Tithes and Offering: My Opinion.

This is my opinion on this issue. I believe tithing is a law of the old testament, anybody who sticks to tithes can probably still kill animals for the atonement of sins, I am not saying the old testament is to be abandoned and ignored, I am saying we have allowed our pastors and church leaders deceive us for far too long, why will your church want you to register your name on a tithe register, why is it only those whose tithes are heavy that are recognized by the church, what happened to the spirit of helping the poor in churches, now we even have people who trek to church because of lack of money and we have pastors cruising around in private jets, now let’s remember the bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 — “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”, what has then happened to this generosity? Let’s be sincere here, the church has really gone astray in the area of giving, if not why can’t the church just provide the necessary tithe cards and bless all those who have given, God knows them, why do they need their addresses and phone numbers, our pastors seem to have forgotten that the bible says in Deuteronomy 17:16-17 — “The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, ‘You are not to go back that way again.’ He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.”, we now have pastors travelling in convoy of expensive cars to church when there are hungry missionaries in the field who don’t have food for the next day, there is simply no excuse for the extravagant life many men of God now live.
I am not saying pastors should be hungry, infact, they deserve the best, but we have to realize that nowadays church has been turned to business, there is always something they want you to pay money for, the pastors seem to have forgotten the bible says in James 2:14-17 — “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”, and in Acts 4:32, 34-35 — “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.”, and in Acts 20:35b — “. The Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”, our pastors think it’s the other way round.
In Matthew, Jesus speaks to the teachers of the law, and talks about how legalism and man’s law (specifically about money pledged to the church instead of to the needy), can be made to go against God’s true intentions for his Kingdom: Matthew 15:5-9 says ‘But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ he is not to ‘honor his father with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’
So, as for me, There is not one word written about tithing in the New Testament to the people of the New Covenant…. The New Testament teaches Christians are to give from out of their heart - there is no percentage used. This only makes sense since you cannot give cheerfully if you are giving out of some legalistic requirement. I am not saying I wouldn’t give to the church anymore, I will give what I am led to give, because the bible says in Luke 14:33 — “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” And 2 Corinthians 8:1-3, 9 — “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability ... For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-9 — “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: ‘He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’ ”
So.. I will give to the church what my heart gives, and give to the needy what my heart gives, for the bible says in Proverbs 19:17 — “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.”
This is my take on tithing and giving generally.
Most of this write up was gotten from the web, they however perfectly state my own views, so I decided to use them too.
References:
http://www.bible.com
http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/2008/02/bible-and-tithing-to-give-or-not-to-2.html
http://www.generousgiving.org/page.asp?sec=9&page=172
http://christianity.about.com/od/whatdoesthebiblesay/i/churchgiving.htm