As we continue our ‘Tithing on Trial’ series, we will evaluate the most common tithing arguments used to defend its practice. So let’s evaluate another argument used to promote tithing. This argument comes directly from a well-known author on finances from Crown Financial Ministries – Larry Burkett. He has now passed, but we are going to evaluate his argument below taken from his book, “Giving & Tithing.”
While reading through the book, “TIthing & Giving” by Larry Burkett I came across a section that asked, “Is Tithing Legalism”? In the beginning, Larry states, “Although the tithe is mentioned in the law, no punishment was indicated for not tithing. There is a consequence (the loss of blessings), but there is no punishment from God for not tithing.”
What happened when Israel didn’t tithe?
I am not sure where Larry Burkett is getting his information about tithing in the bible, but you have to know that there certainly was a curse on Israel for not tithing. Malachi 3:9 states, “You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed me.”
Malachi 3:11 goes on, “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,“
I don’t think there is any question about the curse for Israel not tithing. We can find further proof in the book of Deuteronomy when God is laying out the laws for Israel. In chapter 26 he outlines the rules for tithing and by chapter 28 beginning in verse 15, God outlines in the next 50 verses the curses and punishments that would come upon them for not obeying his commands that were just laid out.
What Happens When Your Don’t Tithe?
As counterintuitive as it may sound, when we don’t tithe the opposite of what happened to Israel happens to us as Christians. The answer is that when we don’t tithe, we are blessed. Here are five reasons we are blessed for not tithing.
- You are under grace (Romans 6:14)
- God said He would supply all our needs without mentioning the tithe (Philippians 4:19)
- Our gifts are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God (Philippians 4:18)
- God Loves a Cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)
- The Spirit gives life (Romans 8:5-10)
As Christians, we should have confidence in these new promises under grace and the blessings that come with them. There is a caveat that I want to mention. Even though there are no consequences of not paying tithes, and we receive some inherent benefits and blessings, our greatest blessing comes when we give freely without obligation instead of giving a tithe.
This is not an excuse to give nothing. We should be willing to give from the love of our hearts. God has given us so much that it should compel our hearts to give back as he sacrificially gave to us. This is not an external force compelling us to give. This is an internal force that aligns with our heart’s attitude.
Are We Cursed When We Don’t Tithe?
Even though we receive a blessing for not tithing, some may still be wondering about the curse for not tithing and did it go away. The answer is no, God does not curse us if we don’t tithe. We are no longer under the curse of the law. We are under grace. You are cursed if you do tithe and blessed if you don’t.
If you don’t practice tithing, you are free from the curse, free from the law, and free from tithing. So many feel led to give to someone outside their church but are terrified to do so because of the fear of the curse. It’s not that they don’t like their church or disagree, but in their heart, they have the desire to fill a more urgent need. When people pass up the opportunity to give from their hearts, they invite doubt or even guilt in their hearts, which robs them of their blessing.
The problem with Larry Burkett and others with the same mentality towards tithing are that they know that tithing looks out of place when we attempt to fit it into a Church that is not supposed to be governed by the law. So they modify its appearance a little bit and make tithing more user-friendly than what it was in the Old Testament. The deception is that if we can mix in a little grace by disassociating it from the curse, then the tithe will appear as if it fits right in there with the other principles we practice today. This reformulation of the tithe is nothing but the law dressed up in grace’s clothing.
THE LAW + GRACE + LENIENCY = THE LAW
You Be the Judge
Now that the evidence has been given in this court of law, it is your turn to decide. You be the judge.
kent wilson says
yep and nobody can answer when i ask did Paul tithe?
Lenny says
Nooooooooooooooooooooo
Kimberly says
Paul himself commented on the fact that he was a strict Jew, abiding by all the Jewish Laws and customs; He mentioned this after he was confronted by Christ, and himself tranformed into a believer of Jesus. To prove that he would not make up Christ, he stated that he was a strict follower of Jewish Law. So, because he was a strict follower of Jewish Law, Paul did tithed. No Pharisee or any other strict Jew, could get by with doing one law, they had to follow them all.
Patricia Backora says
The OT tithing law applied only to landowners who grew crops or raised animals, and God wanted only food (Lev.27:3-34). But no money hungry preacher will ever mention this. Unless Paul raised veggies on the side he didn’t owe any tithe. Jesus never took up tithes at his meetings. Slaves, hired workers, and priests didn’t have to tithe.Instead, they RECEIVED tithes. We’re part of Christ’s New Covenant priesthood (I Pet.2:5,9). So we have just as must right to ask the preacher for tithes as he does to take them from us.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/4617708/Fasting-Tithing-Blessing-Bringers-or-Burdens
Anonymous. says
Patricia,
This interesting website and comments interests me; others asked. ‘Why bother?’ Seriously if folk want to tithe or donate, why care? We’re, most of us, free moral agents and choice is ours.
Recently, a tithe preaching minister, told me he’d learnt tithing worked when a kid, tithing $’s on pig sales. Told me, tithed to a Protestant church and was blessed for it. His present church of choice and wherein he ministers, is diametrically opposed to that ‘tithed to as a kid church.’ I said, apparently God doesn’t mind which church one tithes to, He blesses anyway?! Told him how tithing, practised and witnessed by me in many cases produced financial hardship. He refuses to discuss topic with me any further.
Greg says
A history lesson on what exactly the Church is would be good for those pro-tithers, Jesus Christ didn’t die on the cross to turn around and curse someone for not-giving money to a denomination that loves their name more than they do the Lord himself.
Kimberly says
We tithe because we love God and to honor who he is with the first of our fruit (which he has blessed us with); we tithed to continue the work which God has ordained the body of Christ to do in His name. We do not tithe because of free of curse or negative consequences. We tithe because Abram tithed (pre law) to show our gratitude to our heavenly Father. So, it is our privilege to give back which is already his. Ministry (feeding, clothing, sheltering, assisting, etc,) is not free or cheap. God driven, Spirit led ministries, or churches, do not preach curse to those who do not tithe. We stress that tithing is a joy and not a protection against curse.
Garth says
Kimberley,
Any chance you’ll reply—-please.
Dean Deguara says
“For those of you who are continuing to practice the works of the law, including tithing, you are actually placing yourself back under the curse.”
If you take faith in Christ out of the picture this would be true, but true Christ-Centered tithers are not tithing to fulfill the law. It’s a matter of keeping God first, giving Him our best (not what we think is best). Some can only give 3%, 5%…some can’t give anything but there time or talent. The principle is an ordinary behavior practiced by Christians and non Christians.
There are fortune 500 companies that practice the principle of giving 10%. Are these companies cursed? Of course not. My point is that if I use the tithe as a guiding principle (not legalistically) to govern your personal generosity it actually can be a blessing. It can help you manage your finances better, by keeping God (His Mission & His Church) and others a priority in your finances. You invest in what you believe in. I’ll keep reading because I enjoy different perspectives…though I can’t agree with that particular statement.
Laurence says
but why is ten percent your “best”
Russ says
What tends to grieve my spirit the most is that most “tithing messages” that try and debunk much of what is said on this website/blog, and on others, is the assumption they make that all those who have a different view of giving in the new covenant age have that different belief because they are desperately looking for some way NOT to give. However, I have yet to meet a truly sold out for Jesus christian who is looking for a way to give less. I don’t believe that person exists.
I have not practiced giving based on percentage since October 1997. I am called in the ministry of giving (based in Romans 12:8) as are many, many others I believe. I personally refer to it as the “artery calling” because this particular ministry serves that type of function in the Body of Christ. Instead of me giving to God, I allow Him to give through me. God doesn’t need the money … His family does. And, He know just how to move money in and around the Kingdom to get all the work done if we would but have a personal relationship with Him in this specific area. If we would decide what to give just like the preacher is suppose to decide what to preach (seek God’s face about it), then there would be no lack and all the work of the Kingdom would be accomplished and the Body of Christ would be healthy and well provided for.
If you are interested in more on this subject of the giving ministry, I have pasted below an article I wrote on it. Read if you like. Blessings to you all …
“Giving … what a wild card of a word in today’s church world, huh? We never know what we are going to hear when it comes to this wonderful word. Seems like this word provokes all kinds of responses from people depending on what flavor of church we attend and/or which side of the pulpit we stand. The reality is that giving is one of the most powerful but misunderstood ministries in all of scripture. It’s definitely a good word to dive into and find out some truth about.
I used to get so mad when I would hear and observe ministers extracting money from people with emotion and fear based pulls centered around (1) people’s desire to be rich (100 fold return approach), and/or (2) their fear of “I’m not going make it” (give or be cursed approach). Before that however, I used to respond to those same extraction methods myself. Sooner or later though, if we keep pressing in for more of Him, we find out that God does not operate that way with His children in giving and provision, just like He does not operate that way in salvation. Giving is not something we do as a “work” to qualify for something else like being provided for. As a result, there has to be more to giving than the “it’s for my benefit” base motive that permeates so much of the church.
Here is a truth for us to start out with (and we will prove it up as we go) …
“Giving, like every other ministry, is about God working through us toward others, not about our doing something that will benefit us and/or move God on our behalf. It’s not about “sowing” for our own personal provision.
God moved on our behalf over 2000 years ago when He sent His Son. That sowing and reaping was more than enough to provide all our needs in every way. We do not have to re-sow and re-reap to tap into that original sowing and reaping. We access it by grace through faith, just like salvation. Paul said it plainly in Phillipians 4:19, “My Good shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory BY CHRIST JESUS”.
God is not going to change and start supplying our needs by some other mechanism when He has already chosen to supply our needs BY CHRIST JESUS. When we attempt to insert other mechanisms and formulas in our lives to try and get God to respond to that which He has already finished doing, we get bewitched and we begin building on foundations that will not stand over time. I remember one time the Lord impressed upon my heart an exhortation that went something like this, “Son, as long as you think there is something else you have to “do” in order to get there … wherever “there” is … then you’ll never get there.” This is so true as it relates to giving if we look at it as something other than ministry. We’ll work it and work it and work it, all the while continuing to build on the wrong foundation.
There are many people in the body of Christ who are gifted and called specifically to a ministry of giving. God has designed them and called them to be used mightily in this specific area.
Romans 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
When we are born again, we are all blessed spiritually with a new nature from God that is generous at its core, not covetous. It’s not a nature that needs a consequential law to motivate it toward acting a certain way. I heard a minister make a wonderful statement about giving once. He said this, “Giving is the chief most expression of God’s love. When God wanted to demonstrate His love for us in the chief most way, He gave (based on John 3:16)”. Think about that … that makes giving one of the most powerful ministries and anointings on the planet. God gave because He loves us. Love was the motivator. Love was the “why”. Love was the power. When we are motivated by love, we have a motivation that is everlasting because love is everlasting. This is the key to truly understanding giving from God’s point of view.
When we are born again, the nature of God comes and abides in us (2 Peter 1:2-4, among others). We have it. So the question relative to giving becomes, “what’s all the hub-bub?” Why don’t we all just give out of that generous nature and relationship that we now have with Him and from Him on the inside. Why don’t we give from the same motive of love that He does and be done with all of this other stuff we hear? That’s the million dollar question … we should! But here’s the deal, there is this little thing that gets in our way sometimes called “the flesh”. You may have had a battle or two with it before, I know I have.
Our tendencies are to lose some battles to the flesh over time. We don’t have to and shouldn’t … but let’s get real here, we tend to lose some. Those of you that haven’t please let me know. Maybe you can pray for the rest of us. Well, one of the biggest areas we tend to lose some battles to the flesh in is in the area of money and finances. The enemy targets our flesh and our fears trying to draw our love toward money because the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Sadly, the following passage displays what is at the heart of motivation for a lot of the giving that goes on in today’s church world … a desire to be rich.
1 Timothy 6
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Have you ever thought about a desire to be rich motivating someone to give? It happens all the time … just turn on your TV. So what is happening? The answer is that there is a battle is being waged against our generous nature (our born again nature) … that divine nature we have abiding on the inside (Romans 8:5). The battle may focus on a desire to be rich or a fear of not making it … anything that will cause us to operate apart from the true leading of the Holy Spirit in areas dealing with money. Who is impacted if we lose this battle? Well, besides ourselves, all kinds of people are impacted that God would have us be generous to (or not be generous to as the case may be sometimes). Now, we can win this battle every time if we want (Romans 8:1-2), but how do we win it? We win it just like Jesus did when He was on the earth. He did it with “It is written ….” The enemy got a good dose of “it is written” in the wilderness the moment he tried to play Jesus the same tune that he approaches us with now in this same area.
Like Jesus, we need to have God’s Word in us so we can do the same in every situation, being strongly offensive with the sword that is the word of God. As it says in 2 Corinthians 10, we need to be ready to take every thought captive, to cast down every argument and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. It’s no wonder the Holy Spirit inspired these words through Paul right on the heals of such a wonderful teaching on giving in 2 Corinthians 8 & 9.
It is important for us to know where we are really located in these areas. Have you ever noticed how God will “locate you” for yourself on occasion … just kind of show you where you really are in the scheme of things? Well, as I mentioned, the truth is that we tend to lose some battles to the flesh and to emotions and fears in these areas relating to money and finances. This is where we are. In many cases, the result is that when ministers start experiencing first hand their flock losing battles against their flesh in these areas, they feel it and the corporate church or ministry organization feels it in their own pocket book. Let’s just be honest about it. In fact, many of the ministers and churches and church organizations are losing the same battle themselves. When this has happened, many of them have tended to motivate the people toward the actions of a generous nature, but apart from the proper love based motivation (the way God gives). Subsequently, they have seen the “consequential motive” approach be effective, so it has been perpetuated over time. They have basically pulled the same thing on the people that Paul observed happening in Galatia. The people are pulled back under the law so that consequences (good and bad) start motivating as opposed to love. They get bewitched. The key here though is to win the battle, not change the motivation to mask a defeat to the flesh and/or to the soul.
This is where a lot of the church is today as it relates to money and finances in the Kingdom. This has given rise to a lot of false and misleading doctrines that we hear consistently taught about “giving” and what we have to “do“ in order to be blessed and provided for by God. It sure paints an ugly and unwarranted picture of our Father. That is why we really need to know what we believe about “giving” and why we believe it. Is it a ministry where God is working through us, or is it an investment tool for our own personal provision? Is it a love motivated action or something we have to “do” to get God to move on our behalf? Is it a relationship flow or some formula for a heavenly slot machine? We need to know what we believe, have a conviction about it in our heart (not head), and live by it.
So let’s take some time here to look at some scripture. Let’s start by contrasting a couple of very familiar passages as follows:
Matthew 6
24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Contrasted to …
2 Corinthians 9
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
I love the contrast in these two passages because it moves us to dig into the Word and become a student of the Holy Spirit’s. In the first passage, Jesus is clearly addressing a concern the people have specifically about personal provision. He has clearly observed them worrying about food, clothes, etc…We can tell it plainly by what He says. In the second passage, this is not the case. Overtime, I have come to realize this truth about these two passages (and their surrounding context) … if we want to properly operate in 2 Corinthians 8 & 9, we must first walk and operate in Matthew 6 & 7. It’s a line upon line thing … a proper order of construction in our belief system. In Matthew 6 and 7, there is first an understanding of the Father and of His care for us as a Father. We do not have to sow and reap for that fatherly love and care. It’s “birds and lilies” faith, if you will. He is our Father and He provides for us not because of what we do or don’t do but simply because we are His … He bought us with a precious price. What seed could the children of Israel have sown in the desert to reap a crop of manna??? Answer … none. They were provided for because they were His and that is it. There is no other reason.
Think about it for a minute. This Fatherly love and care revelation is the understanding that will truly “enable” us and “draw” us into serving Him as opposed to serving mammon. It is what “enables” us to live a life free of worry. It’s what “enables” us to live a life motivated by love alone … a rest in the understanding that He has a Father’s heart and a Father’s care toward us. It’s a significant revelation that is fought hard by the enemy because there is much freedom and power in it.
We may not recognize this very often, if at all, but a lot of “Christian doctrines” and “traditions of man” that we have been taught actually cause us to worry because they teach us contrary to this “fatherly love and care” truth that is clearly displayed in Matthew 6 and 7. It is especially true in the area of money and finances. Here is a simple example relative to giving which you can probably hear in your mind that will produce worry and anxiety in your life. It goes something like this, “I have to give this if I am going to expect that for myself”. Ever entertained a thought like that (like during the spring telethon on your favorite Christian TV channel maybe)? Well, let me pose a question to you … if we have to “give this” in order to “expect that for ourselves”, then what is the real motive for “give this” that is being taught? The motive is to “get that for ourselves”… simple. Don’t try and candy coat it with some other flavor, that’s the motive. When we hear some pontification like, “I sense in my spirit that there is something special about that perfect $777 seed tonight” and act on it, the motive of our doing so is to “get that something special for ourselves”. We are basically looking at God as the type of father who requires that we prime His pump before He moves on our behalf.
Now, here’s the point in contrasting these two passages we are looking at … the sowing that Paul was encouraging in 2 Corinthians 9:6 was not a “get that for ourselves” encouragement. It was not for a harvest of personal provision. They were not being taught to do that for a resulting 30/60/100 fold windfall. If he was approaching them from that motive, he would have taught it to them as a necessity … something that MUST be done. On the contrary, he went out of his way to make sure they were not of that understanding. He even sent his guys out well beforehand to make sure they got the point across (2 Cor.9:5). Don’t believe a double tongued teaching that says “you must sow if God is to act on your behalf” on one hand and then says, “Be cheerful, it’s not a necessity” on the other. It either is or it isn’t.
Let’s go a little deeper. In 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, the context for the second passage above is laid out (I suggest reading it all together at least 25 times). Paul begins by explaining to these Corinthians what he witnessed first hand in a group of people in Macedonia that really blew him away. He observed something special in these people. What was it? He witnessed the grace of God on and in the lives of these people who were ministering to him and others in a way that was beyond their ability. He sensed something in their giving that was different. It really got his attention. I don’t believe they actually gave him more money than they physically had … but there was something that was beyond their ability in their freedom, in their anointing, in their trust of their Father. He saw it on them and personally experienced it.
We find out this key point about these Macedonians right off the bat … they had an abundance of joy (2 Cor. 8:2). Here is another truth for you …
In the presence of true joy there is an absence of worry.
Go try and worry when you are full of joy. You can’t do it. Joy is to worry like light is to dark. Turn on the light and the darkness has to go. It doesn’t mean there is not something in your life you could worry about if you wanted to (these Macedonians were in deep poverty). It means that true joy from the inside leaves no room for worry to have a place even in the midst of a difficult circumstance. These Macedonians had an abundance of joy, thus no worry … none. It was evident in their actions as testified to by Paul himself.
OK big deal, they had no worry and a lot of joy, what does that tell us? Wow, it tells us the mother load about the most famous givers in the bible! Namely, it tells us that these Macedonians were already walking in the truth of Matthew 6 and 7 when Paul observed them. They were not worried about their lives … what they would eat or wear or drive or fly or live in. They were not concerned with that which concerned the Gentiles. Psalm 16:11 says that in His presence is fullness of joy, or we might say abundance of joy. These Macedonians had been in His presence … seeking His face … seeking His kingdom. They had a Kingdom focus and a love motivation and as a result they saw very clearly how God wanted to work through them in ministry – so much so that the bible says that they implored Paul and his bunch with much urgency that they receive their ministry of giving. They viewed it as ministry. They did it exactly opposite of how it’s done in the church world today, huh? Instead of them being urgently implored to give, they were the ones urgently imploring Paul and the saints to receive. Big, big difference there.
Paul makes another point about these people that, along with their abundance of joy, is very telling and paramount. He observed this about them:
2 Corinthian 8:5 And not only as we had hoped, but they FIRST gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.
What did they do first? They first chose to give themselves all together to Him. Then, and that’s a big “then”, they gave to Paul by the will of God … meaning by relationship. Again, they are walking in Matthew 6 and 7, seeking FIRST the kingdom of God. They were not “sowing” for a pot of gold for themselves. They were ministering the will of God via relationship. And, because their motive was correct and their heart was right (freely willing), God was able to use them, to work and minister through them at a level that was beyond their own ability. Isn’t that the way we have heard ministers speak about the anointing of God when they preach and minister, “It’s not me, it’s God!” they say. It sounds like something that Jesus said Himself during His earthly ministry, “The Father who dwells in me, He does the works. John 14:10” This was exactly true of the Macedonians as well. Their ministry of giving was God in them doing the works. This is the context that Paul is coming at the Corinthians with when he gives them the “sow sparingly … reap sparingly” exhortation in 2 Corinthians 9:6. It was a ministry approach that had the Kingdom in first position. The motive was not “me”, but rather, it was a love for “them”.
All ministers want to minister with a powerful anointing. Ask any of them. They can sense it and a lot of times tangibly feel it. They will also tell you that ministry is a breeze in the anointing. What happens? The anointing (God’s power) produces ministry that is beyond their ability. God works through them as they yield to Him. However, the flow of God’s anointing is not about them or for them. It’s about and for the people that are receiving … to remove burdens and destroy yokes. Any mature minister with a strong anointing on their life will relay that truth to you. In fact, they will tell you that the more they yield to the truth that it’s about the people and not themselves, the stronger the anointing on their life becomes. The ministry of giving is no different. It just has a different function in the Body, but it is for the Body. It is God’s way of moving provision in and around the Body. I call it the “artery calling”. It’s not a mechanism for a 100 fold return to our personal bank account so our soul can be at ease as the rich man alluded to when he contemplated tearing down his barns to build bigger ones (Luke 12).
There is a big difference in giving with anointing and giving without anointing.
How do we give with anointing? First we view it as ministry as opposed to something else. This puts us in a position to see it as God working through us with love being the motive. His power is working as opposed to our power working. We enter into this first by ridding ourselves of formula/mechanical giving. We begin to give out of relationship, not by formula. It would be like the difference between a preacher mentally drumming up something to preach and teach in his own strength versus allowing his intimacy with God to bring forth the message for the people from an overflow of his relationship with God. If you are on the receiving end or the giving end, there is a huge difference. When we begin to enter into this way of ministry, regardless of what the ministry is, there is rest and peace and joy. This is what the Macedonians were full of in abundance. Along with that comes the absence of worry and anxiety and all the other things that accompany an incorrect vision of God as a hard task master, or an “earn your keep” type of Father.
Jesus himself said in the first passage above (Matthew 6) that, “No one can serve two masters … you cannot serve God and mammon”. Of course we can try to serve two masters, and most of us do (although un-admittedly), but we’ll not be successful in doing so. Jesus went on to say in the very next verse, “Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life …” In other words He said, “because it is not possible for you to successfully serve both God and mammon, this is my counsel to you … don’t worry about your life”. Don’t miss this. God is our Father. We can truly let him do the worrying about our life. He’s got it covered. That’s why the scripture says to cast your cares over on Him because He cares for you! (1 Peter 5:7). If you saw your own child worried about whether they were going to have something to eat or wear, wouldn’t that tear you up as their father/mother? Why? Because it’s not something they should be worrying about, huh? Jesus is saying the same thing to us as God’s children … “Your life is not something you should be worrying about. I’ve got you covered. Relax. It’s ok to just do what I put on your heart.”
The truth follows that if we are worried about our life, we have some mixture in us of trying to serve two masters, at least on some level. The Macedonian bunch in 2 Corinthian 8 chose to serve God only. The result was that their joy was in abundance and worry was no where to be found. They have a place now reserved forever in the written word of God as true MINISTERS of giving … wonderful examples to the rest of us. What was their example again? First we give ourselves to God, then and only then, we give to others by the will of God out of relationship. We minister in giving. I think of it no differently than I would about preaching and teaching. “That’s crazy Russ! I can’t do that every time I give.” Sure you can. God designed us that way. It’s freedom! I’ve been doing it that way for 16+ years now. It’s not even hard once you get passed worrying about what someone else will think. Just start with the commitment to always ask yourself a simple question of, “Why am I giving this?”, and be honest with yourself about the answer. You will begin noticing the ulterior motives at play real quick.
Again, giving is not a sowing for our own personal provision … Jesus was that for us. Accept that once and for all. Giving is a grand and wonderful ministry that is designed to be motivated by love alone and operated through relationship with the Father. We need to see giving in this light … in its true color as a ministry operation … a restoring operation … a burden removing, yoke destroying operation. I’ve never seen a preacher that wasn’t a bit antsy to get the micro phone in his/her hand. Why? They have a calling to minister in that fashion. Same way in the ministry of giving. You’ll want and desire to flow in that ministry from the heart. God will train us in that area just like He trains those with a preaching and teaching gift. Paul said that he had been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel (1 Thess. 2:4). He will approve us and cause us to flourish and be established in this ministry as well … but it will be God giving through us … not us giving to God. God doesn’t need the gifts, His Body does. Do you ever hear the preacher say, “I am preaching to God?” No, he is allowing God to speak through him to the people. It is the same way in giving.
Listen, it is written … giving is ministry. It’s time to start bashing the enemy with that truth when we hear the contrary. We may have to unlearn some things we have relied on for years and years, but it is time to do it. Honestly, I have shared this revelation on the ministry of giving with many people over time and, truth be told, precious few have really grasped what I have shared and lived out in my own life. I can tell just by what I hear them speaking later. I pray that God is breathing on these words in a way that makes it clear for you.
Once we get this understanding right in the heart and motive arenas, God will begin to flow His wisdom to us relating to real sowing and reaping such as business opportunities, invention ideas, investment wisdom, when to say “no” wisdom, etc… Do you think when Isaac sowed in famine and in the same year reaped a hundred fold (Genesis 26) that what he did to “sow” was take his money down to the local high priest and put it in the offering plate? No, what he did was plant an actual crop. He began a business enterprise. Giving comes after a sowing and reaping. We hear giving termed as “sowing” so much that we neglect seeing and expecting what real sowing opportunities God may send our way. We sow, we reap, we give … all of it out of relationship.
It’s time the church world started understanding this ministry of giving. The failure to do so will keep the church as an underground operation in the economic scheme of things. God wants us to mature in this area in this season. He wants His church to flourish in the economic arenas to the point of taking over, but He requires that it be done from the proper foundation and motive. God’s wisdom will flow to those who walk in these truths and are not actually attempting to serve two masters. There is no hiding of motive and heart issues from God. We can fool man (including ourselves), but we can’t fool God. Fear, worry and joy are indicators of where we stand on these truths, so think about it. Let God locate you for yourself.
“Well what am I suppose to do when the well is running dry and it looks like we are not going to make it?” The answer is in walking out Matthew 6 and 7. Build that foundation in your life by meditating the Word consistently in these areas until you see it and believe it. Jesus says in the same powerful sermon to pray this way … “Give us this day our daily bread”. Notice He doesn’t say, “Give us this year our yearly bread”. He is all about daily fellowship, daily trust, daily relationship, daily, daily, daily. He goes on to say in the same sermon … Mth. 7 – 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened (Now get this next part, we have to get this before we’ll ever walk in 2 Cor. 8 & 9) 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Ask!
“Have a need, sow a seed”? No!! Ask our Father!! Who says we have to sow a seed to meet our need? Not God! It’s a lie. What voice will we listen to? Build on the foundation of God’s fatherly love and care for you.
By asking, you will allow God to answer. Yea, that’s right. You will allow Him to answer. His word says we have not because we ask not. Ask! Don’t worry and fear … but ask in the stream that believes. The water in that stream is over our head, but we have to trust Him and get off the bank. Don’t ask while doubting as James 1 alludes to. Asking with a persuaded expectation is followed by rest … not sleeplessness and continued anxiety. Ask and then get yourself some sleep. God may well deploy some minister of giving your way that very hour … seriously. He may send a word of wisdom to you that very second. He may send an opportunity to you the very next day that will immediately change everything. He may say “go catch a fish and get the gold coin out of its mouth”. It doesn’t matter, He’s our Father and He can do it any way He wants to. He might do it in a way that has never been recorded before in scripture or that has never dawned on man’s thinking. Have some “Matthew 6 & 7 birds and lilies faith” and ask!!
Once we have asked, don’t operate with pre-conceived notions of where the answer has to come from. Rest (and I don’t mean lay around on the couch). Your job is not your source. Your ministry or church is not your source … nor is your friend whom you know could help you if “he would just listen to God!!” Just ask and be free of worry and full of joy.
Think about it. Are we walking in Matthew 6 and 7? Really walking in it? If we are worried and full of anxiety, then we likely have a mixture operating in our lives of trying to serve God and mammon. It will never work. By worrying, we serve mammon because we are not operating in faith toward God and the truth of His word … resting in it. By worrying we are likely to fall for the exhortations we hear to go back under the law … to be bewitched like the Galatians. Don’t do it. Arrest yourself.
True giving of any kind operates from a foundation of love. The rest of it is meaningless and gains you nothing. Do you want to be a “giver” in the eyes of God? If so, there is only one motive and one foundation that you can operate from to do so and that is love.
1 Corinthians 13
3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (Notice how it would be impossible for “worry” to walk in the midst of trusting, hoping, and persevering … it just can’t do it)
There are a lot of subtleties in the midst of our flesh and soulish areas that can trip us up. For instance in Matthew 6 below, if we seek first the kingdom so that all these other things will be added to us … we’ll never truly be seeking first the Kingdom. We’ll be seeking first the addition of all the other things! We’ll be fooling ourselves. Jesus did not tell us to seek first the kingdom SO THAT all these other things would be added to us. He was simply giving a truth to us designed to bring freedom and rest to us so that we can operate solely from a foundation of love. He was not introducing to us the motive for seeking first the kingdom of God. We need to constantly check ourselves and our motives of “why”. God will make these areas plain and simple to us just for the asking. He will answer those probing questions gladly and consistently.
Matthew 6
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.
It may take some time for you to start seeing the areas where false doctrine has made in roads to your thinking and believing in the area of giving. Believe me, there are a lot more “giving” scriptures to look at in the Word that will show similar contrasting as we displayed in these familiar passages above. I’d have to write a book to go through them all … and I might. But, if you will take these understandings yourself and apply them, you’ll see that they are supported in all the scriptures we commonly hear taught.
Friend, I do pray that there is not too much of an edge on this teaching for you. It’s not my intent at all. In fact, too much of the time we wish for someone else to have to beg and plead forgiveness for teaching something different once we enter into revelation that sets us free. Don’t fall into that trap. Apply the truth to your life and the proof of the pudding will be in the eating … then let the testimony of your life do the talking. It will do it in a much more anointed way than your tongue will I promise. It’s not my job or yours to bring conviction and change in someone’s life. That mandate is wholly given to the mighty Holy Spirit.
I pray you have seen something about this word “giving” that excites you and causes you to press in for more understanding and revelation about this wonderful ministry. I am convinced that there are multitudes that are called and gifted in this area as I am. Jesus not only set us free, but He also detailed for us how and why we are to give as well. Matthew 6 & 7 tells us this … our provision is by inheritance, available for the asking because we are His. We are free to give, free to obey, free to prosper off of that foundation in amazing ways with untold anointing from His throne. Few anointings set us free like giving does … the chief expression of His love. Amen.
Prayer
Father I pray that You would plow these words deep into the spirits of all who read them and that those seeds would germinate and bear fruit in each life … fruit that remains. Reveal to each one Your fatherly love and care and what it looks like in daily life on a practical basis. Reveal the real You that has not come to us to condemn us, but to bless us. Bring rest to the weary and enable each one to take authority over worry and to be filled with the abundance of joy just as those Macedonians were, and let the true ministry of giving flow in the Body of Christ, in Jesus name. Amen.
1 Peter 2
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— 16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.”
DANNY says
WOW! You sure are long winded! Try tithing with 4 kids/wife + one wage income. THEN shaped by REALITY: doubt you’ll be so long winded! Enjoy!
Kimberly says
I also have kids, small income, but I am able to tithe. God will bless your sacrifice and actually make it seem as if your money is stretched. I can’t explain it, but we seem to have more now then pre tithing. Trust God and see. Tithing is about Trust
Garth says
Kimberley: how about a reply–please!
Marie says
For 2 decades, i have been giving 10% tithes based on my net wages to my local church. Every week, my pastor will say, if you give tithes based on you net, your blessings will also be net. I always give, even though i am 8 months behind with my water bills, few months behind with my utility bills, pawn and sell my remaining jewelries, and sell whatever i could. I have a lot of Credit cards debts, student loans, etc. i deprived myself and my children, new clothes, new shoes, although, they need new ones, coz like their jackets are very old. I buy used clothes from the nearby flea markets, while my pastor wears brand names clothes. Ughh! One time, i mentioned to my church that someone fooled me and gave me bounced checks for the jewelries i sold. The next sunday, instead of praying for me and my family, the pastor preached that “if you’re in trouble in your finances, do not be surprised, because , GOD ALREADY SENT PESTS TO YOUR CROPS”. Instead of prayers, i got cursed. I realized, almost everyone left this church. Right now, i am so happy, moved to another church, brought my kids to youth (we have no youth, from that previous church, coz only 8 members left), and i give to this new church what my heart desires to give. This pastor does not preach about tithing, and he mentioned one time, he will never preach tithing to church. Now, GOD is still blessing me, my family, and i feel happier now, rather than before, giving my best, but still not enough for that previous pastor. I explained to my children everything, that, going to this new church, relieves me from being pressured to give what i cannot afford! How happy i am to get out from there! I thank God for giving me strength and wisdom to get out from there, and to fully understand that He wants a cheerful giver, and not a tither who cannot afford, but just do it for the sake of pleasing others.
Patricia says
I fell victim to this “The greater the sacrifice the greater the blessing” preacher scam and instead of a blessing, I got a curse. I was so blinded by it I sold every unneeded item in our house to get money for preachers. The devil sent someone to break into our house not long after that, and a relative got held up in L.A. Money got tighter, and I got more depressed because my “free” salvation didn’t feel so free anymore. This false clergy/laity system is a lie of the devil. We don’t have to hand our money over to kingpins who preach at us up on some stage. Ever since I quit going to organized canned church and stopped giving to rich preachers my spiritual life got better and things aren’t awful anymore.
Laurence says
I agree with a lot of what you have written , although the connection between give and it will be given to YOU …. ,seems a difficult verse to separate giving for our own supply ?
Patricia Backora says
If preachers could make a pile of money off circumcision, they’d scare all the males out of church, preaching on it all the time!
http://www.scribd.com/doc/126565822/Brother-Bobcat-Tithe-or-You-ll-Fry-in-Hell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baxW6aHpJT8
DANNY says
True. IF they preached females remain virgins till MARRIAGE. They’d cop flak, big time from feminists–agree?
Garth says
Kimberly,your belief in tithing and how you/family prosper thereby is a statement of your beliefs. You’re preaching pro tithing as taught to you by your Church.I’m glad for you and hope you continue to be blessed and prosper.
Kimberly,as a former tither to a Church here’s my experience:I single, low wage earner, wife and 4 children.Always struggled financially when I tithed; bills were overdue/outstanding and we constantly struggled to ‘break even.’Church concerned had it’s members tithing on gross income [before tax]to [my opinion] reap more $’s! Church later decided it’s flock could tithe: nett; helped only slightly. Yet,Kimberly, when we tithed on Nett, lo and behold: we had more money [not enough] to pay bills, buy food etc! No miracle Kimberly, we simply had more $’s over from my meagre wage!Since When stopped tithing, gave as chose: we’re better off regarding paying necessary bills and saving etc. Many tithing Church members I observed: suffered shortage of money to just even ‘survive’ in the society of wage earning,cruising along non tithers! Some lost homes, became heavily debt burdened; yet through faith, kept tithing to reap more of the same!
Maybe your Church preaches as did the one I exited, paraphrased: those not being blessed for tithing are tithing with the wrong attitude, or tithing begrudgingly?
Fact: the hierarchy, like I suspect are those: your Church,rolled in wealth, material/property possessions and were obscenely wealthy!
Garth says
Kimberly: addendum.Hope you can address following, raised because I found challenges the tithing required today belief/practice.
[1]Acts 4:32-35.Clearly no tithing system there 33 A.D; does this scripture mean we’re supposed to sell our lands and houses and donate results to Church of our choice?! More likely an example of ‘giving’ as a principle-agreed?
[2] Acts 20:28, 33-35. Paul financed his Gospel preaching by working as a tent maker. Is this an example for ministers today?
[3]Hasting’s Dictionary of the Apostolic Church paraphrased: “Its admitted universally that tithe paying, for sacred reasons didn’t enter Christian Church during the apostolic and their immediate successors.”.. Encyclopedia Britannica, paraphrased: “Christian Church depended at first on voluntary gifts from members.”..Americana, paraphrased: “Tithing wasn’t practiced in the early Christian Church.”..New Catholic Encyclopedia, published by a church that later demanded tithe paying,para: “Early Church had no tithing system, it wasn’t that no need of support existed or was recognized: other means appeared sufficient.” Articles: “Tithe or “Tithing” in each case…
[4] Please show me/us WHERE in the New Testament, or early Church history: Christian Church used tithing system of the Old Covenant to finance its operations..
[5]Some Churches/cults/sects/brethren preach that the order of Melchizedek priest is what their ministers are. Ergo, tithing to the latter [ministers] is tithing to Christ. I suspect, [minus the facts,] that thus does your ministry preach? For, so the preaching goes: Levitical priesthood done away [true]; now the ministersof said Church are Melchizedek priests and can receive tithes…
[6]Bible refers to only ONE priest named Melchizedek: Heb. 7:26 + 7:3.
[7] Melchizedek priesthood is “an unchangeable priesthood” Heb.7:24. Margin to v24: “A priesthood which PASSES NOT ONE TO ANOTHER,” emphasis mine. There’s only one Melchizedek priest: Jesus Christ and there’s no successor to Him!
[8]Did Abraham choose to pay tithes, or was he commanded to?
[9] Mat.23:23. The cult I exited from like many Churches used this verse to promote tithing. Kimberly: was Christ speaking to members of the Christian Church or Pharisaical leaders of the Jews? Pharisees were still under the Old Covenant system. Even they felt obligated to accept Levitical regulations and Christ called their attentions to those requirements.The temple still stood and Levites/Priests performed their ordained functions and were then, legal tithe recipients.
[10] Luke 5:14. Christ told His disciples to offer animal sacrifices: do you believe we should thus do?
[11]Christ told His disciples to Mat.23: 2+3 to obey the commands of the Scribes and Pharisees- required today?
Hope you’ll reply as healthy discourse often helps all concerned.
Garth says
Another thing. Many NON tithing Churches exist which I don’t attend, belong to or have any desire to so do. Yet they’re financially strong and have been for decades, via member OFFERINGS.
The tithe preaching, practicing and requiring Churches of MY EXPERIENCE never seem to have enough money?! Perhaps ditto, your Church? Ask yourself: IF tithing is a blessing, reaping rewards in “overflowing storehouse” abundance; why is my Church ministry always asking for more $’s? Why always this or that fund, cause, building, plan scheme etc needing more $’s from the tithing brethren? There never seems to be enough money? Surely the”storehouse” should be overflowing in abundance with tithing
blessings?!…Does YOUR Church provide a yearly expenses: profit and loss statement?…Does YOUR Church practice transperency in its financial transactions: supplying honestly/clearly information to brethren?…Does YOUR Church inform you of gross salaries and benefits their hierarchy from top down, ministers included enjoy?..
Food for thought!
Patricia Backora says
When I was a baby believer I went to this church which encouraged thorough Bible study but did NOT debunk the tithe as false. Even then I wondered why the apostles never reminded anyone to tithe and never rebuked anyone for failure to do so. This church preached and sang about our being free from the law but that one sacred cow, tithing, was never attacked as false. Monetary tithing started with the Catholic church in the Middle Ages. Funny how Protestants keep attacking Catholic Doctrine, but kept tithing because of its obvious advantages to the church elite. I keep thinking about how Achan hid the gold bar in his tent after God told the Israelites not to keep anything found in the enemy camp, but to destroy it all. Tithing was nailed to the cross like all other points of the Old Law. If money could be made from CIRCUMCISION, you’d see every male in the church stampeding out the back door.
Patricia Backora says
Oh, yeah, the REAL question ought to be: Does God curse you IF you tithe? If you’ll read my FREE online pieces you’ll find out that God had FOOD, not FUNDS, in mind when He ordered JEWS to tithe, and God doesn’t like people changing His laws.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/16583115/SATAN-Wants-You-To-Tithe
http://www.scribd.com/doc/4617708/Fasting-Tithing-Blessing-Bringers-or-Burdens
Helen says
Patricia,
You’ve duplicated, said same months ago?
Imagine if a preacher told his flock that abortion is murder and virginity to be retained till marriage! Ditto result from both genders!
Helen says
Why do you folk bother?! NO OFFENCE intended; we/they/us have to work out our own salvation with fear + trembling! Tithe or not to tithe: why worry? Each of us chooses for ourselves + will answer accordingly! To me: most contemporary religions are WEALTHY + are about raising $’s!
Mike Eckerd says
Give what is purposed on your heart by The Holy Spirit to give. Sacrificial, heart based giving is the only thing taught in the entire New Covenant.
If there is a curse or even a blocked or stymied blessing on a believer for giving less than 10%, then every church should give back every penny to every believer who gives less than 10% and not accept it, less they perpetuate the “problem”.
Helen says
Mike, how do YOU know who is tithing with wrong attitude?!
Helen says
Mike, er, um ah: How do YOU define the perceived ‘curse’ or ‘stymied blessing’ is such? What divine input do you receive, giving you such perception? Text on your PC, skywriting, heard on the wind? How is this judgement analysis of the wrong attitude tithers transmitted to you?!…Sheeesh!
Mike says
Helen,
No need to become nasty and condescending. I obviously hit a nerve with you. My point was that many churches and church leaders espouse “Mandated” tithing, using Malachi blessings and curses as thier tool to collect. I feel that this is wrong. I feel that everyone should pray and give exactly what The Holy Spirit compels them to give, cheerfully and not grudgingly as Paul taught. (2 Cor 9:7) If that amount is a tithe or 20, 30, 40%, then so be it. If a church “mandates” that everyone in thier church tithe and give a minimum of 10%, then they will need to walk the talk and ensure that they collect nothing less. I find it hypocritical for a church to force tithing and collect less. That was my point.
Helen says
OK: I sit corrected.
Laurence says
Here’s a tithing conundrum , The new testament ,talks of the new believers in Jerusalem ,Not counting their possessions as their
own ,if so, What did they tithe ? and who did they tithe to?
Helen says
Methinks they tithed to the Levites at the then existing temple in Jerusalem as required pre Christ’s death. They tithed animals, food + [I believe] valuables/money. Everything does belong to God: that’s your true point-yes? However when we have food, clothing, vehicle, dog etc [most] would say eg “That’s my dog, not, that’s God’s dog, I’m walking it for Him.” God allows us to do with what we have as we choose. As ex tither I believed was tithing to God and tithed on my wages. I tithed to the church of my then choice: cheques to their office.
Laurence says
Hi Helen , I actually meant after, the resurrection
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.
Acts 4:32
Anonymous. says
laurence, explain further. Your reply seems too etherical:need more input.
Tarquin says
Wondering why you guys are concerned about to tithe or not? Giving is giving, whether ‘fractionalized’ [10%]; folk are still giving of their own freewill.
Mike says
Tarquin,
Only speaking for myself; I’m not concerned with percentages at all. I think tithing is wonderful if that is what a person or family feels led to do. Giving any amount or percentage sacrificially, from the heart is perfect. What I believe is wrong is when a church’s leadership “Mandates” percentages by refusing to allow those who give less than 10% a chance to serve in ministry, operate as a leader and use thier gifts in the church and at the same time, telling them they are cursed. This is happening in many places due to an absolutely ridiculous understanding of New Testament Christianity.
Laurence says
You don’t see this promoted much as the biblical new testament
“best”
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.
Acts 4:32
Tarquin says
Mike-agreed. However, I also meant, no offense intended. Why do you folk bother with to tithe or not to tithe? “That is the question” It’s obvious that many [most I believe] churches are in it for the ‘moolah!’The richest organization on earth, or very close to it, is the Roman Catholic Church.Many churches [not all] are loaded with $’s, land and material possessions! Yet “No man can serve God and mammon”:Mt.6:19-24. Also, many churches especially RCC are politically involved to serve their own ends: contrary to God’s requirement that we be not part of this world.
I’m amazed at how honest, God fearing folk are hoodwinked by religious conmen. Observing many churches: wealth, extravagance, material worship are so obvious! Choosing to be ‘sheep’ doesn’t mean one should be financially ‘fleeced.’
Laurence says
The thing is my church is very small and the pastor and his wife
live and work sacraficialy to pay the rent give to the poor the
orphans and widows,while giving also to other ministrys he believes tithing is biblical not because of
Levitical law ,but because he see’s tithing as a eternal
principle ,examples of which he sites are Jacob, Abraham .
even the garden of Edens tree of knowledge as what should
be God’s portion , he gives a double tithe himself , carries his son
on his shoulders and gets the bus with the church resources and stays
in the ghetto. it is very hard to disagree with him about tithing
as it would take a monumental leap of faith to continue in the ministry as a pastor without it to live ,
does Paul reference this when he talks of a workman deserving his wages
and is very understanding that i have doubts about tithing and in no
way makes it a thing of compulsion ,
he just says , it’s a principle ,not a law , and there is a blessing attached to it ,
but i have also been on the other extreme end of tithing
being told i was robbing God and the worry and doubt that can bring
I am undecided about the whole thing
he
Marie says
If this is the kind of Pastor and church, i will never withold myself from tithing. If you see, my previous comments, our pastor has none of these activities you mentioned. He never give to the poor, to the widows, he never does evangelism, no bible studies. He loves to go shopping for himself. That’s all. All he does is tell the church to give 10% based on gross wages, because if you give net, blessings will be net too. He also said, do not help your families or relatives, instead of sending them money, just pray for them, GOD will take care of them. I don’t know why i stayed too long in that church!