Let me see if I can talk you out of tithing your income to the Lord through
your church. Here are some reasons not to tithe.
If you do not tithe your income:
Joe McKeever, Pastor, FBC of Kenner
Let me see if I can talk you out of tithing your income to the Lord through
your church. Here are some reasons not to tithe.
If you do not tithe your income:
o You will have more money to spend however you please.
o You can buy a new car twice as often.
o You can wear better and more expensive clothes.
o You will not have to say ‘no’ to your children as frequently.
o You can eat out more often.
o You can travel more, taking real vacations instead of just going to see the
folks.
o You can afford a bigger house in a better neighborhood, because an additional
10 percent of your income can make a big difference.
o You can pay off some of those bills that have been worrying you.
o And when you do give to the church, you can choose where it goes and exactly
what it will fund. You will not be bound by the unified budget the church voted
and tithers support.
o You can spread out your charitable giving and contribute to other causes
that always are asking for money. By not tithing, you have freed up your money
to spend as you please. You are in control.
However, suppose you do decide to tithe.
You consider all the above – plus a few other reasons that we did not think
of – and you determine to give a solid dime-out-of-every-dollar to the Lord
through your local church.
What then?
o You will be honoring the Lord. Read Mark 12:41-44 and see how complimented
Jesus felt by the generous giving of a widow. (Not giving really hurts him,
too. Malachi 3:8.)
o Some of your friends and family will think you have lost your mind. That
is all right – for a time, Jesus’ family thought he had lost his mind, too.
(Mark 3:21)
o You will strengthen your church to do a better job in ministering to people
– locally and worldwide. The church lights stay on, the lawn mower gets gas,
the preacher gets paid and Christian workers travel to plant the Lord’s work
in distant places.
o You might drive your car a couple of years longer than you wished and do
without a few things you could have bought had you not tithed.
o Your church now can re-roof the educational building without borrowing the
money. After all, if the leak is not fixed before long, the entire building
will need replacing.
o Your church can buy that new piano for the worship services – and have it
for children’s recitals and special concerts and Christmas programs.
o You will lay up treasures in heaven. That is in Matthew 6:19-20. On arriving
in heaven, you will discover what compounded interest really means!
o You will set a great example for other believers. See 2 Corinthians 8:1-15.
o Your children will see your example and know you to be a dad or mom who
practices your faith. You put your money where your mouth is. There will be
no “Mommie Dearest” books written about you.
o You will feel great the next time the pastor preaches on money. Sit back
and enjoy it.
o A missionary in Italy will purchase the supplies he needs in his work.
o Some members of your church will be able to travel to El Salvador this summer
and labor alongside our Southern Baptist missionaries.
o You will take a giant step toward liberating yourself from selfishness and
materialism. Take that, greed!
o You will strengthen your faith. Generous giving is faith-driven, not preacher-driven,
impulse-driven, gain-driven, emotion-driven or even need-driven. What drives
and propels our faithful giving to Jesus is faith in him.
o Then, some day, when you look back down the corridor of time and see what
you have done with your life, you will feel good about the way you used your
money for Jesus. I promise
My friend Harold Kitchings, now in heaven, used to tell about an old gentleman
he knew in a Texas church where he served. In the early part of the 20th century,
the man grew wealthy from oil and gave large sums to Baylor University to construct
buildings and educate young Christians. He gave a great deal of money to his
church and even sent his pastor, Dr. George W. Truett, to Europe to preach to
the soldier boys during the First World War.
Then, in the stock market crash of 1929, the man lost his fortune.
One day, a friend who saw how humbly the man was living – and remembered how
wealthy he had once been – asked, “When you think about all the money you
gave away, do you ever wish you had it back?”
The man did not hesitate. “Friend, the only thing I have left is what
I gave away,” he said.
One day, you will find out that everything you have given to God through the
years you still have – forever, with interest and in heavenly currency.
Talk about a great investment.
In the last book of the Old Testament, God says, “Bring all the tithes
into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. And test me now in this,
if I will not open for you the windows of Heaven and pour out for you a blessing
until it overflows.” (Malachi 3:10)
Jesus said, “Give and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed
down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap.” (Luke
6:38)
This may be the best reason of all to give – obedience.