I guess it’s high time I revealed my position because one would assume I am AGAINST giving to the church with the information I have provided here to date, but keep in mind, I have only laid out the scriptures and have done very little giving of my own interpretation. I didn’t want to get into espousing traditional beliefs because they don’t necessarily follow scripture. The bible isn’t as hard to understand as one would be made to believe. So, there is no need to always depend on the Clergy to break it down for you. So, for the record, in my lifetime I have been neutral on tithing, pro-tithing, and con-tithing. At the height of my belief, I gave nearly $10K one year because I had bought into the whole prosperity theology of sowing and reaping. Keeping in mind, I was not earning anywhere near six figures but I had purposed to go above what you would consider a tithe. I don’t present that with a bragging heart, but as a testimony to the fact that when I believe in something, I’m all in.
I started studying this subject a few years ago for a book project, but kept getting stalled because what I found never lined up with what I was being taught and the reality was that, at the time, I trusted my Pastor more than the spirit in me so I would always believe that I just didn’t have all the necessary books needed to fully study the subject. But the thought that I was on to something wouldn’t let me go. The other thing that gave me pause was that no matter what church I attended or visited, the ministers would be sure to drive home the ideology that tithing was the way to go. I didn’t have a problem with believing in tithing, but I found it odd that when it came time to give, most churches would have a brief lecture on the subject as if parishioners forgot that God required them to give since the last time they were at church. During the discourse, ministers rarely failed to mention that if you didn’t want to be subject to being “cursed with a curse” that you would find it in your heart to give ten percent of your income. So this week, I want to present the biblical backing behind whether you are cursed or not.
Malachi 3:7-127 "From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept {them.} Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts. "But you say, 'How shall we return?' 8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. 9 "You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation {of you!} 10 "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. 11 "Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast {its grapes,}" says the LORD of hosts. 12 "All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land," says the LORD of hosts. This set of scriptures sets forth that by withholding the tithe, you are robbing God and because of it you are cursed with a curse. As some ministers will say, you can not expect God to be concerned with the matters pertaining to your finances when you are robbing God of what is His, week in and week out.
One of the things I have always not appreciated is getting part of the story. I like to be informed and I like to get the whole truth, not just the truth in part. Having the truth in part can easily lead to being told a lie.
It is interesting to note that the book of Malachi deals with the sins of the Priests as well as the Israelites.
Chapter 1 of Malachi deals directly with the Priests offering blind and lame animals as a sacrifice. God was clearly not pleased and He was calling them on it; admonishing them to give Him the respect that He was due. A common form of deception among the Priests was to offer a pitiful sacrifice knowing good and well that they had an acceptable one available. So, in effect they were trying to lie to God about what they had available, forgetting that HE could see all.
Chapter 2 starts by saying,
And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. – God let them know that he had already cursed their blessings because of their decision to offer inappropriate sacrifices. Midway through the chapter the audience broadens as God deals with behavior God’s deems intolerable. The character of the people is called into question and the Lord calls on them to re-accept a life of holiness. Apparently, one of the major issues at that time was that men were committing adultery as well as divorcing their wives, even when the wives remained faithful. God let them know he hated divorce. God also let them know that they were giving Him a bad name because their actions caused non-believers to think there was no justice when it came to unholy living because God had not openly punished them.
Chapter 3 leads in with a warning that while it doesn’t look like it, God will bring correction. So God’s people are encouraged to turn from their wicked practices on their own volition. He let’s them know that because of their relationship and the promises that he has made that he has already withstood destroying them. This now set’s the stage for the famous scriptures. God implores the people to give the tithes and offerings properly so that there will be meat in his house. This meat is not figurative, it is literal. God wanted the people to do right so that the Levitical Priesthood wouldn’t be tempted to give inadequate offerings. He wanted the blessing to flow all around. The tithe was also God’s way of providing for those who couldn’t otherwise provide for themselves, so it was the Israelites duty as his people to worship him in their giving. Because they had not done so, he reminded them that they were indeed under a curse. In order to be rid of the curse they had to obey his statutes (Mosaic Law) and give accordingly. If they did so, he would once again pour forth his blessing.
I know I summarized that but I wanted to get to the question of the day. Does NOT tithing cause me to be cursed with a curse? If this was the end of the story I would give you a big emphatic NO. Why, because the curse was predicated on their not fulfilling God’s statutes in the first place; his statutes clearly being Mosaic Law in this instance. Without the Law, how can you transgress it and thereby be subject to its penalty?
What about metaphorically speaking? Since the times have changed can we apply Malachi metaphorically such that God requires us to tithe so that He can be glorified in the earth? Is there a case for being cursed today?
My response to that is not as straight forward because of the power of our minds. What do I mean by that? You can become so convinced of a thing that it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy even if what you are believing is a lie. In other words, if you buy into the belief that you are cursed for not tithing, then you will seek evidence of that truth subconsciously. Anytime something doesn’t go as planned financially, you will attribute it to not tithing. On the flip side, when those same unexpected events happen to tithing Christians, what is the defense then?
The bottom line is this. The penalty of the curse was predicated on breaking The Law. God does not have us under The Law, we are under Grace. Nevertheless, even with our being under grace, there is an expectation to give.
In the book of 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks of the type of giver that God approves of – a cheerful one.
What does it take to be a cheerful giver? A cheerful giver is one that gives to the things of God in a manner that reflects that person’s heart towards God. It’s as if you are in a relationship with God and your giving shows how much you care. The problem is most folks talk about loving God, but the proof ain’t in the pudding. People have their cable/satellite with their movie channels/sports channels, flat screens, tivo, cell phones, satellite radio, closets full of clothes and shoes and then when it’s time to give to the things of God out come the excuses.
Let’s look at an example of how God dealt with “church folk” who took care of their stuff and their lifestyle as opposed to his.
Haggai chapter 1, verses 3 - 11. 3Then the word of the LORD came by Haggaim the prophet, saying, 4"Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?" 5Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways! 6"You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes." 7Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways! 8Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified," says the LORD. 9"You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?" says the LORD of hosts. "Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. 10Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. 11For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands." The thing to point out here is that God was not dealing with the people about tithing (
scripture already proves that God's people didn't tithe money). He was dealing with them about giving. It’s also important to see that he “blew” on their money. So even in our giving there is an expectation. So, are you under a curse? No. However, if you do very little in the way of giving to God, yet you question why you can’t catch a break. Maybe, just maybe, God is blowing on your funds and you should reevaluate how much God really means to you in lieu of everything else in your budget. If you prefer your life’s luxuries over giving to the Kingdom of God, then chances are God is dealing with you on your finances because you basically give to the church called “ME”.
So, if you haven’t figured it out by now, I believe in giving not tithing. I think tithing is taught simply because it is profitable for ministries to do so. However, I reject it because a person’s giving really depends on where a person is in the cycle of understanding. If you are un-churched but come into the knowledge of Christ and truly have a heart to worship God in your giving, it may take you a minute to get to the place of giving ten percent or more of your income. Depending on your situation, God may not be requiring that of you anyway, so to have that stipulation placed on you by a minister is just wrong and in my eyes deceitful. People know when they are cheating God. Self evaluation isn’t that hard to do. We know when we are pleasing to God and when we aren’t. If you need a litmus test for your giving try this. Think of something you pay for monthly that you love (barring your home since it’s usually the largest expense people have) and measure that payment against what you give to church or charities monthly. If you aren’t giving at that level, then I would say you need to make some adjustments. But again, you don’t have to answer to me, you may make so much money where a house note is a suitable offering -- but if that shoe fits you, you already know what time it is.
Questions? Comments? Criticisms?
