Heard someone comment the other day (and I really ought to be able to attribute this to someone, but can’t remember who it was) that in the Old Testament the tithe was for the poor and that somehow the church today has managed to divert it towards other stuff, like expensive buildings etc. This kinds of relates to my finishing paragraph on this post.
It’s not that I think that the tithe is for today anyway (10% seems a bit odd considering our whole lives ought to be a sacrifice), but it was a great comment!!!
Oh, I know, it was Shane Claibourne speaking at Greenbelt.
How thought provoking is that? how does the church use its tythes? do we use it for making our buildings stand out in a town, like the city on the hill, or for the people in the town? The answer has to lie withwhat Jesus had to say, that whoever is in need we should look after them. Certainly interesting that the suggestion is that the bible would suggest that the tithe should go to helping the poor, I have also heard leaders suggest that there should be no need for many other services in society because the church should provide them. Maybe we sould challenge about where our tithe goes, to ensure that the poor are truly heped and that we are sticking to what Jesus would want us to do with his money.
Another thought, One leaer i heard recently suggested that as we tithed and gave, then it was down to the leaders of the church to decide what to do with the money and the body of the church had no say in that. Not sure I totally agree with that statement, but interested in thoughts.
Just for the record, totally agree, whatever we have is Gods, not sure about just givin 10 percent, that seems a bit of a cheek as Surely God si worth more than htat.
Andy
My take on who decides what to do with your giving is that whoever you have given the money to has absolute freedom to do what it wants with it. Surely we give believing that God is asking us to give to that particular person/group?
If we give to the leaders of a church then that is who we are giving to. In the church that I frequent, members get to vote on stuff – I’m not sure I could believe that the right thing would necessarily happen with the money.
If I didn’t trust the leaders then I wouldn’t give – I can’t be that irresponsible! I guess that this ties in with my understanding of church leadership and whether many leaders should be in the place where they are.
Your comment seems to imply that you don’t 100% trust the ‘leaders of the church’ that you mention… is that the case?
I think that if we trust a leader then we would be thrilled to give them money to use where God tells them to use it.