-Money Blog Part 4: Tithing vs. Giving-

Churches and church leaders have gotten a bad reputation over the last few decades when it comes to teaching or even mentioning the practice of giving to the church. Much of this reputation has been earned by a only hand full of "christian preachers" who were basically caught stealing from people. I mean, the was more to it than that but when you break it all down, that's what they were doing. So because of these hand full of people, pastors and teacher and church leaders with genuine hearts and motives have been hamstrung when it comes to talking about giving money to the church. People come in already jaded because of the now defunct "preachers" they've heard about on the news and are hypersensitive to ANY church leader talking about giving. This has led to pastors and church leaders being over-paranoid about talking about giving and the topic has been basically ignored in many churches in our culture out of fear of being labeled "all about money." That being said, today I want to talk about giving to your church.

One of our biggest problems as a Church (when I say "the Church" I am talking about ALL the Christian churches everywhere not just MY church) when it comes to giving is that, just like everything else, we can't agree on it. Some churches take up and offering, others don't. Some churches teach to give a specific amount, others teach to give "whatever God puts on your heart." Most churches, however, teach the biblical principle called "tithing." Tithing is simple. It simply means that you give 10% of your income to your church and this is the practice that I, personally believe is a great start.

Many from with the Church argue about the practice of tithing. They have "theological" points to show how we don't really have to tithe anymore. And if 9 out of 10 of these people had this view out of a desire to give and love then I'd be totally okay with it. However most of the people I've heard use these types of arguments seem to o it in order to absolve them of guilt for not actually giving to the church at all. Lets talk about some of the common arguments against tithing that are heard, shall we?

One argument I hear a lot is, "Tithing isn't really talked about in the New Testament." This is a pretty ignorant point to try to make. we have to remember WHO wrote the New Testament; Jews. Jewish people who believe in Jesus were the ones God used to pen the words of the New Testament. And when they devoted their lives to Jesus they didn't STOP being Jewish. They continued to practice Jewish Law. In fact, many of them we emphatic about it. So they wouldn't HAVE to mention tithing. It was simply assumed as a normal practice. Beyond that, what happens if we decide to use the New Testament as our only guide? In the gospel we see Jesus telling a man to sell everything he has and give it to the poor. Later in the book of Acts it says that all the believers sold their possessions and had "everything in common." So if you want to use strictly a "New Testament pattern" you'd better be prepared to give 100% because that is what the New Testament describes... and more than once.

I also hear a lot that the practice of tithing is a part of "the Law" of the Old testament and the the New Testament says we're not under the Law anymore. Okay, yes tithing is described in what we call "Levitical Law," meaning it is found in the Old Testament book of Leviticus which lays out much of the Law the Jews were to live by. But what many people don't realize is that by that time, tithing wasn't new. If you read Genesis, God asks Abraham to tithe. Abraham passes this practice on and we see his grandson, Jacob, committing to giving a tenth of all he has to God as well. Leviticus is simply making the practice "official," but it existed LONG before Moses gave the Jewish people "the Law." So the practice of tithing actually precedes even the 10 Commandments.

I also hear about how Jesus didn't talk about tithing and that we never read about Him actually practicing it himself. Once again this is an ignorant argument because Jesus was also Jewish. In fact, Jesus followed the spirit of the Law better than anyone else. He was a Jewish rabbi, living in a Jewish country, teaching Jewish people to live the Jewish way. Once again, they wouldn't need to mention Jesus tithed because it would have been assumed by virtue of His culture. It also doesn't say He ever went to the bathroom, or blinked, or laughed, got cold. So are we assume those things never happened too? Beyond that Jesus DOES mention tithing in Matthew 23:23. He affirms that the Pharisees have tithed but ignored things like mercy and justice. Bet then Jesus goes on to tell them that they should, indeed, have been tithing without ignoring mercy and justice. So, apparently Jesus is actually pro-tithing. Which really shouldn't surprise anyone because, once again, He was Jewish!

Finally I want to make it clear that I believe wholeheartedly in tithing not because I want or need your money, but because our money is usually one of the last things we're willing to let go of and trust God with. Because He's not really God unless He's the God of everything. Even our money. Sadly, in most churches today 15-20% of the people pay 95% of the bills. If everyone in our churches began tithing, many churches would know what to do with all the money. It would open whole new possibilities for the church to contribute to the lives of others. I think that it could be amazing. I also believe something else about tithing. I believe it's simply a starting point. I think 10% is a good place to begin but not to end. And I think that if you began to tithe and experience the joy of giving to God obediently you'll actually get greedy for giving. Try it. I dare you. Prove me wrong.

-Money Blog Part 3: Value vs. Cost-

Not long ago, in a galaxy not so far from here, an organization conducted a study about income in Americans. It asked several questions of people about money and income and budgeting. I wish i could remember details of the survey but unfortunately most of it has slipped my memory. The one thing that has stuck with me however, was what they reported about their findings as it related to how much income was "enough."

The reports said that in their findings, the majority of those surveyed indicated that "enough" income was about 10% more than they were currently bringing home; REGARDLESS of their current income level. This means that the person making $20K a year thought that if they could just make 10% more they would have enough. It also means that the person making $250K a year thought the exact same thing. 10% more and they would finally be making enough. But would it really be "enough"?

I'm persuaded that it's never "enough." That for some reason we are conditioned in our culture to never be content with what we have but to always want and even need more. Even to the point to where we allow our happiness depend on it. We are conditioned in this culture to want to attain a certain level of wealth and we think when we do attain it that we will finally be content. But it's just not true. Because it seems that we are wired to always think we need just a little more.

The problem with this mode of thought is that it cares more about the value of money than it does the cost of it. Getting more money will always cost us something. To some, it can cost time with their family. To others it will cost a piece of their integrity. To some it will cost them their mental and sometimes physical health. And still to others who take it to an extreme it will cost them their freedom. And the more value we place on money, the higher the cost. You'll know how important money is to someone when you get a peak and what they are willing to do and say and become in order to get more of it. This is not how we were designed. when we were designed, money did not exist.

But money does, in fact, exist today so we cannot simply ignore it. But we also must always keep it in perspective. If we don't we will always lose something while trying to resolve our monetary concerns. Too often monetary wealth leads to spiritual poverty. Along that same line, often times monetary poverty can lead to spiritual wealth. It's been my experience that the people who have the least are much happier to share what they DO have where as those who have the most tend to be much less generous unless they stand to gain something from it, (i.e a tax write-off). And that isn't really generosity is it?

So how do we resolve this. Do we say, "To hell with money!" and forget about it? No, I think that would be a waste of an opportunity. Again, money exists in our world and we can't ignore it. But what we can do is change the way we think about it. As Paul writes, we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:2) We need to think of money as an opportunity not an obtainment. I'm not suggesting we stop trying to make more money. I'm simply saying that when we DO, we use it in ways that place the proper value on it. We must learn to use our money to serve God's purposes rather that using ourselves to serve money. Don't make the point of money become about "having more," make the point about USING MORE. Use your money to invest in love, in your family, in yourself, in people. Use it as a means and not and end. And always, always make sure the cost is never greater than the value.

-Money Blog Part 2: Jesus vs. Being a "Good Steward"-

What to do with our money has been argued about by Christians for centuries. How we should we handle it? Is tithing really a New Testament practice? Should I give money to the homeless guy even though he may use it to buy drugs or alcohol? Some Christians have taught that God wants us all to be rich. Others have taught that God would prefer it if we were all poor. Many people have had money essentially stolen from them in the name of Jesus. I mean, lets face it, when it comes to money, us Christians are a strangely confused bunch.

The rise of the Evangelical movement has brought us to an interesting place when it comes to money. It has brought us to the era of the "good steward." God wants us all to be "good stewards" of our money. We should not be frivolous. We should live within our means. We should save some money for the proverbial rainy day. And these are all great things. Except that being a "good steward" has turned into so much more than just that. Lately, being a good steward has just been a tool to prop up the evangelical "Republican" ideals rather than a tool to preserve the church and the individual from financial trauma.

Now, don't get all freaky on me for throwing the words "evangelical" and "Republican" in there. I myself could be identified by both of those terms in one way or another so believe me when I say I am NOT showing any bias. But I have too often heard that people don't give money to the homeless guy because he may use it to buy drugs and that would mean that they were contributing to his sin and that's not being a good steward of their money. Somehow I think that's just an excuse to NOT give money but rather to keep it for yourself. Besides, you can't be a good "steward" of something that is yours. By definition, a steward is a caretaker of SOMEONE ELSE'S property. So being a good steward means realizing that it's not even YOUR money to begin with. I think Jesus was a great example of this, (no surprise there).

In any Biblical account when Jesus is questioned about money or talks about money, his attitude toward it is always much less arbitrary than ours seems to be. "Give it to Cesar. Give it to the poor. Pay the Temple tax. Here Judas, you be in charge of the money people give us." It seems that when it comes to money, Jesus is a horrible steward by today's "Christian" standard. But wait, He's Jesus. He's our example. He's a living, breathing, flesh and blood example of what it means to live according to God's Word. In fact He IS the word in flesh according to John 1:14. So how can we resolve this "Christian paradox" that Jesus was and is perfect and yet by our standards He was awful with money? It's simple really. We have to pick a side. Do it Jesus' way, or do it the "Christian" way.

Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't use your money wisely and I'm not saying you should just give it all away willy-nilly like. But if you REALLY want to be a "good steward" then you should emulate the ATTITUDE that Jesus had toward it. It is merely a tool. It isn't even near the top of the list of things we should "demonstrate" as Christians. Savvy investing or a high net-worth isn't one of the fruits of the spirit listed in Galatians 5. So what was Jesus' attitude? "...From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded..."(Luke 12:48) If you have been blessed with money, then God will demand that you use it in such a way that you are a blessing to others. Why? Because that is what we are ALL called to be. A blessing to others. Others. Others. Others. That is what Jesus was about. Others. That is what He died for. Others. That is who he asked us to reach out to. Others. That is who he tells us to put first. Others. And that is what being a good steward is about. Others.