Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. - Matthew 23:23
Recently, there has been this fierce and controversial debate on tithing. A school of though believes tithing was under the law and has no place in the New Testament which is the dispensation of grace. Another school of thought believes tithe is necessary and that not doing so attracts curses that God outlined in Malachi chapter 3. Another school of thought believes tithing is needed but not compulsory, it is believed that tithing is not gonna attract any curse because God is a God of Love, He doesn't curse.
Honestly I have been reading various responses each day on tithing. But I remember today's verse on what Jesus said. Exactly what was happening then is kind of happening now. There are more important things than tithing. Jesus explained all that: The Pharisees and Sadducees do tithe but ignore the other aspect of the law. Did Jesus condemned them for tithing? Nope, He didn't but he condemned for not been diligent in the other areas. He was telling them there are important things than tithing; Judgement, Mercy and faith.
Tithing is part of our giving, but it's not a major part. Giving should be borne out of love. You tithing and not living a good and obedient life is sheer hypocrisy. If you tithe, it's just a minor area, some things are expected of you in other major areas. You can't Ignore them all in the name of tithing.
Salvation is far more important than tithe. Your tithe is not a shield for you to commit other sins. You paying your tithe is not to become a millionaire without working. You paying your tithe won't get you to heaven. You paying your tithe is not necessarily a requirement to wealth.
In the midst of all these debates, there are far more important thing like the lost souls, the buildings up of saints, helping the needy and the poor that should call for our attention.
The Question is should we pay tithe or not?
There is no straight answers to all these. Nobody told Abraham before he gave a tenth to the High Priest. If you want to pay tithe, please do, if you don't want to pay, it's still your choice. But note this: every believer should be a giver, it's a trait of our Father which He exhibit by giving Jesus. Jesus was never and is never God's tithe. Jesus is God(John 1:1). God gave His all (Jesus). Therefore nothing should stop us from giving endlessly to good causes most especially the ones that will bring people into the Kingdom of God.
We can't shy away from the fact that the church of God needs money. God has blessed us immensely and one of the reason for blessing us is so that we can in turn be a blessing to other including the storehouse. There must be abundance in the house of God. Nothing spiritual about that. It's our job to ensure there is enough in the house of God.
Call it whatever you may, tithe, first-fruits, sacrificial offerings; This is the bottom line: A believer must be a giver, a cheerful giver, one that gives freely and bountifully without being compelled to do so.
Comments
Post a Comment