The truth about tithes and offerings. Love doesn't cost a Dime.
Today I want
to share with you something I care deeply about in my heart. The subject is
tithing. Many Christians believe God wants a portion of their money and this is
far from the truth. God does not want your money at all. It states in Matthew 6:24
you cannot serve both God and money. Many churches today make you believe
serving God requires tithing in the form of giving money. There is no scripture
in the New Testament asking Christians to tithe. Tithing by mere definition has
absolutely nothing to do with money. We find the definition of the word tithe
in Deuteronomy 14:22-29 in Leviticus 27:30-34.
Tithes
Deuteronomy
14:22-29
22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all
that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new
wine and olive oil, and the first born of your herds and flocks in the presence
of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his name, so
that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. 24 But if the
place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot
carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his name
is so far away), 25 then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the
silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. 26 Use
the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented
drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the
presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. 27 And do not neglect the Levites
living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.
28 At the end of every three years,
bring all the tithes of that year's produce and stored in your towns, 29 so
that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the
foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and
eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the
works of your hands.
Leviticus
27:30-34
30 A tithe of everything from the land,
whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is
holy to the Lord. 31 Whoever would redeem any of their tithe must add a
fifth of the value to it. 32 Every tithe of the herd and flock--every tenth
animal that passes under the shepherd's rod--will be holly
to the Lord.
Tithing is
about food. It was very important to God that his children set aside food so
everyone in their towns could eat because food is holy to God. God is the only
one who controls all the variables to create food. So, when we eat, we may revere the Lord our God always. If for some reason the soil stopped producing
crops (food) there will be a great famine, and no one will have food to eat. We
would all perish.
This takes us to the scripture where the
pastors and clergy rob the congregation in the name of God.
Malachi
3:8-10
8 Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you
robbed me. But you ask, how are we robbing you?
In tithes
and offerings. 9 You are under a curse your whole nation because you are
robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may
be food in my house. Test me in this, “says the Lord almighty, and see if I
will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that
there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring
your crops (food), and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit
before it's ripe, says the Lord almighty. Then all nations will call you
blessed, for yours will be a delightful land, says the Lord almighty.”
In this
scripture God is simply stating that the children of Israel were not bringing
all the tithes (food) into the storehouse as he commanded Moses. Thus, the Levites,
the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who were living in those towns
were not sufficiently fed.
Pastors and
clergy have purposely missed interpreted this scripture for financial gain. The
devil is very cunning. He wants you to believe the tithe is money and the
storehouse is the church, and the food is the word of God. This is the greatest
deception in the church today and it must stop.
Tithing is
mentioned in the Old Testament 29 times, and it is mentioned only two times by
Jesus in the New Testament and in every instance it's about food.
Jesus
mentions tithing in Luke 18:10-14 in Matthew 23:23-24
Luke 18:10-14
10 Two men went up to the temple to
pray, one of pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The pharisee
stood by himself and prayed. “God, I thank you that I'm not like other people--robbers,
evil doors adulterers or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a
week and give a tenth of all I get.”
13” But the tax collector stood at a
distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God,
have mercy on me, a sinner.”
14 “I tell you that this man, rather
than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt
themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Matthew
23:23-24
23” Wow to you, teachers of the law and
Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices, mint, dill and
cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of law, justice, mercy
and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the
former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”
Notice how
Jesus condemned those in these two scriptures. In the first scripture the man
did everything right but looked down on the tax collector and it nullified all
the good that he did. But the tax collector humbled himself beat on his chest
and asked for mercy and God granted it.
In the
second scripture the teachers of the law and Pharisees put sacrifice before the
law, justice, mercy and faithfulness. And Jesus simply stated that the latter
was greater than the former.
Money
let's talk
about money for a second. Money is the root of all evil. Let there be no doubt about it, God did not
create money. Money was created by the evil one to enslave all of mankind.
God's original plan for mankind was for him to occupy the land and give freely
as he was freely given. He was to have his own land, grow his own food, livestock,
be fruitful, multiply, and love all of God's creation while at the same time
reverencing God. Jesus made it clear give Cesar what is Caesar’s and God what
is God's. At that time Caesar’s image was on all the money. Like God, money is
a tough master. If you have no money, you have no food, clothing, shelter,
medicine and many other things that are required to live a prosperous life.
My
conclusion
Like all of
mankind the church needs money to operate effectively and ensure everyone has
an opportunity to hear the gospel message. However, they may still practice
tithing by providing food for the poor at every service in reverence of God.
While at the same time collecting an offering to cover the churches expenses.
This offering is a free will offering and each man and woman should give
according to what God has given them. This measure of 10% is too small. Let us
remember the poor widow who only had two coins, but she gave it all to God.
Jesus stated she gave more than everybody who gave out of their wealth combined.
God is asking “I have given you everything what do you have to offer me?” In
the words of Forever Jones “he wants it all.”
In 2
Corinthians 9:7 it states, “each of you should give what you have decided in
your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a
cheerful giver.” And God also loves you! Thanks for allowing me to share with
you my two cents. Please like and share this message and be eternally blessed!
