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You are VERY defensive about this it seems. I think it is possible you have been feeling some conviction regarding the matter. For myself, no, I do not think I am scoring points or saving up favors with God. I made the decision a long time ago to tithe and have been doing so for many years. The blessing God pours out to believers comes in many forms: a propane tank that is at zero percent for over a week until you get paid so you have the money to purchase the minimum $80 amount. The garden that grows unblievably bountiful when you are working for minimum wage with three kids in the house and refuse to take welfare, the child that you are praying for comes to you and tells you how much they love and respect you. The jalopy you work on every weekend so you can make it to work all week lasts until you are offered a great deal on a better car from an uncle. I could go on and on. These are the blessings I believe come from God in my case because many years ago I was convicted to tithe and remained faithful in it. 10 percent of my minimum wage job back in the bad old days was a hit, but we always had what we NEEDED at the perfect time. God is good that way.
"Tithe" literally means "tenth"... ordinal (8th, 9th, 10th, etc.) or fractional (one of ten equal parts). This is why a 5% offering should not be called a tithe. However, in modern usage, the concept of "tithe" is often conflated with "offering".
I much prefer the terms to be used exclusively, to avoid confusion and poor doctrine. I'm all for giving/offering, but not at all in favour of tithing.
I much prefer the terms to be used exclusively, to avoid confusion and poor doctrine. I'm all for giving/offering, but not at all in favour of tithing.
Maybe I am a bit defensive, I don't feel like that's what I was being, but it's possible. I do NOT believe we buy Gods blessings at all and think that teaching is a evolution of our church system in the US these days. I do give at my church what I can, but I also have donated about 10 hours of my time to the spreading of His word this week alone so far, after 40 hours of work too, so I don't believe I have to give a certain amount of my money to get Gods favor. Again I do believe we should give, but I also see that can be used to boast ones ego and to be used as an excuse to sit on your hands when it comes to the things Jesus Himself specifically called us to do.
I can see how my comment may have been taken as defensive, but I had just read again and again were he had seemed to be saying that giving money is the most important thing every believer should be doing, then when giving time was mentioned he downplayed that like it was a secondary afterthought and I HIGHLY disagree. We defiantly need the people that can give big to do so, but we also need ALL kinds of parts to the body, and to put a burden or try to "guilt" people into giving a certain amount is wrong in my view and a product of the world and scripture taken out of context to be honest. The reason I felt I should make the comment I did was because it seemed like he was doing what I just described and trying to "guilt" people to feel they need to do what he does. Honestly if you want to get right down to it and go back and forth, the same charges you just pointed at me can be said about your reaction to my response, and I by no means was trying to brag of lift myself any higher than the most lowly servant of God when I talked about the time I give to His church, but I also feel that's exactly what people are doing when the talk about how faithfully they give so much money. I hope I made my point clear enough to understand, and didn't come across too harsh with this comment. I agree to a large degree with both of you two guys, and I'm very thankful that God put's this on many peoples hearts, but I just want to share the flip side of this for the folks like me that maybe don't have the funds to do these things, or just don't put a percentage on it, I may give 10% between everything we give to, I just don't sit down and do the numbers to know that. My main concern is sharing the truth I've been given with others, that's how He works in me. Is that okay with you?
I can see how my comment may have been taken as defensive, but I had just read again and again were he had seemed to be saying that giving money is the most important thing every believer should be doing, then when giving time was mentioned he downplayed that like it was a secondary afterthought and I HIGHLY disagree. We defiantly need the people that can give big to do so, but we also need ALL kinds of parts to the body, and to put a burden or try to "guilt" people into giving a certain amount is wrong in my view and a product of the world and scripture taken out of context to be honest. The reason I felt I should make the comment I did was because it seemed like he was doing what I just described and trying to "guilt" people to feel they need to do what he does. Honestly if you want to get right down to it and go back and forth, the same charges you just pointed at me can be said about your reaction to my response, and I by no means was trying to brag of lift myself any higher than the most lowly servant of God when I talked about the time I give to His church, but I also feel that's exactly what people are doing when the talk about how faithfully they give so much money. I hope I made my point clear enough to understand, and didn't come across too harsh with this comment. I agree to a large degree with both of you two guys, and I'm very thankful that God put's this on many peoples hearts, but I just want to share the flip side of this for the folks like me that maybe don't have the funds to do these things, or just don't put a percentage on it, I may give 10% between everything we give to, I just don't sit down and do the numbers to know that. My main concern is sharing the truth I've been given with others, that's how He works in me. Is that okay with you?
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