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ORIGINAL: Eutychus

After 30 years, as an act of worship I continue to return to God more than 10% of the money that He provides through work that He has made available to me. The Holy Spirit led me to begin this journey of remarkable blessing. Even when I was unemployed, I never missed a payment or a meal and my children did not have to do without necessities. At a bare minimum, I have come to better appreciate God's marvelous grace and provision.

Most of all, I can personally testify that if you are one of His redeemed, You CAN trust Him!

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ORIGINAL: Soxfan

1. There are 15 verses from 11 chapters and 8 books from Leviticus 27 to Luke 11 which describe the contents of the tithe. And those contents never, included money, silver, gold or anything other than food! (Lev. 27:30, 32; Numb. 18:27, 28; Deu. 12:17; 14:22, 23; 26 12; 2 Chron. 31:5, 6; Neh. 10:37; 13:5; Mal. 3:10; Matt. 23:23; Luke 11: 42).

2. Tithing is Not Taught in the New Testament.
The false teaching is that Jesus taught tithing in Matthew 23:23 which, they say, is clearly in the New Testament. The New Covenant did not begin at the birth of Jesus, but at his death. Tithing is not taught to the church after Calvary. When Jesus discussed tithing in Matthew 23:23, he was only commanding obedience to the Old Covenant Law which he endorsed and supported until Calvary. In Matthew 23:2, 3 Jesus told his followers to obey the scribes and Pharisees "because they sit in Moses’ seat." There is not a single New Testament Bible text which teaches tithing after Calvary.

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ORIGINAL: RichLP


So… if I tithe – does it mean that:

1. I will never lack money to live (not to splurge recklessly and not to become “rich”, but to live so that life’s necessities and other responsibilities like my mortgage are always met)?

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2. God will give me wisdom in money management to an extent that I don’t have right now, no matter how many personal finance training I get on my own… resulting in more money at the end of the month?

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3. Given the example of my mother’s and father’s business success, does this mean that by tithing God will not only perform 1 and 2 but make me prosper abundantly, which in my case would be landing a job that pays far more than what I make now?

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Let it be clear that I DO want a better-paying job, but it’s not “greed.” It’s in large part because the company I am at is a small business, rather than a large enterprise, and chances to rise are VERY limited. They are also very stingy – many people were fired in recent times, but this is the 2nd straight annual review year that no raises were given (and the raises given before were MISERLY. I won’t even give a % because of how embarrassing it is.). So, they had more money to hand out to employees since there were less employees’ salaries to pay out, but they didn’t use any of that to boost the workforce’s salaries.

Furthermore, being in corporate America, we all want to see our salaries grow over time. No one wants to be stuck making now what they were making 3, 5, or 7 years ago.

Finally, after doing some math, I realized that the amount I’ve been giving regularly is close to an after-tax 10%. Literally less than $20 more per weekly offering and it’d be a tithe.

Thanks for reading this convoluted post and I appreciate any insight you can proffer.[/font][/size]

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so it is ok to give the 10% to missionaries? or Church building funds? I am only wondering cause for all the years I went to Church tithes is basically drove down your throat

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ORIGINAL: gmcspice

I just wanted to give a good report about "tithing".
You all remember I came with the question about taking care of my dad while he was sick instead of "tithing". I(and so did God) felt my money was better utilized paying my dad's bills to keep him comfortable.

Honoring our parents is expected of us and God laid that on my heart.
Well, since then, my dad has moved on to be with God and I miss him but I know I will see him again. Until then, Dad had left an insurance policy that I wasn't aware of. Because of all I did to help my Dad, God blessed me. I now have own a 3 bedroom home that sits on a 1 1/2 lot. God has made sure that I won't ever have to live with anyone else again.
I am now back to giving every Sunday. I agree 100% with writer chick. I give from my heart so I honor God. I believe that is what God intended in the first place not for us to be forced.

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ORIGINAL: RichLP

To the brothers and sisters here who wouldn't mind sharing about tithing - can you perhaps answer a few questions?

(long testimony)

Today, my pastor gave an interesting sermon about tithing. He stated that while he personally does not care whether the individual believers of our congregation tithe or not, he also did quote verses from Malachi where it says that not tithing equals robbing God, and he also read a verse in which God asks the people of Israel to test him - whether God would not pour out so much blessing to the extent the Israelites wouldn't have where to store those blessings, this if they tithed.

I have spoken to a few guys in my Bible study and they told me they've taken Christian financial management courses at our church and those very verses were given as scriptural backing for tithing. My own mother, who is a devout believer, quoted those verses to me more than 10 years ago, at a time my parents were struggling financially but she trusted the Lord that through thick and thin, through ups and downs, He would provide - that He would ensure she and my dad lacked nothing, and that they'd have prosperity.

I have to say that given what they went through - near bankruptcy at one point and many years of hard work in their business - I sometimes completely doubted God's "side of the bargain." Indeed, I felt that He wasn't answering, not only my mother's prayers and tithes but my own prayers too (I did not tithe) because during a period which lasted a couple of years, not only did my parents struggle financially, but so did I; I was employed, but it was a dead-end job. (Many of you will remember the post-9/11 job market and the economy of those years in the previous decade, of how tough it was then.).

Eventually my parents' business prospered, and while there are lean times too, overall they now no longer worry about money or their retirement, and my mother to this day claims the Lord ultimately did answer her tithing and her prayers.

Now, back to my pastor's sermon. He said that He received testimonials from people in my church who began to tithe - and "miraculously" there was more money at the end of the month. All bills paid; all responsibilities handled, and YET there was MORE leftover cash. Whereas during the pre-tithing times, these individuals would give less money to church, but come the end of the month, they would have nothing left.

Now HOW does this work?

I'm trying to make sense of this.

And I'm trying to understand it and believe it. My pastor today, and my mother many times in the past, stated that it is indeed difficult for a believer to start to tithe if he/she hasn't done it regularly before. It's the case w/ me.

But how will that money "stretch?" Will God suddenly give me a raise? (I'm not being sarcastic - far from it.) Will He give me more wisdom on how to manage my budget?

Let it be clear that I am fairly responsible w/ my money. I have 2 main credit cards (actually one - the other is AMEX) and pay them both off in full every month. My credit score is almost 800. I have a mortgage, which I pay on time, no missed payments. I pay the maintenance fees on my property every month, never late. I pay my car payments and insurance as well, always on time. I have a 401k and it's gotten better after a huge dip in 2008. I don't waste money on things.

And, another point the pastor made was that by tithing, we are making a statement of trust; that we put all our trust in God for our provisions, that we DO indeed believe Him to be “Jehovah-Jireh The LORD Who provides,” and that by tithing we are honoring God with our provisions.

So… if I tithe – does it mean that:

1. I will never lack money to live (not to splurge recklessly and not to become “rich”, but to live so that life’s necessities and other responsibilities like my mortgage are always met)?

2. God will give me wisdom in money management to an extent that I don’t have right now, no matter how many personal finance training I get on my own… resulting in more money at the end of the month?

3. Given the example of my mother’s and father’s business success, does this mean that by tithing God will not only perform 1 and 2 but make me prosper abundantly, which in my case would be landing a job that pays far more than what I make now?

Let it be clear that I DO want a better-paying job, but it’s not “greed.” It’s in large part because the company I am at is a small business, rather than a large enterprise, and chances to rise are VERY limited. They are also very stingy – many people were fired in recent times, but this is the 2nd straight annual review year that no raises were given (and the raises given before were MISERLY. I won’t even give a % because of how embarrassing it is.). So, they had more money to hand out to employees since there were less employees’ salaries to pay out, but they didn’t use any of that to boost the workforce’s salaries.

Furthermore, being in corporate America, we all want to see our salaries grow over time. No one wants to be stuck making now what they were making 3, 5, or 7 years ago.

Finally, after doing some math, I realized that the amount I’ve been giving regularly is close to an after-tax 10%. Literally less than $20 more per weekly offering and it’d be a tithe.

Thanks for reading this convoluted post and I appreciate any insight you can proffer.

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I think the problem with the whole 10% tithe is often it puts even more of a burden on the poor and oppressed by telling people they have to obey the mosaic law of tithing and if we don't we are under God's curse and if we do we are under His blessing. Personally, I feel if we are going to put ourselves back under the curse of one law we might as well include the curses for all the laws. The majority of Christians I know are giving and generous people, they just choose not to live under a mosaic law. I give and I give as God has prospered me, not necessarily a certain percentage every month. I do not feel God is pleased when we add more burdens to the poor when they are carrying enough. Just my two cents.

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Amen! That is why he said give what is laid upon your heart and that He loves a cheerful giver.

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It can be hard to remain cheerful when you are told to give part of your rent money. Christians really need to wake up and start questioning some things and check out the Scriptures for yourself. Our pastors are not infallible

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ORIGINAL: vvmyrss

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Amen! That is why he said give what is laid upon your heart and that He loves a cheerful giver.

It can be hard to remain cheerful when you are told to give part of your rent money. Christians really need to wake up and start questioning some things and check out the Scriptures for yourself. Our pastors are not infallible.

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ORIGINAL: heremainsfaithful

I have a story and a question.

I married in 1994. We bought a house, drove a car, had two children in hospitals, wore clothes, paid bills, ate food.....and all of that was possible because there were people who did believe in giving to the local church. You see, I married a full-time minister. The reason he got paid and we lived was because people gave and he had a salary.

How many of you go to a church with a pastor, music minister, youth pastor, etc. who are NOT volunteers? Do you take care of those men/women?

My H is no longer in the ministry, but you will never hear me speaking ill of a man who wants to be able to provide for his family for preaching God's Word. So this idea that the church needs to quit being so greedy or the church isn't a building is very noble. But somewhere there is a pastor who needs to take care of his family, and if you are a member of his church, you need to be searching your heart.

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ORIGINAL: vvmyrss

I think the problem with the whole 10% tithe is often it puts even more of a burden on the poor and oppressed by telling people they have to obey the mosaic law of tithing and if we don't we are under God's curse and if we do we are under His blessing. Personally, I feel if we are going to put ourselves back under the curse of one law we might as well include the curses for all the laws. The majority of Christians I know are giving and generous people, they just choose not to live under a mosaic law. I give and I give as God has prospered me, not necessarily a certain percentage every month. I do not feel God is pleased when we add more burdens to the poor when they are carrying enough. Just my two cents.

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ORIGINAL: writerchick

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ORIGINAL: heremainsfaithful

I have a story and a question.

I married in 1994. We bought a house, drove a car, had two children in hospitals, wore clothes, paid bills, ate food.....and all of that was possible because there were people who did believe in giving to the local church. You see, I married a full-time minister. The reason he got paid and we lived was because people gave and he had a salary.

How many of you go to a church with a pastor, music minister, youth pastor, etc. who are NOT volunteers? Do you take care of those men/women?

My H is no longer in the ministry, but you will never hear me speaking ill of a man who wants to be able to provide for his family for preaching God's Word. So this idea that the church needs to quit being so greedy or the church isn't a building is very noble. But somewhere there is a pastor who needs to take care of his family, and if you are a member of his church, you need to be searching your heart.

I really can't get onboard with you on this one. And the guilt trip at the end is a bit over the top.

Did you perhaps consider than God blessed your husband's congregation to be able to provide that salary for him? Some smaller congregations simply can't afford to take care of their households and the pastor's household, too.

In fact, isn't that what Paul spoke about when he pointed out that he made sure they didn't put an unfair financial burden on the church even though it would be well within their rights? He got an outside job to support himself.

And before you jump on me for not knowing what it's like to be married to a full-time minister, I will say that you're right. I don't. I do, however, know what it's like to be raised by one.

We had all the things you mentioned: a house, food, clothes, insurance etc. however, my dad's salary was only $75 a week. This was in the early 90s. By the time he retired after 24 years of service, he was earning a salary of $150 per week. He made up the difference by driving a school bus through the week until I graduated high school. Then he got a job at a supplier for Honda. All this is after he retired from Wright Patt Air Force Base.

He wanted to provide for his family and he did it. All without putting any extra burden on his congregation in the process.

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ORIGINAL: prophet

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ORIGINAL: Eutychus

After 30 years, as an act of worship I continue to return to God more than 10% of the money that He provides through work that He has made available to me. The Holy Spirit led me to begin this journey of remarkable blessing. Even when I was unemployed, I never missed a payment or a meal and my children did not have to do without necessities. At a bare minimum, I have come to better appreciate God's marvelous grace and provision.

Most of all, I can personally testify that if you are one of His redeemed, You CAN trust Him!

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ORIGINAL: heremainsfaithful

I have a story and a question.

I married in 1994. We bought a house, drove a car, had two children in hospitals, wore clothes, paid bills, ate food.....and all of that was possible because there were people who did believe in giving to the local church. You see, I married a full-time minister. The reason he got paid and we lived was because people gave and he had a salary.

How many of you go to a church with a pastor, music minister, youth pastor, etc. who are NOT volunteers? Do you take care of those men/women?

My H is no longer in the ministry, but you will never hear me speaking ill of a man who wants to be able to provide for his family for preaching God's Word. So this idea that the church needs to quit being so greedy or the church isn't a building is very noble. But somewhere there is a pastor who needs to take care of his family, and if you are a member of his church, you need to be searching your heart.