Going to worship on Sunday fills me with a little guilt right now. Since the semester ended in May, I haven't been able to afford my normal weekly donation to the church. Usually, I try to give the Biblical ten percent tithe. That amounts to around $25 to $30 a week. Right now, I need that money for gas and groceries. But, every time that collection plate passes by, I feel like some kind of cheapskate. I know there are people worse off than me. Homeless people. Starving people. I know I spend money on frivolous things--Diet Mountain Dew and stuffed crust Pizza Hut pizza. The money I spend on items like that in a week would probably feed a small African village.
I should still be tithing. I should still be giving my ten percent (even if it's a little smaller ten percent). Yet, today, I let the collection plate go right on by this morning. I try to justify my cheapness by thinking things like, "Well, I volunteer all that time as a worship leader. I play the organ. I sing in the choir. I play in the praise band. I organize devotional writing. I direct the Sunday School Christmas program." All those things are just what I said. Justifications.
Saint Marty has been blessed in his life. He should return some of those blessings.
Confessions of Saint Marty
The Biblical tithe is defined in Leviticus 27:30-33, and it is NEVER money, nor does it come from anyone's income.
ReplyDeleteWhat you are doing is giving/paying man's definition of the tithe that man invented in 1870.
Although the tithe could never be money, the Temple Tax had to be paid with money; thus proving they did have money.