for our worship towards God. Seriously, what other aspect of our worship are we obligated to perform a minimum standard? Name me one – praying, serving, preaching, witnessing, attendance . . . ? Also, name me one spiritual gift, besides giving, where there is a minimum standard attached to it? Could tithing be any less discreet about it’s form of legalism? Tithing IS the definition of legalism! The letter and the Spirit do not mix.

Conclusion

Could you imagine if God told the Church to use the laws in the Roman tax code to pay for the ministries in His Church? It sounds ludicrous! So, stop trying to be a church that is governed by Julius Caesar and be a Church that is governed by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God – Jesus Christ.

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The Crack Tithing Addiction

Monday, February 8th, 2010

You know of anyone who has been addicted to drugs? I’ve had a couple family members that had been on drugs for quite some time. It’s a sad thing to see. The worst part happens when they need a fix and can’t get their hands on their drugs. They break out in sweat while worry, fear, anger, and panic overcome them. Manipulation and rage are usually the consequences of their complete dependence. For those of you who might not understand; your brother or your sister, whom you’ve known your whole life, might as well be your enemy. They will do the most vile and manipulative things to you and your family in order to get their fix. My cousin (who is dead now), at one time stole all his brothers and sister’s presents on Christmas eve and sold them to buy his drugs! I don’t want to go on an anti-drug rant here, but i do want to show you the affects of addiction.

Many times, in my discussions about tithing, i get a lot of comments about how all the churches would close their doors and all the pastors would leave if we did not have tithing. They feel that the survival of the Church is completely dependent upon the enforcement of the tithing law. Without this tithing law, the church would just shrivel up into nothing. Just the thought of getting rid of tithing causes panic.

Many are so absorbed into the enforcement of the tithing law, that they do not even realize that they are many examples in the bible of ministries thriving without any signs of the tithing being enforced. As a matter of fact, there’s no sign of tithing in the new testament to support any ministry. Not that the absence of tithing is argument for my beliefs, but the fact that people can’t believe the Church can operate without tithing is ignorance to me.

These people are so addicted to tithing that they will come up with the most manipulative things to say in order to get you to tithe. They will threaten you with excommunication, curses from God, and even losing your salvation.

I have enough to worry about with my own finances let alone worrying about some church keeping open their doors.

Let me share a part of my testimony. I lived in a home and a church that always tithed, so as i grew up, i did so as well; even without question. So as i was confronted with the challenge to defend tithing, i began study on my own what the bible had to say. My mind quickly changed about what i believed about tithing.

Although i knew tithing was not commanded, i struggled with the truth for a while. It took me a while to get over the shallow guilt and my conscience. As i look back, it’s sad to see the bondage that i was under. As a former addict, I truly felt that i was a slave, and now i finally feel how it is to be free.

One look at the bible, and you can tell that money is an important subject. It is the most talked about subject in the bible. Because of the bible’s emphasis on finances, and the ability for materialism and money to corrupt, i began to feel that tithing is probably the number one vice of the church. I began to see how churches were so addicted money and the power of tithing to produce it. It is almost as if they would go through withdrawal if tithing were relinquished.

Why is the Church so addicted to money? Is tithing our way of manipulating our brothers and sisters every week so that way we can get our fix? Not that money is evil but can you and i really live off of every word from the mouth of God, or must we feed the money monster ever week in order to get through our withdrawals? I don’t know, you tell me!

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Misconception about Jacob’s Tithing Vow

Monday, January 11th, 2010

I know there are a majority who disagree with what I’m about to say. Even some of those who believe the same thing as I do – that tithing is not required, will disagree with me about this.

I do not believe that Jacob’s tithing vow in Genesis 28 was deceptive or manipulative. I believe that unclear translation, and preconceived notions about Jacob have implanted wrong assumptions. Before i run through my analysis Let’s quickly overview the scenario leading up to the events of Jacob’s vow:

Jacob just found a resting place to sleep after deceiving Esau out of his birthright and running away. During his sleep, Jacob had a dream in which God promised him multiple blessings. After the dream, Jacob wakes up, renames this place to “bethel” and makes a vow to God. – That should do it for a quick synopsis.

First, I believe that many translations of Genesis 28 interpret Jacob’s vow unclearly. Here’s what the NKJV states, “Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace…’”

I believe the unclear translation comes with one simple little word in that passage – “If”. Let’s reword that passage and use a more clear translation of what I (IMHO) believe it should say. “And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, SINCE God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace”.

Let’s not forget that God JUST finished stating those exact promises to Jacob in the dream- “the land on which you lie I will give to you . . . I am with you, and will keep you in all places . . . . and will bring you back to this land”.

We can see that the phrase- “if God’, is constantly misused throughout many other biblical passages:
Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God [is] for us, who [can be] against us?”
2 Peter 2:4 “For if God did not spare the angels who sinned”
1 John 4:11 “Beloved, if God so loved us”

Really, “IF” God loves us? Hmmmm. I believe “SINCE” God loves us would be a more clear translation.

Let’s not just take my word for it. here are some others who agree

Young’s Literal Translation states the beginning of Genesis 28:20 as this, “And Jacob voweth a vow, saying, `Seeing God is with me, and hath kept me in this way which I am going…”

Warren W. Wiersbe in his Old Testament bible commentary states, “The ‘If’ found in many translations of verse 20 can also be read ’since.’ Jacob wasn’t making a bargain with God. He was affirming his faith in God”

In “Exploring Genesis: An Expository Commentary” by John Phillips it states, “And Jacob vowed a vow saying, If God will be with me [or better, 'since God will be with me'; he is not using the language of uncertainty, but of assurance]“.

Jacob didn’t add any amendments to God’s promises, so where do we find that Jacob makes any bargain? For instance, If i told you that I’m going to buy a brand new car, and you responded back by demanding a new car as if it was your idea, i would think you were a little wacky. It wasn’t Jacob that drafted the terms of God’s promises. Jacob’s response was telling God – “since you are doing that, then i will do this”

The other preconceived notion is that Jacob was being deceptive in his vow. Yes, i believe that Jacob was deceptive at times; but there is no indication that deception was in his heart at that time. As a matter of fact, scripture says quite the opposite. Once Jacob awoke from his dream the bible says he had fear – “Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew [it] not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful [is] this place! this [is] none other but the house of God”

Another situation that clouds our assumptions is that many correlate Jacob’s vow with Jepthah’s careless vow in Judges 11 where he promises God, “If you give the Ammonites into my hands,  whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”

Jepthah’s vow was made out of uncertainty and not of assurance. It was foolish, and he thought he could use a token from his possessions to persuade God to give him victory. Jacob’s vow was not used as a bargaining chip in this way.

As you can see, Jacob immediately named that place “bethel”, fulfilling his vow in vs. 22. In chapter 35, he commands that his family put away the strange gods, therefore affirming that the LORD was his God. Two-third’s of Jacob’s vow was just fulfilled without God completely fulfilling his promises. Did Jephthah do the same?

Jacob didn’t fulfill one portion of his vow, and that was because he couldn’t. God stated, “the land on which you lie I will GIVE to you and your descendants”, so once you look at what Jacob promised, “of all that you GIVE me, i will surely give a tenth unto thee”; you find that Jacob had promised to tithe off of what he received from the promised land. It’s kind of hard to give a tithe of the promised land, when you haven’t inherited it yet.

Like i said, many people disagree with me about this issue, but there’s no scripture to back up the claim that Jacob was bargaining or being deceptive with God. As i stated above, scripture is clear in saying Jacob had fear in his heart, not deception. Second, these demands did not originate from Jacob, they came from God. Third, the word “if” is unclear in many other passages in many bible translations.

I hope this helps some of you. I don’t want to just throw out my opinion here so that’s why i compared this translation with other scriptures, and used scriptures to also determine the attitude that Jacob had in his heart at the time.

- jared

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5 Roadblocks to the Tithing Truth

Friday, January 8th, 2010

Through the years of debating and writing about tithing, I’ve come across many people  that seem to be almost persuaded about the truth of tithing. But there’s always one or two things that hold them back. So what is it about tithing that neutralizes scriptural truth and keeps them from switching teams? These reasons could be roadblocks to accepting the truth from anything. Maybe you thought the color of the sky was actually red, until someone told you it was actually blue. What emotions did you experience that could have stopped you from believing the truth? Here are 5 reasons why it is so hard to let go of the tithing practice.

1. INSECURITY- Tithing comforts us with predictability, simplicity, and safety.

A frequent question many want to know is where would your church get money if there was no command to tithe? Would your lights be on? Would your heat be working? It’s hard for tithers to grasp the idea that the Church can survive without a mandated tax upon the people.

Tithing’s simplistic nature seems to be an impossible formula to miscalculate. I mean, how hard is it to figure out 10%? Tithing’s simplicity is a strong reason why many are hesitant to let go of its practice. As a side note, i don’t believe that tithing actually  is simple. Too many questions about tithing on the gross vs net, or tithing on retirement accounts, gift cards, bonuses, birthday presents . . .etc, etc, etc (you get the point).

Giving 10% seems to be a safe standard that consistently earns God’s favor (or so it seems). if you give at least a tithe, you should be safe right?  Many believe that the tithe puts a hedge of protection over them.

2. DOUBT – How could so many other Godly people be so wrong for so long?

Granted, that question is worthy of an explanation. First, if history has taught us anything, it’s that we can’t rely on precedence to determine how we should operate. Second, there are hundreds of denominations that all have a distinguished set of differences, which means that the majority of the Church is wrong about some of their practices.

Since most of us rely on church practices to dictate our beliefs, our faith lies in what  the church has practiced over the last couple of centuries, rather than relying on scripture.

3. FEAR- Fear of being wrong and fear from peer pressure

So many of our friends and family still tithe. Our  pastor tithes. All the deacons and elders tithe. All the ushers tithe. Even our Sunday school teacher tithes. What would everyone think if you told them you didn’t believe in tithing? I didn’t want anyone to think that i’m a backsliding Christian. It’s only human to not to want to be judged about your faith.

I struggled with being wrong about my stance for a long time. What if there’s something i was missing? What if i was totally wrong about tithing? I’m human, so more than likely i fouled up somewhere in my analysis. This is probably true, but there’s so many others out there that have got our backs.

4. IGNORANCE – They don’t know how to be anything else besides a tither

Their whole lives they’ve been tithers, so how do you change the stripes on a zebra? More than likely we have never experienced what true, new covenant giving should be like. We’ve been tamed and trained like a circus lion our whole lives, and we couldn’t operate in a jungle if our lives depended on it.

Once we stop tithing, we just stand there with our pants down, nibbling on our fingernails. So ultimately many of us just go back to tithing because we don’t know how to operate once we’re released in the jungle and given our spirit led freedom.

This is probably why many tithers believe that Spirit led giving is just like throwing darts at a board. They believe that Spirit led giving is just a guessing game that let’s you do whatever you please without consequence. This is just plain ignorance.

5. PRIDE – The truth hurts

I remember my very first response to when i first heard that tithing was not biblical for the Church. I immediately defended tithing and I defended those who taught me tithing. There’s just no way i could be wrong. At that moment, I felt I knew scripture like the back of my hand. I was definitely right, and the other person who questioned tithing was definitely wrong. So of course, with my pride at full steam, i scoured the scriptures to prove my adversary wrong.

Boy, was I in for a rude awakening, and my pride was hurt when i had to concede that i was wrong. I tell you that once i found the truth about tithing, i looked at what i knew with a whole different light. I had an open mind about anything i thought was truth. I began looking everything up in the bible. I never ever trusted my instinct again. I began to listen to theories other than my own. Luckily i actually studied scriptures rather than let pride take my stand for me.

Conclusion

How did i come up with this list of 5 roadbloacks to tithing? Well, these feelings are what i felt when i was contemplating the truth about tithing. I have had to come face to face with each of these emotions. I had to confront each one of them in order to fully believe the truth behind tithing.

What were/are your feelings when you were dealing with the truth about tithing? Have you felt anger, bitterness, disappointment, or anything else? Was there any other doctrine that you felt deceived about? What was your reaction to the truth then?

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If Tithing Looks Like it & Acts Like It

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

You’ve heard this statement before – “if it looks like it, if it acts like it, then it is it”. This statement comes to mind when i think of those who have trouble categorizing tithing under Old Testament law. One thing i need clarify is that when i mention the ‘law’, i am talking about Old Testament rituals that have no place within the New Covenant Church. Of course God has laws that are eternal. I would consider eternal laws principles that transcend the old and new testament.

Now that that’s past us, let’s look at a few key points that prove why looks like and acts like an Old Testament law.

Tithing is a precise command

Did you know that the gift of giving is the only Spiritual gift that has a minimum standard? What i don’t exactly comprehend is if tithing controls our giving, then why should something that isn’t defined by the Holy Spirit even be considered a Spiritual gift? Another thing to consider is if Israel gave offerings above the tithe without the Holy Spirit, then what would we need the Holy Spirit to guide our offerings for?

The Old Testament had laws that regulated how ministry was operated. For instance, only a certain tribe was called to serve, they only served the temple for 2 weeks out of the year, they could only serve for 25 years, and they had no inheritance of property. We could use these guidelines on how ministers should serve today; but we conveniently rely on the Holy Spirit to ordain and make up different guidelines for our ministers. Unfortunately, we don’t have the faith to believe that the Holy Spirit has the capability to ordain sacrificial givers to finance the Church. ATTENTION PASTORS & MINISTRY LEADERS: I don’t think it’s by mistake that we scour the Old Testament in search of regulations keeps money coming in; and yet you use the anonymity of the Holy Spirit to keep your power and position.

Some may think that my analysis of tithing is focusing on the letter of the law, and not the general spirit of the law. But what they fail to realize is Jesus himself condoned the Pharisees for their meticulous tithing habits. The truth is that Jesus lived under the regulations of the Old Testament laws. Jesus confirms the authority of the law earlier in the same passage here in Matthew 23:2-3 “Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, [that] observe and do . . .”

Tithing doesn’t bring perfection Hebrews 7:19, Hebrews 10:1

There’s no guarantee that 11% or even 12% is the overall amount that the Holy Spirit is asking you to give, so why should 10% be a rule? Tithing is not a teacher of new testament stewardship. It is like Galatians 3:24 states, it is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. A schoolmaster, is not a teacher, it is more like a babysitter. As Vine’s Expository Dictionary states, “The paidagogos[schoolmaster] was not the instructor of the child; he exercised a general supervision over him and was responsible for his moral and physical well-being”.

Our guide, our tutor, our helper is now the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the only tutor that understands our strengths and weaknesses, and can privately tutor us with custom stewardship lessons. Every child of God learns at a different pace. In the Old Testament tithing was fine because there was no access to a private tutor. The Israelites could not cross the Holy of Holies and be granted access to communicate with God.

Tithing can’t prove what’s in your heart

STOP, and SLOWLY think about this next question i’m about to ask . . . . . . . . Can you name me any other requirement, besides tithing, that the pharisees meticulously followed that is also required today? If you look at what the pharisees meticulously obeyed, it should give us a pretty solid answer as to what is NOT required today. For instance, circumcision, clean/unclean meats, work on the sabbath, washing hands, were the trophies of the pharisees and yet, we do not follow these guidelines. I can’t think of anything that the pharisees had bragging rights for that we can actually say is required today. For some reason, there’s one exception to that rule, and it’s – tithing. Even in the book of Matthew, Christ condones the pharisees for their meticulous tithing, but rebukes them in the same sentence for exclusion of justice, mercy, and faith.

I’m not saying that tithing shouldn’t be considered a sacrifice, or that you don’t have the right heart if you do tithe. But if we should serve in newness of spirit, and not [in] the oldness of the letter, what makes us believe that serving 10% is in the newness of the spirit?

Tithing was commanded under the Old Covenant

This is the most obvious reason tithing acts like an Old Testament law. The first argument that comes to the defense of tithing is that Abraham tithed before the Mosaic law. Tis true, but tithing was not a ‘requirement’ before the Mosaic law. If it had been a requirement, then Jacob in Genesis 28 could not have the opportunity to make a tithing vow. Most people believe that Jacob was just trying to fool God, and that God overlooked his foolishness, but as we see in Genesis 31:3 God did not overlook Jacob’s vow. This puts a big hole in the argument that tithing was required before the law.

Once you have biblical proof of tithing not being required prior to the Mosaic law, you can then look at historical records and see that Abraham was required to tithe because of a law in the land of Canaan that required a 10% tax on the spoils of war(1 pg 127)(2 pg 235-236).

Tithing is not commanded under the New Covenant

This is probably the second most obvious reason. Of all the bible verses recorded under the new covenant, you do not see a single reference to tithing along side any commands on giving. In Hebrews 7, tithing is mentioned, but it is not attached to a command on giving. Another important thing to remember is that Hebrews was written to the Jews, who would have been well aware of the practice of tithing anyway, but struggled with understanding  the purpose of the law. The gentiles, who knew the least about tithing, never received any instructions on tithing whatsoever.

Some principles found under the new covenant show that giving should be, ‘liberal’ 2 Corinthians 8:2, ‘free’ Romans 8:32, ’sacrificial’ Romans 12:1, and ‘cheerful’ 2 Corinthians 9:7. There are no hints to show our giving should have a starting point, or a minimum.

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Tithing Tactics

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Need more tithers at your church? Here are some methods you can use to get more people to tithe.

1. Tithing chants

kenneth copeland had this brainwashing method to have the Church chant a tithing creed. here it is below

“The tithe guarantees financial favor.
“The tithe guarantees your covenant partnership with God.
“The tithe is proof of honor.
“The tithe is proof of obedience.
“The tithe silences the devourer in your life.
“The tithe guarantees consistent harvest on your seed.
“The tithe opens the windows of heaven …”

I want you to stare at the spiraling image and repeat this 50 times every day before you go to bed

“We are a cult and Kenneth Copeland is our leader”
“We are a cult and Kenneth Copeland is our leader”
“We are a cult and Kenneth Copeland is our leader”

2. Tithing pledge cards

hitlerI’ve been in church where i have seen two pledging materials  in the pocket of the seat in front of me. One pledge was on an offering envelope. Another pledge was on a commitment card. Was there a bible or a bulletin? No, just pledge cards, and two of them nonetheless as if one pledge card wasn’t enough.

I’m not counting the bulletin that was handed out when you came in the front door, because that was also asking you to commit money to the building fund as well.

I really don’t have anything against making pledges. Many times pledges are  committed at an emotional time in one’s life. We need to decipher if it’s the Holy Spirit convincing us, or if our emotions are clouding our judgment.

I’m not a fan of pep rally’s in churches that are focused on building campaigns. Look around you at your church’s next pep rally for the building project. See how big people’s eyes get when they show the 3-D models of  the new facility. The big eyes . . . um yeah. . . classic sign of the materialism pitfall. Last i checked, eyes only get that big when we see what we’re getting out of this deal, and not when our money is going to the mission center in downtown.

3. Tithing Challenge

**FINE PRINT
This is just some fine print that will tell you that you have done a very bad thing whenever you don’t read this. Just to let you know we are fooling you by making this very very small. Don’t worry your grandma can read this. All she needs is a big magnifying glass. If you were smart you would realize that the larger the print the least important it is. The smaller print is what’s important.

This is acclaimed as the “Win – Win” situation for both the giver and the receiver. Here’s the deal with this. Usually you commit to give the tithe over a 3 month period of time. If by the end of that period, you cannot pay your bills or if tithing has brought you debt, then the church will refund your tithe back to you.

That seems fair until you ask for the money back from the church. At that time they will want to probe into your finances and tell you how you spent too much money on going out to eat or buying starbucks. That’s when you realized that the small print at the bottom of the tithing challenge was actually important. Silly us, we thought it was the large print that was actually the most important. (sigh)

Another thing the church is relying on are those who actually have enough intestinal fortitude to ask for your money back. I mean come on. Who is gonna walk into a church and ask for their money back? It’s almost like stealing candy from a baby. Seriously, could you imagine the guilt trip for taking from a church? Not only that, what about the embarressment or humiliation of having to ask for your money back? I mean is the Church like a walmart? I doubt you’ll have long lines in the return aisle.

4. Tithing Testimonies

Harmless right? Not if the testimonies are one sided or in a twisted perspective. If you believe that your situation will play out just like the testimony you heard, then i feel bad for you.  Not that everyone believes their own story line will turn out exactly the way the other person’s has, but they do believe the results in the end will be the same.

For every good tithing testimony you hear, you can easily find a bad one. If you can’t seem to find a negative tithing testimony, then you probably have gotten used to those rose colored glasses you have on.

Look, i don’t want to just slam testimonies. I guess they have their place.

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Tithing Before or After Taxes

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

I just received  a question in an email, “Should i tithe before or after taxes”. It’s a good question. Even though there are many other difficult questions in regards to tithing, many people have been confused for some time about whether they should tithe on the gross or net. Everything seemed pretty cut and dry with Israel in the Bible, but it doesn’t seem that way with us since so much has changed with the New Testament Church.

First, we don’t have Levites and priests. Second, we don’t have a temple, or storehouses.  We don’t even have the Mosaic law. On top of that, we’ve been given some new things. We now have the Holy Spirit and are under grace. We are also under a new covenant. We are born again, and one of God’s sons. This list of changes from the Old Testament into the New Testament is a nightmare to weed through.

Let’s face it. Finding out whether you should tithe before or after taxes should be an easy question to figure out. There are many other more questions that do not seem to have such clear answers in the bible:

  • Should i tithe on retirement
  • Should i tithe on gifts
  • Should i tithe on my investment returns
  • Should i tithe on the benefits of my health insurance?
  • Should i tithe on car insurance claims?
  • Should i tithe on social security
  • Is tithing before or after taxes?
  • Can i count christian education towards tithing
  • Can i tithe to a charity?
  • Can i tithe to friends and family?

. . . and the list goes on and on . . .

Ok, so you get the point. Tithing is a complicated matter. Tithing before or after taxes is just the beginning of the complications. Through all of this i am reminded of the verse In Romans 2:29 – “and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter”

Those who have a heart towards God will seek obedience. So i understand why they questions in regards to the tithing command. But Godly Stewardship is not in the letter, it is of the heart and in the Spirit. Some may see fit to include a 10% requirement within the spirit of the law, but when confronted about whether 10% is a reflection of their heart, they answer, “No”. If a 10% commitment is not a reflection of their heart then how can it be within the spirit of the law?

The point is that all these questions about tithing show how 10% giving is a part of the letter and not of the spirit. The regulations about what you can give, who you can give to, how much you can give, when and where; are all part of the letter that kills. if you don’t think it kills, just look at how people stumble over 1 tithing question. Let alone, a hundred more that the bible doesn’t even give you answers for; because the instructions for tithing were given under the Old Covenant.

With Spirit led giving in the New Testament, the command to tithe is overwritten and fulfilled.  If the law was fulfilled, that means its purpose is used up. You cannot continue to use and add more water to a bucket of water when it has fulfilled its purpose. It is full and finished with its job. It is not abolished. It is just fulfilled. Now, you need a different bucket that allows you to fill up with more water. Thank God for Spirit-led giving in its place.

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