Wrestling With Faith

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What is Tithe? Do I have to Tithe or give money to the church? What is my tithe used for?

TIthe is a Biblical word that literally means to give a tenth. God commanded His people to give a tenth of their earnings.   "Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year." (Deuteronomy 14:22) "Honor the Lord with your wealth, with firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." (Proverbs 3:9-10)  "Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask , How are we robbing you? In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse, your whole nation, because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it." (Malachi 3:8-10)

So, to put this in context for our culture this means that you are commanded by God to give 10% of your earnings to the Lord.  God tells us that if we obey Him in this then God will bless us in return.  God also warns those that do not obey this will be cursed.  This is not something that the church made up or some pastor or church leader came up with.  It is a commandment of God.  It does matter how much money you give.  It is about obedience to God.  In fact, Jesus tells a story about a widow who put to two copper coins worth just a few cents into the temple treasury and Jesus said that she gave more than the wealthy who put a small amount of their vast wealth because they gave a little and the widow gave all that she had in love and obedience to God. (Mark 12:41-44)

To answer the question what it my tithe used for let's look at what the tithes given to the church were used for in the Bible.   In Nehemiah 10-34-39 talks about the tithes and offerings given in the temple honor God and that the money, crops, or livestock is to be used to support the temple, the ministries of the temple, and the priests who live and work in the temple.  The priests are prohibited from working outside the temple.

In our modern context this should be the same.  However, there is a growing number of pastors that have to hold another job outside of the church because the church does bring in enough money to support their pastor.  Yet, most people expect the pastor to be available in the same manner as if they were only employed by the church.  This happens for two reasons. First, people are not giving obediently like God has commanded.  Secondly, people are regularly attending church.  These two problems are what has caused the church to have to allow their pastor to work outside the church so that they can support themselves and their families. The fix to this is for God's people to faithfully attend church as God has asked and for God's people to faithfully give to support their church and their pastor.
Keep in mind that the church is an organization like any other.  The church has a mortgage to pay, utilities to pay and other expenses such as maintenance of the building and properties.  The church has to pay its pastor, staff, and other employees.  When you go to the gym, you don't question what the fees are used for.  You just know that if you want to work out there you have to pay to use the facilities.  Many gyms automatically withdraw the money from your checking or credit card.  If you do not pay you are not allow to work out in the gym. The church does not bill you or automatically withdraw money.  We operate in faith that those that attend will faithfully be obedient to God.