~Introduction~ Blessing Others for their Sake--Not our Own

By Hazel Holland

I hadn’t known the joy of Spirit-led giving until about ten years ago when I was moved by the Spirit during a time of prayer to give money to a sister in the church who was about to lose her home. Having grown up believing that the tithe belonged to the Lord and should only be given to the local church, I was taken by surprise when I was prompted by the Spirit to give my tithe to help relieve my sister’s financial stress after the Lord showed me in a vision of how believers in the early church helped one another and gave to anyone as they had need (Acts 2: 32-35 NIV).

Immediately I began to weep as I experienced the Father’s heart of compassion for His hurting daughter who had not been able to work for a number of months because of a work-related back injury. For several months God compelled me to give to her in this way as He did several other members in the church. Eventually she was back on her feet and able to resume her job. Knowing that God had specifically prompted me to play a part in helping to bear my sister’s financial burden brought me great joy.

Thus began my journey, prompted by the Holy Spirit, to start studying the whole subject of giving, and more specifically tithing. Since God had opened the door for me to question the practice of tithing for the support of the ministry of the church, I wanted to know why the church (who teaches that we are no longer under law but grace) continues to espouse the old covenant practice of law-based giving when it comes to tithe.

God knows your Name

About four years ago I had another experience that forever changed the way I look at giving. It was the day after Thanksgiving. I was pouring a large pot of home-made chili into a couple of plastic containers to freeze for a later date. Students from the nearby college often showed up unexpectedly at my home, so it was always good to have extra food on hand.

After filling up one large container, I was suddenly struck with the idea of giving the rest of this chili to a homeless person. The prompting was so strong I knew it was from God. So I heated up the rest of the chili, poured it into a large cottage cheese container, placed several portions of warm homemade cornbread in a zip-lock bag, added several plastic spoons, and headed for my car. I knew I wouldn’t have to drive far before running into homeless people.

But as I drove down the street and saw the first homeless person, I heard God say, “Not this one!”

“Why not, God?” I questioned.

Then I noticed several more homeless people nearby. “I have enough chili and cornbread in my sack to feed all of them” I reminded God. I hadn’t expected Him to want me to pass by homeless people like this…

As I continued to drive down the street I passed by several more homeless people in the same way. Each time God would say, “Not this one!” So I obeyed, and moved on.

When I finally came up to a major intersection and asked God which way to go, He immediately prompted me to turn right. Who was the person whom God had in mind for this food? I wondered.

Then the Spirit spoke to my heart again and said, “Look down the road!”

Off in the distance I saw someone standing on the narrow divider that separates traffic. From a distance I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman, because they were bundled up in an oversized jacket with the hood pulled down over their head.

“Is that the person you want me to give this meal to?” I asked God.

“That’s the one!” He replied.

A tangible joy born of the Spirit began to rise up inside of me. I got in the left-hand lane as I neared the divider, hoping that the light would turn red so that I could stop for a moment, roll down my window, and hand this person their meal. But the light stayed green. So I drove on by planning to make a u-turn at the next green light.

The thrill of this adventure with God overwhelmed my spirit as I prepared to make a second attempt to deliver this food. This time when the light turned red I found myself opposite the stranger. As he lifted up his head I could see his unshaven face. Quickly I rolled down my window and thrust the paper sack of chili and cornbread towards Him.

“God wants you to know that He knows your name!” I called out.

Immediately he threw back the hood of his jacket and hurried towards me. His face looked worn, yet familiar.

“Remember me?” he asked as tears streamed down his face. “I’m Stephen. Two years ago you brought me and several other homeless people Thanksgiving dinner!”

“Yes…! I stammered as tears filled my eyes. I remembered how he had dropped to his knees, and with tears of gratitude raised his hands toward heaven and thanked God for the “feast” in front of him.

“This chili and cornbread is a gift from God to let you know how much He loves YOU! Hope it warms you up. It’s kind of cold outside today.”

He took the food gratefully and began thanking me profusely. “Don’t thank me I” I responded. “God had me by-pass several other homeless people before I got to you, because He wants you to know that He knows your name! Stephen, God knows your name!”

Immediately he stopped thanking me, lifted his eyes toward heaven and began to pray. He was oblivious to the people in the cars watching him. So was I. “God knows your name” I repeated softly to myself as the light turned green. “It’s written on the palm of His hand!”

I don’t remember the drive home. It’s kind of a blur. But I do remember God’s joy flooding my heart and streaming down my face. Nothing could compare with the pure joy of seeing that homeless man enjoy his unexpected blessing! I couldn’t stop thanking God for a taste of His goodness and grace.

By obeying the Spirit’s leading, I discovered that blessing someone means giving something to them for their sake, not for my own. Could it be that God has always meant for us to share in the joy of blessing one another face to face like this? I believe that the body of Christ is strengthened and edified when we personally bless one another, and are blessed by one another.

In some small way through this experience I began to catch a glimpse of the pure agape love of God who willingly poured out His life for me. That’s why Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than receive”.

Law-based Giving

On the other hand, when we give in order to receive—when we give for the sake of getting a reward, how are we any better than the hypocrites that Jesus condemned in Matthew 6 for drawing attention to their good deeds? Many churches today teach that when we faithfully give our tithe to the church we can always expect God to rebuke the devourer for our sake (Malachi 3:11).

Is that alleged promise of an old covenant blessing true for today? But even more importantly, is it biblical for those of us who live under the new covenant reality to take the words of the prophet Malachi, and use them like this? Does the Bible clearly teach that the tithing practices of the old covenant community should now be transferred over into the new covenant reality?

Furthermore, when we look at the new covenant principle of sowing generously and reaping generously, we find out that the word “generously” can also be translated “blessing”. Another way of saying this would be, “Whoever sows blessing will reap blessing… but whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly”. Paul makes it clear in his earlier use of “grudgingly” that to give grudgingly or sparingly (as many of us have done as far as tithing is concerned) is the opposite of freely blessing someone from the heart.

Tragically today it seems that the church has taken Paul’s words on the subject of giving, and bent them in order to make a platform for old covenant tithing. The worst thing about law-based giving is that it doesn’t require us to seek the Spirit in order to know how God wants us to bless others from our hearts. Since we have a law-based formula for tithing (10%), and another law-based formula for offerings (lower percentage of course), we really don’t need to ask God personally how we should give, do we? It’s already been mapped out for us… or has it?

I must admit that I’ve struggled with law-based giving for a long time, because I’ve seen too much guilt-based giving motivated by guilt-based behavior. I’ve seen too many pastors and spiritual leaders misuse and misquote Scripture on this subject. Compulsory tithing has become the norm in many churches who continue the practice of law-based giving. In fact I would go as far as to say that it has become a “sacred cow” that continues to keep the body of Christ in spiritual bondage!

Unfortunately, law-based formulas for giving not only rob us of personal intimacy with God, but also with one another. They not only make us unable to “see” the needy in our places of worship, but we are often blinded to the needs of the unreached and unloved poor down the street. Our lack of personal intimacy with God places Him at a safe distance, and the disadvantaged in far-off lands where there’s no possibility of interaction between us and them. As a result, we feel no accountability to bear one another’s burdens and bless one another from the heart. But God wants to teach us how to hear His voice so that we can be a blessing to others.

Over the past few years as I have earnestly prayed for wisdom to understand God’s heart on this matter, I’ve begun to see what someone has so succinctly stated that perhaps the “tithe” is to the modern church of today what the issue of “circumcision” was to the church in Paul’s day.1 We already know that many Jewish believers in Paul’s day had a difficult time letting go of the practice of circumcision, because it had been the entrance way into the old covenant Jewish community for centuries. For them to grapple with the truth that Jesus was now the Door into the new covenant reality and NOT circumcision was hard for many to grasp.

Perhaps in a similar way today, it is hard for many of us in the new covenant community to grasp the reality of what Jesus accomplished at the cross when He said, “It is finished!” I’m reminded of a quote from my friend, Ramone. "When Jesus said, "It is finished", the "it" included tithing! Our debt is paid in full. Our flesh need not be given because His flesh has fulfilled the requirements of the Law once and for all!"

As we examine all the Scriptural references on this subject let us do so with an open mind and a willing heart to learn what is on God’s heart. Let us have a burning desire to know truth so that we can “come out” from being manipulated and controlled by unbiblical approaches to obtaining funds for the support of the church.

I believe God wants to lovingly expose the current tithing practices of the church that have resisted change for centuries. I believe God desires that we transition out from the old covenant system of law-based giving into the new covenant understanding of blessing one another as we are led by the Spirit to give (2 Corinthians 9:7). As we continue our study of this subject let’s keep in mind that old covenant tithing was mandated by law—NOT love! Hopefully by the end of our study we will want to bless others for their sake—NOT our own. We will be motivated by love to become hilarious givers!

1Jack Helser, “To Tithe or not to Tithe” (article), p. 1.

Next: Chapter 1: Tithing Before the Law Began