Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense
Don’t be so open minded your brain falls out
Or so closed you don’t use it any more
Neither mindless nor thoughtless
Nor flux nor flixed
Are places to be
One never settles
The other never moves
The middle is considered compromise
But repentance requires change
Where are you?
THINK!AboutIt?
Often tithing proponents promise all kinds of blessings to anyone who gives a tithe: prosperity, health, happiness, success and who knows what else. They also make a scene when anyone receives an unexpected monetary increase after giving their first tithe payment.
They sound more like traveling salesmen offering cure-all elixirs.
When someone suggests they may not be right, they adopt a threatening tone, pronouncing curses on those who fail to give. These extreme methods provide a lot of fuel to those who oppose tithing.
There is some truth to the tithing-equals-blessing concept but the way it is presented is usually distasteful. It smacks more of opportunism than a sincere effort to work with and relate to God.
Seems more like a pill you take for a headache or an injection for the flu, things you do occasionally, following which you expect an immediate result.
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The thought is “if I give a tithe for so many days, I will get ten times more for the rest of my life, beginning tomorrow.” That isn’t an accurate representation of tithing.
For some people tithing appears, at least on paper, to be a great sacrifice. They think they will not be able to survive financially without that money. But tithing is never said to represent a sacrifice or even a loss. This is one area in which God promises to bless us abundantly. In fact, we are told to test God to see if He won’t multiply our blessings in return.
Malachi 3:10 says,
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house, and prove me (test or try me) now herewith, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
In no other way are we allowed to test or try God. Jesus referred to this as “tempting” God and said it was not to be done, generally speaking. Only in the matter of the tithe are we allowed to test God and even expected to do so.
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You have no reason, however, to claim God’s material blessing on your life if you don’t commit to this offering. Put Him to the test and see what happens but remember, tithing is obedient giving not sacrificial giving and the Bible teaches that God’s special blessing will be on those who obey.
There is such a thing as sacrificial giving but you can never qualify as a sacrificial giver if you are not consistently tithing first. The tithe is not a sacrifice. It belongs to God. [Read more…] about Tithing – Neither Sacrifice Nor Charity
Tithing encourages us to develop skills for managing financial resources but only if we don’t try to mange the tithe.
We often say that everything we have really belongs to God and I agree with that statement but the tithe belongs to God in a way the other 90% does not. The tithe is not mine to manage. The only thing I can do with the tithe is turn it over to God at the very first opportunity. [Read more…] about Tithing Develops Life Skills
Solidarity does not exist only with the commitment of one person. It is a thing of beauty demonstrated when a group of people move in unison. It is not an easy thing to achieve. If it were, they wouldn’t award Olympic metals for synchronized swimming.
It requires a lot of discipline to develop and much courage to execute. The military attempts to instill solidarity in basic training so fewer people die in battle and it also multiplies the total effect. Small groups of soldiers have been known to effectively retard the advance of forces several times their size because they fought in unison courageously. The WW II Battle of Lanzerath Ridge is a case in point. There is great power generated when a group of people, large or small, act in unison. [Read more…] about Tithing Catalyzes Solidarity
