Hello, my friends! As I was perusing the interwebs one day, I came across a video of a guy talking about tithing in churches and his thoughts on it. He had a lot of misconceptions about it, and because of those false beliefs, he believed that tithing was something that it's not. So I wanted to hop on here and clear up some of those misconceptions that many people believe about tithing. Because if that person was confused about it, then there are probably a lot of people who are confused about it too. So, there are many things that people attribute tithing to be, so let's start with a list of things that tithing is not.
Tithing is NOT:
1. A Bribe To Get God To Do Things For You
Giving money to a church will not make God move on your behalf. It will not speed up your process, nor will it unlock some particular blessing that hasn't happened yet. God does bless the money that you give to Him so that you won't miss the ten percent that you gave, but besides that, tithing is not some secret code to getting what you want.
2. A Ticket Into Heaven
TITHING IS NOT YOUR SALVATION! Jesus is the only one who can give us our salvation and salvation is COMPLETELY FREE! (And can't be taken away for any reason.)
3. Payment For God's Love
Tithing is not a payment for God's love. God has, does, and will always love you. There is nothing you can do to add to or remove God's love for you. You are accepted by God! And His love is completely free!
4. Payment Periodt!
Tithing is not a payment for God's love, blessings, or a way to avoid bad things from happening in your life. You do not have to pay God for anything! He has everything that He needs for you, Him, and everyone else in the world. He's got it covered!
5. A Way To Atone For Your Sins
Tithing does not remove your sins from you. Jesus/God/Holy Spirit is the only one who can forgive and remove your sins from you. And Jesus was the final atonement because He paid the ultimate price for us all! Tithing does not bring forgiveness because you are already forgiven. There is nothing more that needs to be done, because it is already done!
Okay! So since we discussed what tithing isn't, let's finally discuss what tithing is. Tithing, simply put, is the direct action of placing your faith out of money and putting it into God. The reason we do this is to exercise our faith and remind us that God is the one who is fully in control of our lives and that money does not have a hold on us. That's why when the poor woman in the bible gave the church 2 pennies, she was deemed as having given more than everyone else because she had the least amount of money, but the most faith in God to provide for her. So my friends, tithing is not about the money! It's about your heart and where you place your faith. Do you trust that the Lord will provide for you or do you put your hope in little slips of paper?
And hopefully, once you realize that it's about the heart and not the money, you'll also realize that God is not as strict about this as people make Him seem. He knows that we live in a capitalist society that quite literally places everything (including ourselves) on scales made of money. He is not blind to the world we live in. So if it is up to you eating dinner or paying tithes, please go eat dinner. If it's up to your rent being paid or you paying tithes, please go pay your rent. God is not an overlord or heartless dictator. He knows our hearts and knows when we have to make certain financial decisions in order to keep us afloat. As long as you're not ignoring something that *He HIMSELF* has clearly told you to do (meaning not a pastor, churchgoer, prophet, or whomever but THE God almighty said it to you) then you will be alright! God is very understandable and will be gracious and merciful in this!
And if you don't feel comfortable tithing right now then don't. I didn't start tithing until God personally told me to, and that was like only two years ago so it's okay to go slow with this. You also don't have to tithe at your church if you don't feel comfortable doing that. When I left the church I obviously didn't feel comfortable giving to them anymore, so I gave my money to charities and homeless people that I would see around town. (You can also tithe to me if you want to *wink wink* lol jkjk.... unless? lol) So again it's about your heart and putting your faith in God and knowing that the Lord will provide for you. Because my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus!
Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple, so that there will be plenty of food there. Put me to the test and you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour out on you in abundance all kinds of good things. I will not let insects destroy your crops, and your grapevines will be loaded with grapes. Then the people of all nations will call you happy, because your land will be a good place to live.
Malachi 3:10-12 GNTD
As Jesus sat near the Temple treasury, he watched the people as they dropped in their money. Many rich men dropped in a lot of money; then a poor widow came along and dropped in two little copper coins, worth about a penny. He called his disciples together and said to them, “I tell you that this poor widow put more in the offering box than all the others. For the others put in what they had to spare of their riches; but she, poor as she is, put in all she had—she gave all she had to live on.”
Mark 12:41-44 GNTD
For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows.
1 Timothy 6:10 GNTD
“You cannot be a slave of two masters; you will hate one and love the other; you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Matthew 6:24 GNTD
Look at the birds: they do not plant seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren't you worth much more than birds? Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?
Matthew 6:26-27 GNTD
