No as I have said several times already it's a matter of the heart
Tithing
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Heart is important, no doubt about that.
But if you feel the % does not matter, what about what Paul stated about sow sparingly shall reap sparingly in 2 Cor 9:6?
This thread is about tithing, as you have been told twice already. However...
"Sparingly" (and it's opposite) are not a matter of percentages.
Two men the same age have done well in their careers; each earns $200,000 annually. One is single, never married, and has no close surviving family. The other is married with two children, one of whom has significant medical challenges. His wife is a stay-at-home mother. He also has relatively poor, elderly parents in a care home, and a vindictive ex-wife who raises their (shared) son.
"Sparingly" to the first is a very different percentage than to the second.
There simply is no way you're going to be able to justify tithing under the new covenant.
The motive of the heart is always the deciding factor, the percentage given is only a number it is data ones and zeros. The actual tithing or giving is not to be given with that kind of mindset, it is to be given by how God leads.
To tithe or not to tithe is not the question to be asking and the percentage to give is not the question either the answer however is spirit lead. The women who gave what little she had did so because of how she loved and honored the Lord, that is a beautiful scenery in of itself but Jesus knew her heart he knew why she was giving in the first place if she had done that with a different heart and motive Jesus would have rebuked her too.
In my opinion there no justifying or not justifying tithing or the amount but rather why you are tithing.
I heard a story a good while ago about a aman who worked at the church and collected donations and came to an elderly man and his grandchildren and wife the old man had his money in hand but the collector noticed it was folded oddly but didn't think much of it.
When counting the collections he picked up the folded money and was shocked because the old man had folded it in a way where it looked like a 10 dollar bill but was actually a 100 dollar bill. This is what I mean, this old man gave a huge amount but was so humble and modest he folded it to look like it wasn't he never asked for or wanted anything from his deed.
I was not justifying tithing in the first place.
If you don't want to talk about financial stewardship, that is your choice, no need to keep repeating the tithing point and entering discussions not involving you.
This is on top of what Paul said that we should not give out of compulsion, God loves a cheerful giver, that covers the motivation.
But in 2 Cor 9:6, Paul is using the farming analogy. A farmer cannot expect a bountiful harvest if he only sows a few seeds, no matter how motivated his heart is, and he linked that to generous giving of finances.
That is not clear to you?
Yes but a cheerful giver doesn't sow the seeds to reap the harvest to begin with. And so why does percentage have any factor in the cheerful heart?
Paul is talking about 2 separate points. One reflects the attitude we are to have, the other reflects the spiritual principle of sowing and reaping.
Why do you insist on lumping them together?
Well I suppose because to me they are two sides of the same coin. I mean you cannot spiritually reap anything if you sow with the wrong heart and sowing with the right kind of heart will naturally produce the harvest.
I mean I am not trying to be difficult I am just not able to really see the division, if you tithe all of your money but do it for the wrong reason then your action is in vain and does not please the Lord. If you give though to honor him and thank him for all he has done and given you then God is very pleased.
I suspect what you are trying to say is that, "If one gives without being aware of the principle of sowing and reaping, that really shows you are giving for the right motive"?
Spiritual laws are like the law of gravity. It always holds whether or not you are aware of it. If you are unaware of it however, it does not confer you any benefits and may even harm you in some cases, imitating superman for example.
No that is not what I mean. Can you maybe explain to me the concept of spiritual sowing and reaping when it comes to tithing? because I feel like we are talking about two different thing
As I said, the word tithing automatically makes people think of the Law, and people right away say that "we are no longer under the law".
I have no issues because tithing was a practice done even before the Law, so just because the Law of Moses formalized it and we are no longer under it, the practice of tithing remains true for me.
Or let's perhaps narrow the discussion down to the words in bold.
If you sow with the right kind of heart, but you only sow one seed, should it be "natural" that you will produce a huge harvest from one seed, just because your heart was right?
Ah I see. well tithing has never been that for me being under the law is one thing but following the law is something else. The law was never abolished and Jesus fulfilled the law perfectly he even tithed and if he is our example then he leads we follow.
But for me I don't tith because I have to I tithe because I want to, I mean when I was saved I told him everything of mine was his so I don't feel forced or under the heavy boot of the law.
I think issue comes when people think they are forced to tithe and do so reluctantly
Well I suppose it depends. Lets say you didn;t have much money your just scraping by but you choose to give to tithing not a lot but what you can but you tithe because of the right reason. Now normally you would not produce a huge harvest but God is aware of our needs and he is only asking for ten percent. So the fact this person did so even with what little he had he would reap a huge harvest
And it is important to note that harvest is not always physical rewards in fact my favorite reward is that of the spiritual kind so the prosperity teachers can keep their views