'PRO-TITHING' VIEWPOINT
Posted by: prophetic <prophetic@...>
The word "tithe" means 10%. To me it is a bottom line
amount that the Lord asks us to give as a matter of
obedience to his word in the area of finances. In
Mattthew 23:23 Jesus clearly says to tithe, but it is in
the context of a "minor" thing compared to weightier
matters like justice, mercy and faith. The reason we
make it a major thing is because money tests the heart.
Accoding to a recent statistic that I read, less than 6%
of Christians tithe. I've heard many say, "I don't tithe
because 100% of what I have is the Lord's." I have
observed that it is usually an excuse to give next to
nothing.
The biggest problem that honest people like yourself
have is WHERE to give the tithe, and this problem is
compounded because of organized churchianity. I
don't believe it should go to building projects or even
Christian literature. I believe scripture is clear where
the Lord's tithe goes... Deut. 26:13 says it should go
to "the Levite (five-fold ministers) the stranger, the
fatherless, and the widow." Bottom line - it should go
to PEOPLE, not institutions.
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From: SandraGoodwoman@aol.com
Tithing was never an Old Covenant establishment but
rather preceded the giving of the law. Genesis 14 recalls
the story of Abraham paying tithes to Melchizedek, king
of Salem. This was the first recorded instance of the
paying of tithes. Then in Hebrews 7, Paul expounds this
incident. Paul's description of this priest of Salem
indicates that he was no ordinary person. He was the
King of righteousness, the King of peace. Having
received tithes at Abrahams's hand, he then blesses Abraham.
But let me also add that I have proven the Word of God as
recorded in Malachi 3 true in my own life. My testimony
is that until I recommitted my life to Christ in around 1995
I had never been taught about tithing and sought to find
out more about it. I was so persuaded by The Word of
God that I did put God to the test. I started out tithing
on my net income but then moved on to tithe on the
gross (pre tax deductions). As a result of taking God at
His Word and consistently tithing, I noticed a great
change in my finances. At the beginning of each month
I was in the habit of sitting down and drawing up a
budget based on my earnings for the month. In most
cases after identifying all my outgoings I would have
about £20 left to take me through the month. This was
meant to cover groceries the lot. My experience was
this, every month I had sufficient funds and never went
overdrawn on my bank account. I am now way beyond
the £20 limit. God has blessed me in my employment
with promotions that have yielded an increase enabling
me to be a blessing to others. My spiritual life has
seen untold growth, the revelation I receive from His
Word, fruit produced in ministry, I cannot begin to
explain just how much of a harvest God has produced
in my life and now I just would never consider not
tithing. If I receive a monetary gift I tithe on that too.
You see, I never view it as giving to the Church - it is
my offering to God for the work of His kingdom. As I
bring into the House of God so that His work may go
on, so God brings into my life and I am blessed. God
cannot but honor His Word.
~Sandra Williamson,
London, England
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From: "Beryl Peterson" <berylpeterson@msn.com>
I know this is not suitable for teaching, but I need to
answer my thoughts on tithing. I take such joy in tithing
that I cannot wait until the end of the month to write my
check and we have a church that has some program at
least 4-5 days and nights a week. I have such joy when
I can give into the offering. I never felt this way before
I became a Christian. I am a widow of almost 20 years
this year and I have been handicapped since 1994.
When my husband went to be with Jesus I was earning
$5000 per year. I had no idea how I was going to
manage. He was only 51 when he died of brain cancer
and I was left with medical bills and struggling. I found
jobs baby sitting, teacher's aide, dog sitting, tutoring,
Cheer leader sponsor and other odds and ends. I never
wanted and God restored each time I had a need.
One day I really wanted some onions and tomatoes so
I could make Spaghetti sauce. I was driving home from
school and on the main street there were 12 vidalia
onions. I stopped my car and picked them up and I got
home and there was a box of tomatoes on my door step.
That September I was offered a teaching job at the high
school, teaching remedial math and reading. Two
students asked me to lead a prayer and bible study in
my classroom.. I was delighted and they had gotten
permission from the principal. Another teacher came in to
help me and the teachers would send their troublesome
children to me and they knew I would pray for them. I
would lead them to the LORD and they would tell their
parents and bring them to my home in the evening. This
went on 7 days a week and it was wonderful until 1994,
when I became too ill to work.
I was never able to continue to work but I know my
savior provides for me and allows me to have the joy of
giving people rides to different places and praying with
them. I truly am blessed and joy wells up in me when
I can give over and above my tithe.
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