The More You Give, The More God Gives

Please understand, I know that this sounds like a wrong doctrine. After all, we aren't supposed to give so we can get. Even so, God will bless our sacrificial giving but in ways we could never dream of.

Proverbs 19:17 (BBE) reads, "He who has pity on the poor gives to the Lord, and the Lord will give him his reward."

We see the same principle in Luke 6:38 (BBE) which says, "Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, crushed down, full and running over, they will give to you. For in the same measure as you give, it will be given to you again."

Now some folks might think they'll get a lot of praise for drawing attention to how much they give. But Jesus warned in Matthew 6:1-4 (BBE) not to do that. "Take care not to do your good works before men, to be seen by them; or you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. When then you give money to the poor, do not make a noise about it, as the false-hearted men do in the Synagogues and in the streets, so that they may have glory from men. Truly, I say to you, They have their reward. But when you give money, let not your left hand see what your right hand does: So that your giving may be in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will give you your reward."

This is one reason I despise tithing. People become inordinately proud of their own accomplishment in giving ten percent of their income.

Such people should remember Ananias and Sapphira and how they tried to get praise for giving so much to the church. Peter said to them in Acts 5:3 and 4 (BBE), "But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has the Evil One put it into your heart to be false to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While you had it, was it not your property? and after you had given it in exchange, was it not still in your power? how has this purpose come into your mind? you have been false, not to men, but to God." In short, both he and his wife died that day.

Churches also gave money to other congregations, as we read in Romans 15:26 (BBE), "For it has been the good pleasure of those of Macedonia and Achaia to send a certain amount of money for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem."

So we note that giving to the Lord's work brings benefits even in this world. How wonderful that we can help our poor Christian siblings when we are blessed of God.

On Saturday, I hope to post about a day when we'll be with the Lord, never to be parted again.

Must I Tithe?

This is another irksome matter which Christians wrestle with. Some preachers quote Malachi 3:10 and insist that it applies today. Others say it's been superceded by the New Testament era. So who's right?

After much thought, I conclude that giving should be voluntary and according to one's resources. Forcing people to tithe is unfair to impoverished people who are living deeply in debt.

Another reason I dislike tithing and see it as unchristian is that it becomes a way to brag about one's holiness. The gospel writers tell of how Christ saw rich people putting money into the collection box. Then a poor widow, wishing to buy a blessing, put in two very small coins. It was all the money she had. John MacArthur rightly pointed out that the religious system of the day ripped off people every which way. It's why Jesus trashed the temple court twice during his ministry. The sellers were profiting off the holy offerings which devotees wanted to offer.

Since God loves a cheerful giver, how can tithing be forced upon people? While ten percent is a worthy goal to aim for, it's not a hard and fast rule. In fact, prudent bill paying and spending can allow people to give even more when the need arises. Instead of giving a fixed amount and feeling put upon or proud, we should hold our possessions loosely in the event that we may be Christ's hands to the destitute.

I used to fall for the pride-inducing tithe doctrine until I couldn't pay my bills. I wrote about this in my How I Was Razed memoir. Contact me regarding purchasing this wondrous story of God's providence.

Book review: Should the Church Teach Tithing?

Dr. Russell Earl Kelly's book, Should the Church Teach tithing?, thoroughly examines this contentious doctrine and conclusively proves that it has never applied to Christians. Along with the ceremonies of the Old Testament law, this author irrefutably demonstrates from Scripture that tithing was fulfilled and abolished when the Levitical priesthood ended at the cross. Dr. Kelly points out that imposing tithing on Christians oppresses the poor, turns donating into an obligation rather than a charitable act, and defeats the purpose of compassionate, cheerful giving.

While reading the book, I learned many fascinating facts about tithing. They were of great help in writing and editing How I Was Razed, a memoir of my years in a cult church and later discovery of genuine Christianity. This book is the revised product of Dr. Kelly's dissertation for his Ph.D in Religion from Covington Theological Seminary in Rossville, Georgia, which he received in August of 2000. The text may be considered by some to be dry and academic but I found that this book contains a wealth of information about Middle Eastern civilizations and biblical history. I wouldn't recommend Should the Church Teach Tithing to novice Christians but it's an excellent tome for those who want to delve deeply into scripture. It certainly held me spell-bound with its well-crafted and logically-laid-out argument.

Dr. Kelly is also the author of Exposing Seventh-day Adventism and From Gethsemane to Ascension. Visit his book page for a wealth of articles, essays, and a free PDF download of his book on tithing. iUniverse and Amazon also distribute his books.