Archive for the ‘tithing’ Category

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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10 Solid Arguments Against Tithing

Monday, August 10th, 2009
  1. Abraham gave 10% of the spoils of war while Israel was required to give less from the spoils of war. (Hebrews 7:4; Numbers 31:28-30)
  2. Of all the recorded events about giving in the New Testament Church, there is not a single one about tithing.
  3. Are the children required to pay tribute? (Matthew 17:25; Galatians 4:5)
  4. Jacob freely offered the tithe because he knew without a requirement, it was of freewill to give. (Genesis 28:20)
  5. None of the Israelites tithed while outside of the promised land. (Deuteronomy 12:5)
  6. Abraham was born under an Old Testament covenant that was established long before Moses. (Genesis 3; Hebrews 8:13)
  7. The poor received the tithes and did not pay them. (Deuteronomy 26:12)
  8. Giving is the only gift that has a minimum requirement before you learn to exercise it as a Spiritual gift.
  9. There is no New Testament command to continue or even modify tithing according to the structure of the New Covenant.
  10. Israelites who did not grow food or raise animals did not tithe. (Leviticus 27:30)

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Top Ignorant Statements About Tithing

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

ignorant and clueless people

This list of ignorant statements about tithing are listed here because they are the cream of the crop when it comes to oblivious arguments. Every time i hear these statements i either roll my eyes to the back of my brain or i shake my head in disbelief about how shallow their brain must be. I know my mood seems uncaring and sarcastic, well, that’s probably because it is. Sorry, it’s been a rough couple weeks. So, onward we go into the barren, thoughtless, and ignorant statements about tithing.

  1. You don’t pray about tithing, you do it
    Who can recall the countless times i’ve come across this statement. This argument pretty much stems off the mentality, “God said it, and that settles it”. I could understand if we skipped the whole prayer thing if we were talking about murder, adultery, or stealing; but curiosity should arise when we realize that God is present, but i don’t need to pray because all i need to know is in this little black book. After all, it says “Holy” on the front, so it must answer all my questions.

    Who needs a God that is able to communicate? There are many other religions out there that pray to idols who can’t speak to them. For some reason, i don’t think God is made of wood or stone.

  2. Tithing acknowledges that God owns it All
    STOP! Think about that: Does giving 10% mean you are giving 100%? Notice how they always say that tithing “acknowledges”. They know it doesn’t bring fulfillment, or completion to stewardship. It’s because they know if we aren’t committed 100% to God, then 10% means nothing. It is very possible that many people have tithed without acknowledging that the other 90% belongs to Him as well.

    We’re in a bit of a quandary here. Is it tithing that acknowledges God owns it all, or it is a circumcised and sacrificial heart that acknowledges God owns it all. Which is it?

  3. Freewill givers do not give as much as tithers
    I am sure that is probably true, but truth is not based on success or results. Let’s take Islam for example. Right now, it is the fastest growing religion in the world, so does that make Islam right and Christianity wrong? I’m even sure many more Muslims are ready to die for their faith than Christians are.(shout out to Achmed the dead terrorist!)

    One of the reasons tithers follow through with their commitment to give more is because they place themselves under a storm cloud that will strike them with a curse if they disobey. Even though God directly says, “you are no longer under a curse”, tithers still think that God didn’t mean he removed the curse about tithing also.

  4. All scripture is profitable
    If i could define ignorance in one of these arguments listed here, well this is it. This is one of those responses i get when people think i’m just trying to throw out the whole Bible whenever i say that the tithe is no longer valid. Forget the fact that they don’t believe in the Sabbath on Saturday, animal sacrifices, or even clean meats for the same reasons i don’t believe in tithing.

    This is how it usually goes: I basically tell them that the tithe is no longer commanded, and they basically say, “How dare you throw out God’s Word”. Then comes either one of the two statements: ‘all scripture is profitable’ or ‘i did not come to abolish, but to fulfill’. Why should i even bother asking them why they don’t fulfill the sabbath?. . . sigh. . .

  5. God never Changes
    This kind of goes along with #4 . . . as in why should i even bother asking them why God changed the sabbath, or the priesthood, or the temple. Debating with people over these tithing arguments is like arguing over an algebra equation with a 5 year old when they don’t even understand multiplication. If tithers just stop and think about what they are saying, then they would soon realize that if God never changes in the way that they are implying, then we would still stone our children.

    This is what i mean when i said ‘thoughtless’ at the beginning of the blog. These tithing arguments are just that – thoughtless.

  6. Where does the Bible say to stop tithing
    It doesn’t say, “stop tithing“. I believe there are over 600 some-odd old testament laws that we do not practice anymore. I would imagine if God took the time to rewrite a verse in the new testament commanding us to stop each law in the Old Testament, then our bible would be a few hundred pages longer.

    We are born again, adopted in God’s family, indwelled with God’s Spirit, and given a new covenant. On top of all this, the earthly priesthood was eliminated, the temple destroyed, and Judaism is not my religion, nor am i an Israelite; and yet, we find it hard to believe that tithing could have been replaced by Spirit led giving?After all the changes, i think we need to find where the bible says to continue tithing. Don’t you?

  7. Tithing is the starting point
    This philosophy is not even in the bible. First of all, first fruit offerings were given prior to the tithe, so tithes were not even given first. Second, tithes were only given from food and animals, and were not given from occupational income. So, there was no starting point for blacksmiths, lawyers, doctors, or carpenters.

    Here’s a little saying, that i’ve thought of all by myself (as you can see i’m boasting)
    Where should our giving begin?
    Where should our giving end?
    WHICH ONE SHOULD WE TEACH?

  8. Would you like God’s net or gross blessing?
    No, this is not necessarily an arguement used to defend tithing, but more or less used to persuade those who are tithing, to tithe more. First, this argument exposes the root of why tithing has such a hold on many lives. It is the promise of blessing and the fear of the curse. Who cares about gross or net blessing from God, you should want to do what’s right. Right is either right, and wrong is wrong. There is no gross right, or net wrong.

    The problem is that those, who are concerned if they should tithe on the gross, ask others who couldn’t give you a biblical answer. So the best thing to do is conjure up a catch phrase that seems to have wisdom embedded in it.

  9. How Much do you give?
    Ah yes, this question is their famous “gotcha” argument. They know that biblical reasoning will not win their argument so they resort to personal attacks because your character is all they have left to attack. I have to admit, this is a tricky one to respond to. First, they have no business investigating what you give. Second, if you happen to give less than a tithe of your income, they let you know, your works do not shine as bright as theirs. Last of all, if you do give above 10%, they will convince you that tithing is the minimum and your conscience knows it.

    This question is in the ignorant list because either they want to corner you; no, not on biblical truth, but on your performance; and also it is ignorant because anyone should know better than to determine scriptural truth based on the performance of mankind.

  10. We can’t rely on people to be Spirit-led
    This is an ignorant statement that tithers unfortunately believe, and yet ironically in the same sentence they believe the book of Acts is historically accurate. I don’t know, maybe they do believe the book of Acts was a fairy tale. What they are saying is that ‘i don’t trust that people can be Spirit led, but of course, the Christians in the book of Acts are the exception‘.

    With their ignorant statements, they don’t even realize that they deny the power that God has on his children.  They deny the blood of Christ, and they deny that any Christian can be sacrificial and liberal with their giving while being filled and led by the Spirit of God. What a shame, and what ignorance.

  11. How will the church stay open if we don’t tithe
    There are thousands of non-profit organizations that keep their doors open all year without demanding, or imposing a tithe of their freewill donors. What makes us think that an operation that is commissioned and overseen by God’s almighty hand would fare less than any of these non-profit organizations? Are you kidding me? is your faith that little?

    It might just be that you have seen your astronomical church budget, and it is in the millions! Yeah, you’re right, if there’s anything that God could struggle with is to continue paying for your worthless, under-performing, humanistic kingdom that does very little in out-reach but a lot of in-reach. In that case, you are right, we probably would see some church doors close. That’s the price you pay when God is in charge of financing his kingdom.

Now i’m looking for your input. But please, if you have anything to say, ignorance is not welcome.

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Apples of Gold Ministries Take on Tithing

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

Apples of Gold Ministries posted a great series on the subject of tithing and new testament giving. Check it out here. I have added their blog as well as Pulpit Pimps to our blogroll section.

Pulpit Pimps has a great article on tithing as well. You can read the PDF here.

For those of you wondering. . . I have been slammed with work and have so much on my plate. I will be returning shortly with more blog posts.

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Tithing Questions are Frustrating

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

tithing questionsMy website receives thousands of visitors every month, so naturally i get emails from people who have been struggling with giving, and need a question answered. If the typical question was about seeking the basic facts, i wouldn’t be as frustrated in responding as i typically am. But the typical question usually has to do with a quandary that makes an individual choose between tithing and debt, or tithing and paying bills, or tithing and giving to other ministries.

The Tithing Dilemma

I would say that many of these people know already what they should do, but their conscience has been deceived about tithing for so long that their guilt becomes a stumbling block for doing the obvious thing. On one end, they have tithing. On the other, there’s common sense, which wants to avoid debt, pay bills, or provide for one’s family. On some occasions a desire to give to other ministries outside of their church contradicts the teaching that a tithe must go to your local church.

So i asked myself the question, why do so many people not know what they should do? I don’t know if this is the answer but I believe the main reason why i receive these questions is because their giving abilities have been trained on tithing, but not Spirit led giving. Being guided by the spontaneous characteristics of Spirit led giving is foreign to most, or at the least bit, still in its immature stage. Giving 10% of your gross income seems cut and dry, but when a unique circumstance comes up, tithers freeze and do not know what they should do. Questions, such as, “should I tithe on their retirement money”, or “can I give to a charity”, are just a few questions that many ask. The thought of hearing and listening to a personal God about spontaneous instructions on their giving is foreign to them, because they’ve been spoon fed about what they should do with their money for so long. Tithing has turned many believers into a tamed lion that forgot about its natural instincts.

Spiritual Instincts

Tithing has made us into baby Christians, which is antithetical to the philosophy that it trains us into mature Christians. Children, who are initially trained through Spirit led in their giving, don’t freeze up with difficult questions. Those who are led by tithing, are examples of wild animals caged up and tamed, and have developed no survivable instincts outside of their little cage. Tithing believers have lost their natural, Spirit-led instincts. They are being tamed by a giving instructor that dictates their move, and it satisfies them because of the security and consistency it brings in their life. Assuming, with tithing, there seems to be no doubt or questions about what you are doing until a bizarre situation comes up.

Unfortunately, many believe that tithing is commanded for the New Testament Church. New Testament children are born again to be free, and not caged up like a circus lion. The Spirit of God is meant to be our guide – not tithing. Our spiritual instincts naturally guide us when we are in the wild because we are naturally free and wild creatures. God didn’t give us spiritual instincts so that the tithing tamer could control us. Break free from your bondage. Get out into the wild, and let the Spirit be your guide.

We have created a huge dilemma. We want to build Christians who eventually will be free to be Spirit led with offerings above the tithe, and yet our training is performed in a cage? How does all this make sense? Why do we train our children how to tithe when their destination is to give with Spirit led offerings?

Basic Training

Training is a crucial experience in a believers life. For so long, we’ve been brainwashed into thinking that tithing is the “training wheels” or the “baby steps” in regards to stewardship and giving. But when we are thrown out into the wild, which requires us to be at the peak of our instincts, we don’t know how to feed ourselves and survive on instincts. We have not been trained to be Spirit led, we’ve been trained by tithing.

Most of us, when we figure out offerings above the tithe, we automatically begin calculating, and it sounds something like this, “1 or 2 % sounds like a pretty reasonable offering to give”. So, is  Spirit led offerings much like throwing darts? Is this is what tithing exercises helped us figure out?

For so long we’ve been told to tithe, and it’s been fairly simple to figure out what to do with it. Once we get our paycheck, just cut out 10% for God. As far as the offering is concerned, i would dare say that most add 1% or 2% and place our gift in the same offering plate every week. Some of us might go out on a limb and actually take the liberty to check mark the offering envelopes to designate if our offering should go towards the mission, building, or benevolence fund. If checking a box would be the biggest spiritually financial decision we would have to make, then we have seriously failed in our training.

Many of us have heard the pun that our wallet is usually the last thing to get saved or be baptized. Well, i agree in a different way. Most Christians recognize our new birth in Spirit led living, but when it comes to giving, we are still attracted to the old life under the law. For some reason we are attracted to the way, Abraham, Jacob, & Israel gave. On top of that, the old covenant curses and blessings on the tithing law attract our attention even more. We have been baptized out of this system into a new system. It’s time to start living and giving like it.

It first begins with training ourselves to be Spirit led. To clarify,  being Spirit led is not about neglecting the Word of God, nor is it following your emotional whim. Most people are afraid that their emotions will get in the way, and that’s why they calculate their giving every week. Not to say that creating goals, or a set amount for our giving is bad, but unless the Holy Spirit is really setting a consistent standard for you, then that’s not Spirit led giving.

Definition of Spirit led Giving

Figuring out Spirit led giving is much like deciding where you should live, where your children should attend school, who to marry, what job should you take . . . etc. Are there direct commands in the bible that tell you where to live, or attend school? Well, yes, but no. I’m sure you can find commands intended for Israel to live in a certain place, or who to marry, but how are these commands practical to us today? If i were to disregard these old testament commands intended for Israel and make my marriage a Spirit led decision, most would agree with why i am free to do this. Yes, we know about these Old Testament commands, and we know there’s nothing wrong with living our life by some of them. The problem is when we’ve incorporated these laws into New Covenant dogma, and discourage all other viewpoints.

Why?

Once again, why are tithing questions frustrating? I think it’s the realization that we shouldn’t be struggling with these questions any more. I guess the next frustrating thing is that tithing is enforced by those who say it’s suppose train you make the right decisions, but all it’s done is create us not know how to make any Spirit led decisions.

Although i am tired of baby Christian questions, i will still answer them. So, keep em’ coming.

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