Saturday, February 9, 2008

Tithe

As we were preparing for church today our oldest daughter excitedly proclaimed, “Dad, I can give my tithe today!”

We began giving her allowance at the age of six, but we didn’t allow her to spend it until she had completely mastered counting money, and we explained quite thoroughly to her that the first thing she always needed to do was tithe a tenth to God; and she is very happy to do it.

Upon seeing her glee at having an offering for the Lord, her two younger sisters inquired what they could give. So, we doled out a few bucks and explained that it was for the tithe and they joined their sister in joyful giving.

Two things came to mind:

First, I was reminded of the “ceremonial quarters” we were given as children to drop into the collection plate as it passed by, and I always wondered, “Why?”

The answer (which is the second thing) comes right out of the Bible; “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

5 comments:

Greg said...

Where can I find the New Testament command to tithe money.

The Father knows best. said...

Nowhere in the New Testament does it explicitly “command to tithe money.”

In Mathew 23:23 and Luke 11:42, Jesus scolds the Pharisees for tithing the tangible while withholding the intangible, and He instructs them that they should tithe both. Also, in Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-4, Jesus praises the widow’s humble material offering.

While the scriptures referenced above may not constitute a command to tithe money, they definitely establish that tithing money is biblical.

My reply may be simple, so here is a more in-depth response: http://www.tbm.org/is_tithing_new_testament.htm

Greg said...

Are you implying they were to tithe money? Money was not acceptable as a tithe. Not one account of money being used as a tithe or commanded to be used by Our Lord.

If a person wants to tithe their income that is up to them. Tithing money has become a salvational issue. Scriptures are being taken out of context to chain people to a lie. It is clear what Our Lord commanded in tithing under the law and that was food items. The command to tithe money is just not there.

The Father knows best. said...

Greg,

I'm gonna bump this up into a new post instead of just a reply to a comment.

Grandma said...

Greg, I'm not sure where you got the idea that this blog or any church I know of said anything about salvation being connected to tithing, since it isn't, anymore than it's connected to taking Communion or being baptized. Given that Jesus lived in the days that it was an agrarian society, people didn't use money much. Instead, they tithed whatever they had - chickens, grain, herbs, for example. If we still lived in that kind of society, then we would, too. But since generally we receive paychecks which then allow us to purchase those things for ourselves, that's why we tithe money. I'm sure your pastor wouldn't mind your buying his groceries instead, but there are other things that your tithe goes to pay such as the electric bill, church salaries, missions, etc. The point is that we acknowledge that God owns it all and show this by tithes and offerings. I've found generally that people who have a hard time tithing have an undealt-with issue about money. Whether or not that's your case, you be the judge.