Tithe Charts, like the nifty one I found here are so insulting . . . maybe it’s just demeaning to my intelligence. Seriously, who can’t do the math in their head? If you have $100, all you have to do is move the decimals over 1 spot to the left. So, $100 now becomes $10. If you can’t figure out how to count 10%, I’d like to know if you were intelligent enough to complete a job application; because I can’t imagine you are earning a paycheck to tithe from in the first place.
A tithe chart is something I’d hand to an 8-year-old. People already call tithing the ‘training wheels of giving’, but strangely, we need a tithing chart to teach them how to use the training wheels. Kinda stupid if you ask me. I don’t think it’s that preachers think we’re stupid; I think it’s because they are desperate to influence how much you bring in.
Nobody wants you to pray or think about your giving. They just want you to do it. I’m not saying that we should make it difficult for people to give; but my goodness, training a group of people to be free thinkers in the Church is few-and-far-between. We seem desperate to have God’s children to be Spirit-led, and yet, we map out their giving with a tithe chart!
One of the most frequent quotes in tithing sermons is “the last thing to be baptized is the wallet”. Depending on your perception, you might think a baptized man kept his wallet out of the water, but I believe it’s because the pastor took it out of the man’s pocket.
Right before most people are baptized you will hear, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit”. But, because of the fear and uncertainty of Spirit-led giving, the pastor snatches the wallet prior to dunking. For as long as the Holy Spirit stays away from your wallet, tithing maintains control over what you give.
Who do you think is most reluctant to baptize the wallet – the pastor or the giver?