06 Dec Freeing yourself from the Bondage of Tithing

We are coming into the season where giving is traditionally at it’s highest. In the United States, thanksgiving and Christmas are the two Holidays where people tend to do the most giving. People donate food, toys and clothes. People volunteer at soup kitchens. People invite friends Family, strangers even sometimes, over for meals and comfort.

Advertising is fierce around this time of year. Companies know people are in the giving spirit, so they relentlessly advertise products that would be perfect for the one you love. Kids are bombarded with every toy imaginable. Taking them out to any store becomes an adventure. Stores that don’t usually sell toys even get in on the action by stocking their own shelves with cheap toys for boys and girls.

And you have another Business that’s gearing to cash in on the giving spirit of people around this time of year. The Church. You’ll be bombarded with messages about tithing and giving God your best, your first, your third and your fourth. How giving God what you have, or what you don’t have by Faith, will guarantee you the biggest blessing you’ll ever receive in your entire life. It’s the same speech you heard last year, and whatever you was hoping would go away in your life or improve in your life never did. But maybe this year will be different.

Maybe this year God will bring to pass what I’ve been praying for. Sometimes a plan of Gods can take 20 years, I just need to hang in there and wait on him, and give him the best I can financially.

It is through much sorrow and fought back tears I write these words. To present our bodies and living sacrifices until the Lord, which is our reasonable service. Words spoken by the Apostle Paul. In Second Timothy he warns, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables“.

Those times are here. They have turned the word of God into a lucrative Business venture. They have traded in the council of Elders, for LLC’s and the selling of merchandise. They have taking the purity of the Gospel, and created something despicable. They are powerful, with great influence and recognition. Their faces are recognizable, and their Gospel is far reaching. Even those who were once pure of heart, have now become corrupted. The people who once stood for God, and with God, have all gone astray.

We have become a faint voice in the wilderness, talking over loud barking. I’ve never felt so powerless. To participate is to die, to ignore it is too painful. Their doctrine has permeated every corner of the globe, speaking out against it have become a never ending task. They have twisted the word of God to the point that even elect have converted! Brothers and Sisters, I do not speak these words for profit. If I truly believed God would bless everyone who read these words, if only you gave money, I would be the first to suggest it!

But God, who owns everything already, is not a Hedge Fund Manager. He does not need your money to accomplish his goals. He knows there are some amongst you who have little, he does not expect you to go into debt to prove your love to him. Or to starve to prove your love to him. Or to live meagerly to prove your love to him. They will tell you that the old way, which is the Old Testament and the Law of Moses has passed away, yet they will use the same Law to tell you to Tithe 10% of your income to their organization.

I used the term organization, because that’s what they are running. When your Church becomes a “Business”, it is no longer a place of gathering for God’s people to worship and to fellowship, it is a Business. It is a place to gather and turn a profit.

“In the Temple courts, he found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves and the money changers seated at their tables. So He made up a whip out of cords and drove all from the Temple courts, both sheep and cattle. He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those selling doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a marketplace!”

They will tell you that the topic of money is mentioned more times then any other topic because it’s critically important to your blessing, but money is mentioned more times then other topics because it is the area that will cause most people to stumble and be taking advantage of. God does not desire a tainted offering, nor does he desire a offering that is attached with an i.o.u. God blesses who he blesses. He does not bless those seeking a blessing because they’ve blessed someone else. He blesses those who bless others who do so not seeking their own blessing or advancement.

Do you give money to a Church because you believe that God’s blessings over your life are attached to it? What happens if you no longer have the means to give as much? Does God also remove or decrease the blessings in your life due to your decreased giving? What about the poor who have nothing to give? Does God not bless them at all because they cannot afford to give anything to a Church?

Does God not honor the living sacrifice Paul spoke about in Romans 12:1? I say unto you right now, having lots of money is not evidence that God is with you. The wicked have gained the world, yet they stumble around in the darkness. Money and material things are not a sign God is with you or even approving of your lifestyle, but the Gospel of the deceitful will use this as proof that God is with you. How can they not be financially successful if everyone in Church is participating in the tithing of their monetary resources?

I can start a club next week with 30 members only, and if all 30 members pledge to give me 10-20% of their wages every month, I would be surely be successful. That is math, it is not GOD! I have watch Men, talk non-stop about Tithing as we go into the final season of the Holidays. They have found a way to turn every good working thing, into a reason to ask for money. A good sermon, that is speaking to a personal circumstance in your life, will somehow take a turn on why you should you give more.

There are those who give out of a cheerful heart because they love God; There are those who give because they believe this is the avenue in which God will bless their life; Then there are those who give out of “guilt”. They give because they don’t want things to wrong in their lives. So they give to “keep God at bay”, as if God would change course against a person for such a thing. If you give for any reason other then because you love God, it is a tainted offering.

Giving to the needy is an act of Love. God Honors it. Giving to the rejected is an act of Love. God Honors it. Giving to the helpless is an act of Love. God honors it. I am not talking about money. I’m talking about your giving your time. I’m talking about giving your ear. I’m talking about giving your hand. A hug from you to a person who needs it, will go a lot further then if you gave them 500 dollars.

What would Bless you more, a Check from Jesus or a dinner with Jesus? My life over the past several years has been a lonely one. I wish I could just turn a deaf ear to the illogical doctrine of the prosperity Gospel. I have met some really nice people, who I believe Love the Lord. They walk with God. But in this area, we have sharp disagreement. When you draw a line in the sand of what you believe, you will often times stand alone.

It’s tiring. The joy I have in meeting someone knew in Christ, only to have them say how blessed “Joel Osteen” is. I like Joel Osteen as a person. I think he’s a nice guy. But I do not respect him as a Pastor, and I do not adhere or support his doctrine. I do not judge him, that is Gods job, but I cannot and will not endorse his Gospel.

Brothers and Sisters, if you love God, you will often times find yourself alone when you stand firm and refuse to compromise on what you know to be right. Like being in a room full of people who are drinking when you are not. It is a awkward place to be in. It is uncomfortable. It can cause a great deal of pain and misery. But we must all be held accountable. Even those who love God. We are not without our own faults. Was Paul not without his? Even you, even I, we must be held accountable.

There is no accountability, which is why they can teach doctrine that is contradictory. There is no one who can advise them nor rebuke their teachings. They have become their own advisers. They have become their own Judges. There is no one who can correct them. There is no one who can bring a word to them from the Lord. For the Lord speaks to them and them only.

God does not need your money. The God of the universe does not need your money. Jesus did not come and die for your sins so you could work and give him your money. He died because he loved and loves you. Jesus said to Peter, and he is saying to us: Do you love me? Feed my lambs. Jesus said a second time: Do you love me? Take care of my Sheep. Jesus said a third time: Do you love me? Feed my Sheep. (John 21:15)

If you are a Pastor, or a Spiritual leader, your job if you love the Lord, is to feed and take care of his Sheep. It is not to enrich yourselves and convince the Sheep to take care of you.

Brothers and Sisters, whenever you give, give with a pure heart. Not expecting anything in return, infact, when you give, give to those who have nothing they can give you in return. It is this kind of giving that God honors. When you give in this way, you become like Jesus….