By Ramone Romero - March 8th, 2011
Many pastors use Malachi 3:8-10 to say that we are "robbing God" if we are not tithing & giving offerings to the church. This immediately places us under guilt and accusation (and under the law) because we are told that we have not paid God, but we *should have* been paying Him all along, so in fact we have been *robbing* Him.
Our giving then is not only obligatory, but more than that it is giving to basically pay a debt that we are supposed to have been *neglecting* up to now. For the Christian, tithing is then indirectly presented as a way we are supposed to pay God back for what He has done for us.
And further, particularly in charismatic churches, if we have problems or sicknesses or financial difficulties (etc.), then it is because we have not been paying tithe. We are in prison, so to speak, and have not been paying God the money to stay out of prison.
This picture illustrates how using Malachi 3:8-10 today to teach Christian tithing is no different that traditional pagan religions. Tithe had a purpose under the Old Covenant law--to shadow and point to the coming Messiah, and also to teach the people the strictness of the law (i.e., to reveal sin). These purposes have been fulfilled in Christ. So to teach now--even indirectly--in the age of the New Covenant that God needs to be paid off with "tithe" so we can stay out of "being cursed" (in jail) proclaims that God is pagan and demands to be approached as such.
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Many people have been blessed by exercising their faith through tithing, but the reason is not because of 10%, but because they gave *in faith*. The same thing often happens with Seventh-day Adventists (or other Sabbatarians) who believe th...ey must keep Saturday as the Sabbath day. When they choose to suffer for what they think God wants them to do, usually God will honor that faith because they are honestly seeking Him, and He loves our faith, even if it's mistaken.
It's like a toddler trying to learn to walk -- we as parents are proud even if they don't do it right, perfectly, or if the stumble and fall. The fact that they're trying makes us proud and rush to embrace them. How much more does God feel that way with us when we try to please Him in steps of faith?
The fact that it is Him responding to *faith* (not an amount or a particular day) is obvious because, ironically, you can find testimonies of people being blessed because they refused to work on *Sundays*! Just like in Adventism you hear stories about being blessed when turning down work on Saturday (etc.), you can find the same kinds of stories about when *Sunday* Sabbatarians have refused work on Sunday. In both cases God responded to the peoples' faith. It wasn't the day, it was that Daddy was touched by their growth steps, and chose to allow it to help strengthen their faith *in Him*. Not in the "day", whether Saturday or Sunday, or the amount, whether 10% or whatever.
And now that we are no longer bound by shadows (Sabbaths, temples, tithes, priests, etc.) we are called to live in Christ and walk in His Spirit, moment by moment. Just as we may now live in Sabbath-rest 24/7 in Him, in the same way our "giving" is also meant to be moment by moment in Him, guided by His Spirit as He leads, not fixed by law in order to be protected from His wrath, or to pay back a debt of having "robbed" Him, or to be protected from being "cursed", or to secure blessings from Him. He longs for *relationship* with us now instead. =)
I read an article about a pagan paying the witch doctor to protect him. Suddenly, I realized that I was in the same boat. It didn't start out that way. But when the reality that I was over extending ourselves and neglecting family responsibilities to meet the tithe, local budget, and missions; it hit me. I was afraid to stop. I thought God wouldn't take care of me.
Needless to say when I stopped there was black lash. I was removed from teaching and speaking. But ultimately God sent an SDA preacher that didn't preach the money sermon. Ultimately they tried to fire him...
Jesus said owe No One anything except to love one another. Get out of debt. Keep your 401k.
Pick a number you can do. Tithe your time.
Don't give with a pagan heart out of fear.
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