charity

What to Look for in a Non-Tithing Believer

Many tithers don’t trust anti-tithers. And what I mean by anti-tithers are those who actively speak out and attack the teachings of those who support tithing. Since the pro-tithing defense in scripture is so weak, I feel that many of them try to attack the character of those who teach against tithing. Pro-tithers can’t seem to break down the spiritual walls of scripture that anti-tithers have built, so they have to the imperfections in human flesh.

For instance, I had a commenter state that they have nothing against spirit led giving, it’s just they have never met someone who believes in it and is also a true, sacrificial giver. They assumed that if I believed in Spirit-led giving and the examples in the early church, then I should be selling my home and distributing it among everyone, and giving it all to the poor. The funny thing is that tithers claim to be the ones who are spirit filled with the truth, and yet, they bind these heavy burdens on the back of spirit-led givers and they don’t carry it themselves. Do they believe in the New Testament examples of giving or not?

I’m just ranting here because I’m tired of putting myself on trial when I’m debating tithing. Whatever happened to putting truth and error on trial? It doesn’t matter if Paul is against tithing, pro-tithers will still find some way to attack his character instead of defending scripture in a debate. Tithers will only listen to the arguments from anti-tithers who are super-Christians and so perfect they actually walk around with a slight halo above their head. There’s three criteria pro-tithers search for before they even pay attention to what you would have to say. If an anti-tither doesn’t fit the qualifications below, he’ll have no luck to convince a pro-tither about tithing, or for that matter, whether he is even saved.

Pro-tithers want someone who doesn’t struggle with the love of money

Money is the most talked about subject in the bible. So, trying to find someone who doesn’t struggle with the love of money is like trying to find someone who doesn’t struggle with sin at all. They want to ask you questions like, how much is your car payment? Do you have a flat screen? How big is it? Do you take your family on vacations? How big is your microwave? Do you shop at Walmart or Nordstroms? What is your contribution amount on your tax return?

They will ask these questions in hopes of uncovering that one little delicacy you own that is considered above your needs. I’m sure they don’t question their pastor driving a brand new car every 5 years, or going on vacation, or having all their children’s schooling paid for.

The pro-tither’s personal scrutiny is worse than the FBI coming in with a search warrant and tearing up your whole house in hopes of finding a piece of evidence. What’s even worse, is when they find the thread of evidence, they setup the judge and jury right there, and find you guilty on all counts, and sentence you to a lifelong conviction of materialism in the first degree.

Pro-tithers have this checklist of things they go through to validate your sincerity. Of course, they make sure that they don’t include any of their own impulse possessions. Try asking a pro-tither what possessions they own, and they will be offended. How dare you ask a tither if they struggle with love of money? Why? didn’t you know? Tithing protects them from materialism. Duh! Of course, they are immune to materialistic kryptonite. They have all the strengths of Super Christian, but none of his weaknesses.

They want someone who gives at least 11% (10%, plus the 1% going ABOVE and BEYOND!)

Yep, if you don’t believe in tithing and you are trying to tell a pro-tither the truth, they won’t listen to you until they know you give 11%.

When I believed in tithing, my tithing record was announced constantly. I’m not saying that your giving must remain private, but it just shows that tithing is a such a distraction. Imagine if the Christian community was so focused on the exact number of hours you prayed this week, or the exact hours you served? When you prayed for your dinner, how long did you pray for? Was your dress long enough – was your tie straight enough? Was the sermon long enough, and was the worship loud enough?

It’s like every christian has their resume publicly on trial, and if you don’t have three letters behind your name followed by a percentage sign, your resume is passed over.

One thing that’s funny to me, is if you tell a pro-tither in a debate that you do give 10%, they seem to cool down quickly. They have nothing to argue about, because their whole argument is based on the assumption you are greedy and are trying to get out of giving 10%. For example, I argued with a pastor for about 15 minutes one time about tithing. He finally asked what I gave, and I told him what my tax return said. And he was like, “Oh”, and then shut up. The debate was over. I kept trying to get into it, but he had nothing to say. What happened to debating scripture here!!!? Were we debating me? Was I on trial? What does what I give have to do with hermeneutics and apologetics? Absolutely nothing! And that’s my point. As you can see, most don’t care about what scripture says. They just care about being right and the easiest way to do that is to personally attack you instead of scripture.

They want someone who is not bitter

If you slam pulpit pimps, Christan consumerism, the prosperity gospel, pastoral salaries, or church budgets, then you must be jealous and bitter and that’s why you don’t believe in tithing.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a single person in this world who changed directions in their life because they kept seeing too many positive results. For example, you did not convert to the family of God because sin and spiritual death was such a pleasurable experience. The wrong path is painful, and hurts to travel on. And it even hurts to work your way back to the right one. Not that the right path is all peaches either, but at least you are not on your own.

When the truth is on the line, it shouldn’t matter who uncovers it. Should we care that Martin Luther stated his 95 thesis out of anger or bitterness, or that he had spouts of anti-semitism in his life? No. his character plays no part in determining truth. Truth is truth, no matter if a demon is confessing it. Acts 16:17

Conclusion

Apart from sitting in a dungeon with ashes on my head, owning nothing but the rag I’m wearing around my waste, and singing living hymns night and day; i don’t know how to avoid being perceived as a greedy, bitter, lost, anti-tither. Many pro-tithers are not interested in finding holes in my biblical arguments; they want to find holes in my humanity. I hate to spoil the suspenseful ending or give away the climax, but i have a ton of holes. So, guess what? I don’t care what I’m judged. If I lived on a 4 million dollar yacht, i wouldn’t care if they knew about it; because they still don’t know how that yacht is being used by God. (ok, so maybe a little overboard with the yacht example – pun intended)

I doubt there’s many people who understand my rant here, but no pro-tither can make a judgment about who i am or what my heart is like. Trying to figure me out is not like trying to find a needle in a haystack – it’s like trying to find a needle in 100 haystacks.

Top Ignorant Statements About Tithing

08/04/09 by Jared Brian 87 Comments

This list of ignorant statements about tithing are listed here because they are the cream of the crop when it comes to oblivious arguments. Every time i hear these statements i either roll my eyes to the back of my brain or i shake my head in disbelief about how shallow their brain must be. I know my mood seems uncaring and sarcastic, well, that’s probably because it is. Sorry, it’s been a rough couple weeks. So, onward we go into the barren, thoughtless, and ignorant statements about tithing.

You don’t pray about tithing, you do it
Who can recall the countless times I’ve come across this statement. This argument pretty much stems from the mentality, “God said it, and that settles it”. I could understand if we skipped the whole prayer thing if we were talking about murder, adultery, or stealing; but curiosity should arise when we realize that God is present, but I don’t need to pray because all I need to know is in this little black book. After all, it says “Holy” on the front, so it must answer all my questions. Who needs a God that is able to communicate? There are many other religions out there that pray to idols who can’t speak to them. For some reason, I don’t think God is made of wood or stone.
Tithing acknowledges that God owns it All
STOP! Think about that: Does giving 10% mean you are giving 100%? Notice how they always say that tithing “acknowledges”. They know it doesn’t bring fulfillment, or completion to stewardship. It’s because they know if we aren’t committed 100% to God, then 10% means nothing. It is very possible that many people have tithed without acknowledging that the other 90% belongs to Him as well. We’re in a bit of a quandary here. Is it tithing that acknowledges God owns it all, or it is a circumcised and sacrificial heart that acknowledges God owns it all. Which is it?
Freewill givers do not give as much as tithers
I am sure that is probably true, but the truth is not based on success or results. Let’s take Islam for example. Right now, it is the fastest growing religion in the world, so does that make Islam right and Christianity wrong? I’m even sure many more Muslims are ready to die for their faith than Christians are. (shout out to Achmed the dead terrorist!)One of the reasons tithers follow through with their commitment to giving more is because they place themselves under a storm cloud that will strike them with a curse if they disobey. Even though God directly says, “you are no longer under a curse”, tithers still think that God didn’t mean he removed the curse about tithing also.
All scripture is profitable
If I could define ignorance in one of these arguments listed here, well this is it. This is one of those responses i get when people think I’m just trying to throw out the whole Bible whenever i say that the tithe is no longer valid. Forget the fact that they don’t believe in the Sabbath on Saturday, animal sacrifices, or even clean meats for the same reasons i don’t believe in tithing. This is how it usually goes: I basically tell them that the tithe is no longer commanded, and they basically say, “How dare you throw out God’s Word”. Then comes either one of the two statements: ‘all scripture is profitable’ or ‘i did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. Why should I even bother asking them why they don’t fulfill the sabbath?. . . sigh. . .
God never Changes
This kind of goes along with #4 . . . as in why should I even bother asking them why God changed the sabbath, or the priesthood, or the temple. Debating with people over these tithing arguments is like arguing over an algebra equation with a 5-year-old when they don’t even understand multiplication. If tithers just stop and think about what they are saying, then they would soon realize that if God never changes in the way that they are implying, then we would still stone our children. This is what I mean when I said ‘thoughtless’ at the beginning of the blog. These tithing arguments are just that – thoughtless.
Where does the Bible say to stop tithing?
It doesn’t say, “stop tithing”. I believe there are over 600 some-odd old testament laws that we do not practice anymore. I would imagine if God took the time to rewrite a verse in the new testament commanding us to stop each law in the Old Testament, then our bible would be a few hundred pages longer. We are born again, adopted in God’s family, indwelled with God’s Spirit, and given a new covenant. On top of all this, the earthly priesthood was eliminated, the temple destroyed, and Judaism is not my religion, nor am i an Israelite; and yet, we find it hard to believe that tithing could have been replaced by Spirit-led giving. After all the changes, i think we need to find where the Bible says to continue tithing. Don’t you?
Tithing is the starting point
This philosophy is not even in the bible. First of all, first fruit offerings were given prior to the tithe, so tithes were not even given first. Second, tithes were only given from food and animals, and were not given from occupational income. So, there was no starting point for blacksmiths, lawyers, doctors, or carpenters.Here’s a little saying, that i’ve thought of all by myself (as you can see I’m boasting)
Where should our giving begin?
Where should our giving end?
WHICH ONE SHOULD WE TEACH?
Would you like God’s net or gross blessing?
No, this is not necessarily an argument used to defend tithing, but more or less used to persuade those who are tithing, to tithe more. First, this argument exposes the root of why tithing has such a hold on many lives. It is the promise of blessing and the fear of the curse. Who cares about gross or net blessing from God, you should want to do what’s right. Right is either right, and wrong is wrong. There is no gross right or net wrong. The problem is that those, who are concerned if they should tithe on the gross, ask others who couldn’t give you a biblical answer. So the best thing to do is conjure up a catchphrase that seems to have wisdom embedded in it.
How Much do you give?
Ah yes, this question is their famous “gotcha” argument. They know that biblical reasoning will not win their argument so they resort to personal attacks because your character is all they have left to attack. I have to admit, this is a tricky one to respond to. First, they have no business investigating what you give. Second, if you happen to give less than a tithe of your income, they let you know, your works do not shine as bright as theirs. Last of all, if you do give above 10%, they will convince you that tithing is the minimum and your conscience knows it. This question is in the ignorant list because either they want to corner you; no, not on biblical truth, but on your performance; and also it is ignorant because anyone should know better than to determine scriptural truth based on the performance of mankind.
We can’t rely on people to be Spirit-led
This is an ignorant statement that tithers unfortunately believe, and yet ironically in the same sentence, they believe the book of Acts is historically accurate. I don’t know, maybe they do believe the book of Acts was a fairy tale. What they are saying is that ‘i don’t trust that people can be Spirit led, but of course, the Christians in the book of Acts are the exception‘.With their ignorant statements, they don’t even realize that they deny the power that God has on his children. They deny the blood of Christ, and they deny that any Christian can be sacrificial and liberal with their giving while being filled and led by the Spirit of God. What a shame, and what ignorance.
How will the church stay open if we don’t tithe
There are thousands of non-profit organizations that keep their doors open all year without demanding, or imposing a tithe of their freewill donors. What makes us think that an operation that is commissioned and overseen by God’s almighty hand would fare less than any of these non-profit organizations? Are you kidding me? is your faith that little? It might just be that you have seen your astronomical church budget, and it is in the millions! Yeah, you’re right, if there’s anything that God could struggle with is to continue paying for your worthless, under-performing, humanistic kingdom that does very little in out-reach but a lot of in-reach. In that case, you are right, we probably would see some church doors close. That’s the price you pay when God is in charge of financing his kingdom.

Now i’m looking for your input. But please, if you have anything to say, ignorance is not welcome.

God Pie Tithing Video

01/29/09 by Jared Brian 1 Comment

I just posted a tithe rap video yesterday, and now I found another video on tithing. This tight economy must really be crunching church budgets. I’ve never seen such an increase in videos on tithing and giving.

Watch the video below to get your dose of legalistic guilt for the day.

Giving Statistics

12/11/08 by Jared Brian 72 Comments

I fished through some articles and some statistics and compiled the most interesting statistics in one post. These statistics will make you think, question, and doubt the responsibility of your leaders. I will admit, these giving statistics are not pretty, but I hope they make you rethink some things about stewardship in the Church today.

“in its 2008 report found 33.4% of estimated total giving, $103.32 billion, went to houses of worship and denominational organizations in 2007” (source).

Right off the bat, the first question is what is the Church doing with the money we have already? This is 103 billion were talking about here? Are we conquering world hunger? Do all the hidden tribes in Africa have printed bibles in their language? Are we taking care of the widows? Sure, there is pressure to give more and more, but are we fiscally responsible and efficient with the resources we are receiving already?

“85 percent of all church activity and funds is directed toward the internal operations of the congregation”. Add in another 2% going to overseas missions to support their budget costs. (1) (quote)

In the end, this leaves 13% that possibly might be used for practical purposes. Figuratively speaking, this also means that 85 billion dollars is used primarily to keep the lights on!

WOW! 85 billion dollars, that’s a lot of money, especially when you look at the new testament and see how money was used. From Acts through Revelation, you won’t find a single example where money was given or asked to meet anything besides basic needs, such as food, shelter, and health.

Granted, ministers’ salaries/needs are included in the 85 billion we spend internally, but as you can see there’s very little sacrifice for churches to give outside of their own needs. I see it as, “selfish”, but I’m sure others define it as, “sacrificial”

I think we need to separate churches from the term “ministry” because 13% of the church’s resources actually go towards administering needs.

“”Americans who earn less than $10,000 gave 2.3 percent of their income to religious organizations,” Smith, Emerson, and Snell write, “whereas those who earn $70,000 or more gave only 1.2 percent.” While the actual percentages are slightly higher for Christians who regularly attend church, the pattern is similar. Households of committed Christians making less than $12,500 per year give away roughly 7 percent of their income, a figure no other income bracket beats until incomes rise above $90,000 (they give away 8.8 percent).
In fact, in absolute terms, the poorest Christians give away more dollars than all but the wealthiest Christians.” (source)

Some things never change. The story of the widow and her mite still lives today.

“If members of historically Christian churches in the United States had raised their giving to the Old Testament’s minimum standard of giving (10% of income) in 2000, an additional $139,000,000,000 a year would become available assist in Christian based mission work.” (source)

Well let’s see after all the overhead is paid, and we have enough to run the machine, that leaves about 18 billion out of the 139 billion going towards practical needs. If you think that 139 billion is a lot of money, and we could use the tithe to do greater good, just hold your thoughts and listen to this next statistic.

In 2007, total charitable giving topped 300 billion (source)

Please . . . OH PLEASE! Tell me what a meager extra 139 billion would do. Christian stewards have received 370 BILLION dollars to do missions, spread the gospel, clothe the poor, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and provide ministry; and all we can do is cry about everyone tithing an extra 139 billion. Is 370 billion not enough?

“”Relatively little donated money actually moves much of a distance away from the contributors,” Smith, Emerson, and Snell write. The money given by the people in the pews, it turns out, is largely spent on the people in the pews. Only about 3 percent of money donated to churches and ministries went to aiding or ministering to non-Christians.” (source)

I have said this long before these statistics came out. Do you wonder why people struggle with selfishness? It’s because they are following their church’s example of giving. As a matter of fact, I said that we were “selfish” just above. I said that before I even read this giving statistic. Of course, I thought our external giving came to about 13%, but it looks as if I was off by 10%. We only use 3% towards practical ways of reaching the unsaved! Once again we spend only 3% of our budget to show the unsaved how generous our God is!

These giving statistics are sobering, saddening, and sickening. My giving is nothing to be proud of. What about you? How has your giving been? How does your church give? How much do you spend on your own church for yourselves, and how much do you spend on others? What do you think about these giving statistics?

Footnotes

John L. Ronsvalle and Sylvia Ronsvalle, The State of Church Giving through 2000(Champaign, Ill.: Empty Tomb, 2002), 13

Invisible Church: The Homeless

08/11/08 by Jared Brian 1 Comment

I continue and conclude the series on the Invisible Church with Homelessness. Before I go on, I want to say that I have read some things from people that have taken my posts out of context. My intentions were to reveal the neglection of our duties in the Church. I do not want to negate preaching, teaching, or witnessing as a means of evangelism. I simply am stating that words without benevolence is simply faith without actions. Taking care of those in need is part of our mission. The basic needs of every human being are health care, hunger, and shelter. We simply need to create ways to provide these basic needs of God’s creation.

We are stewards of God, but stewardship does not begin and end with possessions. Our priority in stewardship is investing in people. I would go as far as saying that stewardship has very little to do with money and possessions and has a lot to do with people. Sure, we want to keep and maintain our church facilities; but to neglect the starving souls around you in order to maintain the facility or organization is still poor stewardship.

Homelessness is just one aspect of many social responsibilities of the Church. Yes, there are spiritual needs, that are more important. I know that! But if we are not good at meeting the physical needs, we’re not going to be good at meeting the spiritual needs. A good father feeds his children on top of spiritually nourishing them.

If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?”

I know taking care of your children is just common sense, but what about taking care of children who are not yours? What about providing shelter for God’s children?

Psalms 61:4
I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.
Psalms 143:9
Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies; In You I take shelter.
Isaiah 4:6
And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.
Isaiah 16:4
Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab; Be a shelter to them from the face of the spoiler.
Joel 3:16
But the Lord will be a shelter for His people, And the strength of the children of Israel.

I am not saying that you should invite a stranger into your house with your family there. I’m sure many have done that and have been safe, but there are plenty of programs out there that can do more to help with homelessness than you can. Many city shelters provide recovery programs that will help adults get back on their feet on top of providing shelter and food.

Ways that you can help with homelessness

Volunteer at your shelter downtown.
Buy extra food at the grocery store and drop it off at a shelter on your way back.
provide supplies or money to the shelter organization.
Start a ministry in your fellowship that helps out at the homeless shelter.
Go through your old clothes and donate them.
Donate your beat up car.

People in a homeless shelter are there for many reasons. Some from addictions. Some from mental or physical disabilities. Some from depression. Some from financial devastation. Some from divorce. When you serve at a shelter, make sure you interact with these people and find out their needs. Pray for their weaknesses, and encourage them. Many of them don’t have family. Many don’t have friends. All you have to do is be their Jesus, and love them.

The three words: ministration, ministry, and administration, all have the same greek root word – “diakonia”. When you look up the definition, the first description you read is “service, ministering, esp. of those who execute the commands of others”. the ability to control, manage, or run things is not being a minister. The Greek term strictly says those who EXECUTE the commands that others have given them. We have many that act as bosses, or managers, but very little who act as ministers or servants. Make sure you are the one executing the commands of God by serving.

If you and 50 people in your church were asked to worship and fellowship in the middle of a barren wasteland for 40 days, what basic needs would you ask for? It’s not an impractical question. It doesn’t matter if you are in a grocery store, you still have to pay for food. Without money, you might as well be in a wasteland, because that food is just as much out of reach as it is to someone in a desert.

In the United States, the Health care system is destitute, the Social Security system is going bankrupt, the housing is devastated, and all people can do is cry at the government. Taking care of our families and taking care of the stranger is the Church’s responsibility, but we take up our pitch forks and torches and march on capital hill with all the other complainers. What’s wrong with us? The Church has really gone down the tube when people stop asking us for benevolence, and continue to beg Uncle Sam.