Rick Warren is wrong again on tithing about your requirement to tithe to the church organization. He posted an article that you can read it here. Let’s evaluate some of his statements.
This is the principle of tithing: You give the first 10 percent of your income back to God.
Yep, we all know that Israel never gave the tithe first. The first fruit offering was given prior to the tithe harvest. First fruits and tithing were not synonymous. First fruits were blemish-free and the best of the crop. God specifically says that they were not to choose their tithe based on how bad or good it was. They were to set the 10th aside. That’s right, they were not even to set the 1st aside. Just the 10th.
Where should you tithe? Do you tithe to United Way? Or do you tithe to your brother who’s been out of work for three years? No. That’s charity. Tithing is an act of worship. It goes to God.
Did he really just say that giving to your brother who is out of work does not worship God? Does Mark 9:41 come to mind?
Malachi 3:10 says, “‘Bring to the storehouse a full tenth of what you earn (NCV)
Obviously, he is reading from a bible that fits his own theology. Israel didn’t give a 10th of what they earned. They gave a tenth of the increase that God gave them. I can’t emphasize that it was what “GOD” gave them. it wasn’t what they earned. Please read my post that explains why Israel only gave food. Rick Warren probably doesn’t know that Israel only gave a tenth of food and animals. Carpenters, bankers, doctors, lawyers, tax collectors didn’t give a single coin for a tithe. They kept ALL that they earned and were not allowed to give it as a tithe at all.
When are you supposed to tithe? You do it on the day you worship. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 16:2, “On every Lord’s Day each of you should put aside something from what you have earned during the week, and use it for this offering.
Not only are we requiring you to give a minimum. Not only are we requiring that it has to go to a 501(c)(3). But now you are required to give it on the first day of the week. Of course, this is the day of worship, since you don’t worship God on the other 6 days of the week.
If you give 9% – Bad. If you give it to the needy –Bad. If you give it on a Monday – Bad.
Rick Warren’s scriptural error
I’m not against the various biblical translations, but let’s be real, the New Century Version (NCV) doesn’t even come close to representing any original text. I get it. All the translations have errors due to human interpretation, but it just blows my mind when preachers scour dozens of loosely written interpretations for quotes that fit best with their message.
There are basic elementary principles that a man who claims to be a follower of God’s word should know if they are going to preach about this topic:
- Malachi 3:10 doesn’t state ‘give a full tenth of what you earn’.
- Proverbs 3:9-10 is not in reference to tithing.
- Israel didn’t give a tithe from anything but their crop and animal increase.
- Tithing was not ‘first’.
Since he can’t even get the easy facts straight in this case, he should be disqualified from speaking about tithing forevermore. It doesn’t take much research, nor does it take a Ph. D., nor are these simple facts even controversial; and yet, he got the simple parts wrong. Sigh.