a friend and i were discussing the issue of tithes and this question came up. "when one has defaulted paying in his tithes, say for half a year or a year even, and then repents of his unfaithfulness. should he pay his tithes for the period he has "stolen fron God", or he starts afresh from where he is and moves on?

Clayton Kaila,

I believe God wants us to be generous and regular to your local church. Read Malachi 3:8-10. God knows are heart and loves a cheerful giver(2 Corinthians 9:7). I believe your friend needs to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide him or her in deciding wheter to pay back the months he stayed away or start fresh. I have gone through this myself and the Holy Spirit led me to tithe more into my Local Church and expand my tithing into other ministries that are a blessing to all souls. God is a good God, and I just have to trust his lead. Your friend is in my prayers and know wheter he pays back or starts fresh, his heart is in the right place.

May the Lord continue to Bless your Friend as they draw nearer to the Lord.

Blessings to both of you!!!!

I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. Romans 1:11-12

John Trevino

I agree with John
If you decide to start fresh, I hope you will not feel condemned. Repenting is probably sufficient. God knows we will stuumble sometimes.

We must never allow ANYTHING we do to become a legalistic checklist. Each day we must rise as a new creation and say "God, here I am! What would you have me do today?"

I believe God would much rather we come before Him daily and ask what we should do than for us to give a tithe blindly and think we are being pleasing to God.

There is no such thing as "defaulting on a tithe." Each day we are either obedient to God or we are disobedient. And obedience or disobedience is not defined as paying our tithe. Rather, it is listening to His Spirit and walking in the way He tells us to go.

I pray this makes sense.

i sincerely appreciate the help i have got from Pax, John, and Steve. i equally believe that we cannot create a "checklist" which when we follow we think we are made right with God. we would not be walking in the righteousness of God which is through faith, not works.

again, thank you. and may the mercies of God be your portion everyday!

It was last year end of June when I decided to tithe faithfully and pledge. I did, but I had a car accident one week later which puts me in debts. Again this year I gave my first tithe end of June and pledge. On friday 04/07/2003 I had a car accident.

At this stage my mind is trying to absorb and fully understand Steve's response.

Please give me a word.
God bless u.

Dudu - First of all, I'm very sorry to hear about your car accident. I pray that God will reveal Himself in a mighty way during this time!

The issue with tithing is really the same as with all of God's laws; while it is useful to teach the Law, we don't obey the law, we obey and follow Christ. The law was to teach us about sin and prepare us for Christ.

Colossians 2:17
"These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ."

The reality of the "law" of tithing is that Christ is to be the Lord of our finances.

It is possible to faithfully tithe without ever making Christ the Lord of your finances. It is also possible to faithfully follow Christ and have Him be absolute Lord of your finances without ever giving a 10% tithe. The tithe does not define Lordship - seeking God's direction and being absolutely obedient to His leading defines Lordship!

Hopefully this doesn't just confuse matters more!

Hi Dudu
Colossians 2:17
"These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
I would like to give you a requested word based on that scripture.

Tithe being part of the Law is just a shadow of things to come.
Similarly like a circumcision; under the Law in regards to the flesh, in Christ - in regards to the hart.
We dont have to circumcise our body now, but as Christ followers we have to circumcise our harts.Rom.2.29
Similarly with tithe. We dont have to follow the letter and give 10% of income to the Temple (assuming thats possible), but we have to give genorously to the poor brother in need, and according to our abilities 2Cor.8.11-13 not just literal 10%. Otherwise, if we can help brother in need we are not Christ followers 1John3.15-18.

There is also another danger of following the letter of the Law;- separating from Christ, beying fallen off from the grace Gal.5.4
I hope that will make sense to you
Ed
edeks@hotmail.com

Ed

Hi Dudu & Clayton,

Firstly Dudu I hope u r back on the road to recovery. This has been much in my heart as well and has been quite challenging at times. When I have not tithed it is because I had no where to tithe or felt comfortable about leaving God's resources. U see the churches here feel dead, and at times are ineffective in this area. Also being a nondenominationalist in a denominalist area, where do I go, where do I tithe...So I offered myself to God, I offered my son, I used God's resources at the Holy Spirit's promptings and now I am offering my home to him, for him to use, not that they are mine everything is his anyway.

Tithing and offering is not just about finances, it is about our love, time, effort, our minds, our lives etc....Do we just tithe 10% to God, or do we just love God 10% or just give 10% of our time, effort, energy....God is suppose to be our all, our everything; the 10% is a base line figure the least we can give God. Tithing or offering is not about just giving it to a church, it is about putting it where God wants u to put it and how much he wants to give is up to him, u will know because this info will come to u. It is all to be done for his Glory in Jesus' name.

Jesus said, render unto Cesar what belongs to Cesar, render unto God what belongs to God...Whether u tithe or not it is up to the Holy Spirit's promptings in your lives. Whether u pay it back or not is also up to God. It depends on whether u want ur life blessed or not...

"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts,if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it" (Malachi 3:10).

It also depends whether u would like to have a generous nature and be truly giving for the Lord. Sometimes tithing is about giving in the Lord's name, the sharing of resources as they did in the first church in Acts, everyone's needs were met because everyone shared. God wants us to be cheerful givers not giving begrudgingly or with disbelief or a tight fist still hanging on to it, until the last possible time. Can u imagine what could be done if every person just started being Generous for the Lord, a lot of what brings people down could be used to really bless people and lift them up out of their circumstances because God starts to open the heavens and pours his blessings upon us. Also what we sow we reap, sow a little reap a little.

love and blessings in the Lord,

Serenity

God does want us to give an be generous to others but not in the way of tithing. For the beleiver today, the ones saved by the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the new testament tells us what we are to do with the money we have and it never once mentions tithnig. Please, don't say, just because it's not mentioned doesn't mean it's not for us. Those are the words of man. The words of one who wants money. Tithing is not only old testament, Law of Moses, that does not apply to gentiles. Tithing was never, even in the bible, monetary. If, and that's a strong if, we were supposed to tithe we'd have to do it the way the bible says. Look it up in the books Moses wrote. It's all there, what tithing was, how it was supposed to be. The one thing you will not find is a place where anyone, not even Abraham, [B]ever[/B] tithed money.

Hi DGBagby,

I am sorry but Tithing/Offering is part of the new testament...

The community of possessions

Acts 4:33-35,

And with great power gave the apostles withness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.


Remember what happened to Ananias and Sapphira when they try to deceive the early church about the money of the land that they received to share with others. They were killed..Acts 5:1-16

What about Jesus looking at the tithing and said about the widow who could only give two coins "And he looked up and saw the rich men casting their gifts into th treasury. and he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he siad, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had. (Luke 21:1-3)

And in 2 Cor 8:1-14 Paul was talking about the generosity of the churches of Macedonia...and there is an intersting verse..."You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; rich as he was, he made himself poor for your sake, in order to make you rich by means of his poverty" (2 Cor 8:9).

Why would he make us rich?

So you will always have all you need, and more than enough for every good cause. He who gives generously to the needy; his kindness lasts for ever" (2 Cor 9:8-9).

Paul also talks about sowing and reaping:

Remember the person who sows few seed will have a small crop; the one who sows many seeds will have a large crop. Each one should give, then, as he has decided, not with regret or out of a sense of duty; for God loves the one who gives gladly. (2 Cor 9:6-7).

Christ will not come back until the Gospel is preached throughout the world, it costs money in this world for this to happen. Our leaders, churches etc...need finances in order to do God's work and spread the gospel. Also we are to share what we have with those in need, Paul says so. It is our responsiblity to do what God wants us and calls us to do. If u don't want to give that is between u and God, if others are compelled to tithe that is between them and God. Giving leads to generosity, loving acts of kindness and freedom from greed/coveting/envy. What better way to give than to support those that do amazing things in the name of Christ, by doing that u sow in good soil, when the holy spirit waters it, then it comes back multiplied with a multitude of blessings the bible says so....Malachi 3:10

love and blessings in the Lord,

Serenity

God’s covenant with Israel was a covenant of love. Therefore, when we study what God asked them to do, we need to ask ourselves what was behind the request such as tithes. Through the tithe system God taught them that everything belongs to Him. They were to recognize His generosity and with a grateful heart be generous in return.

For example, part of the tithe was for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, (Deut 14:28,29). There were freewill offerings and a portion for the priests so they would be taken care of. It taught them a sense of responsibility of seeing that everyone was taken care of.

While I do not believe we have a “tithe system” in place now, all of the teachings gleaned from it are still applicable. The Lord wants us to have a generous heart towards Him and others. When He is first in our lives we give of the first we have received back to Him as a "thank offering" in recognition of all that He has done for us.

Blessings,

Chelki

Exodus 34:6

Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;"

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" -- Jesus, the Messiah!, our salvation.

[This message was edited by Chelki on January 17, 2004 at 11:14 AM.]

To: SerenityStyle

I'm sorry to say this but your last paragraph tells your real motivation for keeping tithing. Money. Tithing is not a principle of the new testament nor are any of the examples you gave proof of it. I've read all of them you gave and there's not tithing principle there. In those you provided, it was about giving money for the needy. Tithing was never money and it was not volentary. It was food based and MANDITORY.

Churches want to keep tithing for money purposes only. That's it. They need money and use the tithing system because it guarentees then a certain amount, 10%.

The examples you gave in the NT were about giving but not on the principles of tithing. There was no "LAW", not commandment and no set value. It was always volentary and to help "others" not for the apostles. Plus, I notice you never mentioned my last point.... tithing was never monitary.

The world system has minipulated this principle for years. I don't expect those who "want" the blessings promised them by preachers or those who "need" the finances to continue their ministries, and not to mention their lifestyles, to see the scriptures clearly for what they are. From what I've seen and heard, many preach it and teach it because it's all about what they can get.

Me, I care about Christ and what I need to do for the better of my salvation. God takes care of my needs and he always has. I don't desire to be rioh in wealth. My desire is to be rich in Christ.

He died and gave us His Spirit and Salvation by grace. Tithing will never get you into heaven nor will not tithing keep you out. Of the books you mentioned you skiopped Galatians. The people of Galatia were shamed for following "another gospel". Read it for yourself.

Just so you don't think I forgot, yes, giving is important but search the scriptures. Giving was always incouraged to help others in need. Even the scriptures you referenced say that. Just like tithing, in the old testament, was for the benefit of those who did not have.

Today, churches use tithes to fill their pockets. The cares of the people are a second priority. Preaching tithing today fills people with a giving to get mentality. Someone told me herself that she doesn't want to cut off her source of blessings. She wants to get her house. The motivation becomes more of "what we can get" rather than "who we can help".

Recieving a letter from a family that was able to buy badly needed groceries because ofthe money you gave them is MUCH better than the thank you letter for giving a donation to a church. That's what's lost in this world, the practice of helping others with NO expectation of anything in return.

We give to those in need are God takes good care of us! Seek Him first!

Dear Chelki,

Nice wordplay. You said "While I do not believe we have a “tithe system” in place now, all of the teachings gleaned from it are still applicable. The Lord wants us to have a generous heart towards Him and others. When He is first in our lives we give of the first we have received back to Him as a "thank offering" in recognition of all that He has done for us."

While there isn't one scripture to back this up it's thinking like that leads many people to do what ever they are told by others rather than what the Bible itself says. People who "want" their lived to improve will do anything someone in authority tells them in order to get it. It's just like that notion I heard as a child of weraring your best clothes for God. As if God cared about how well one is dressed.

He is not impressed by things like this.

The discussion has brought up the idea that tithes are not referred to in the New Testament. Actually, there are a few instances where tithe occurs in the NT.
In Matt 23:23, Jesus says, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done and not to leave the other undone." I read this to say that paying tithe ought to be done, but that the individual should also have faith and mercy as well. Giving tithe is hardly a blessing if one does not love those who will be converted by the use of tithe.
Furthermore, as to the question of whether tithes represented money, in the Old Testament, the tithe was described as a tenth "of all thine increase." Since money as we know it was not in use many centuries ago, and wealth was counted in cattle, sheep, land, jewelry, even salt, the people gave a tenth of what they had gained in possessions.
It is certainly worthwhile to give to the poor; in fact, in the OT times, the Jews gave a second tithe to the poor every third year. It is necessary to pay to support the spreading of the gospel through ministers, missionaries, and evangelists. If you feel your church is not using God's money wisely, seek a church that is faithful in this regard, and you will be blessed to be a part of the salvation of souls for whom Christ died.

Lydia,

I certainly agree with Matt 23:23! A portion of the tithe was also for those going to Jerusalem for the feast days. I tend to think of the "tithe" connected to the Temple service. What is taught in the Scripture does not preclude us from giving of the firstfruits of what we have been given or giving out of our abundance.

Blessings,

Chelki

Exodus 34:6

Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;"

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" -- Jesus, the Messiah!, our salvation.

To DGBagby,

I read ur post to my response and I must say how wrong ur assumptions of me r. I would expect that to come from non believers but when they come from believers it hits me like a whammy and yes it hurts.

U have no idea of whom I am or what I go through, perhaps before u write posts that r clouded with the issues u have about tithing and Church, u might like to ask urself whom am I writing to, what are they going through, will this uplift them or will this be attacking for them. U might also like to take the opportunity of reading Steve's post about the Opportunity of words, if u have not done so.

The lord kept ur response away from me because my life has been difficult enough and things like this can throw me off balance....Why because my son's and my nervous system have to be retrained right now. We deal with 14 different medical problems, and some of them r big, chronic and we deal with them basically alone with God, with little or no community/family, medical support. Instead of saying I am this or that, u might simply like to say I disagree and perhaps u might even pray for us.

If u want to know who I am u might like to read my old posts or perhaps u might like to email me and asked me and learn something about someone else.

Jesus says we don't have to defend ourselves because the Holy Spirit will defend us. So now I call on the Holy Spirit to guide me as I reply to ur post, in Jesus' name.

U wrote:

I'm sorry to say this but your last paragraph tells your real motivation for keeping tithing. Money.

Response:

No my motivation was in the first sentence of the last paragraph:

Christ will not come back until the Gospel is preached throughout the world, it costs money in this world for this to happen.

U said the examples I use didn't have tithing in them, for instance with this one, where in here did tithing not take place?...

Acts 4:33-35,

And with great power gave the apostles withness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

U said...

Churches want to keep tithing for money purposes only. That's it. They need money and use the tithing system because it guarentees then a certain amount, 10%.

Response:

Not all churches do this

U write:


Plus, I notice you never mentioned my last point.... tithing was never monitary.

Response:

U didn't mention all my points either...

I agree with u that tithing or giving, which to me r the same thing needs to be voluntary not enforced and I add it needs to come from a loving, open heart so that it is done with love, not from a tight fist of someone not really wanting to do it.

U said

Me, I care about Christ and what I need to do for the better of my salvation. God takes care of my needs and he always has. I don't desire to be rioh in wealth. My desire is to be rich in Christ.

Response:

And u think I don't care? I don't desire wealth, I have no interest in it only for what it can be used to do, if I did then I live in the wrong place . I don't desire to be rich in Christ, I am rich in Christ.

U wrote:

He died and gave us His Spirit and Salvation by grace. Tithing will never get you into heaven nor will not tithing keep you out. Of the books you mentioned you skiopped Galatians. The people of Galatia were shamed for following "another gospel". Read it for yourself.

Response:

Only God decides who will be in Heaven, thank Goodness. Just because I didn't mention Galations, doesn't mean I haven't read it. U C I write automatically without thought from me it just flows out. Ur last words Read it for urself is an attack not spoken with love.


U said:

Just so you don't think I forgot, yes, giving is important but search the scriptures. Giving was always incouraged to help others in need. Even the scriptures you referenced say that. Just like tithing, in the old testament, was for the benefit of those who did not have.

Response:

Here u present a contradiction in ur argument, u acknowledge Tithing in the old testament was for the benefit for those who do not have, then why would that be any different in the New Testament? Then u write Giving was always encouraged to help others in need. Isn't tithing and giving here the same thing? We should always give, tithe so that everyone can have their needs met, including the churches.

U wrote:

Today, churches use tithes to fill their pockets. The cares of the people are a second priority. Preaching tithing today fills people with a giving to get mentality. Someone told me herself that she doesn't want to cut off her source of blessings. She wants to get her house. The motivation becomes more of "what we can get" rather than "who we can help".

Response:

I think u need to change churches if this is what u think of them or just not go to them and really search ur heart and pray about ur attitude about God's church (the Body of Christ). Yes tithing can produce that giving to receive....I want to tithe because I want people to feel God's blessings. I want to tithe, so I can and others can feel blessed. I want to tithe because I want to experience the truth of the bible in my life/my son's life and so it will have greater impact...I want to tithe so my spirit experiences generosity, I want to tithe so what the Lord does through me will make a difference, I want to tithe so we can experience God's truth in action...

Tithing/giving is not about money, it is about dedicating what we r giving to the Lord and using everything, including our income, hands and time, voices, heart, home, family etc.. to doing what the Lord's wants us to do with them....I also don't believe in the 10% principle, but in the 100% principle of trusting in what the Lord wants us to do and what he wants us to give, I never decide the figure or what is required for us it comes into my head and my son's head and enters into our hearts so it is done with love and unity.


U wrote:

Recieving a letter from a family that was able to buy badly needed groceries because ofthe money you gave them is MUCH better than the thank you letter for giving a donation to a church. That's what's lost in this world, the practice of helping others with NO expectation of anything in return.

Response:

For me it feels the same thing. I love receiving thankyous no matter if it is someone that has just had their electricity bill paid for them and they had no idea how it was going to be done or whether it comes from a church that is saying thankyou for being a part of beaming the gospel around the world.

U see I love to sow in good soil, no matter if it is an individual or a church that is the recipients of the Lord's blessings and it is always revealed to me who those recipients will be, I don't choose the people who the Lord chooses to give through us, the Lord does.

U write:

We give to those in need are God takes good care of us! Seek Him first!

Response:

I agree with this and please don't assume that I have not sort the Lord first. U C I gave up everything the Lord wanted me to give up and so did Dylan (my son 11), the Lord is first and foremost in our lives...we don't watch the media or participate in what the Lord does not want us to, we have walked away from relationships he wanted us to....as a result we have been blessed with a greater relationship with him and our faith have become unshakeable.

All through ur post I could feel no love through it, I could feel cynacism, attacks, judgements and criticism and I wonder where in your writing was Jesus commandments Love God first and above all else and Love ur neighbour as u would love urself. Or where was the do not judge others...I will pray that these spirits will leave u and that the Lord will break open ur heart so that u feel so much compassion, love for all and that what u write is inspiring and encouraging....in Jesus' name, amen.

love and blessings in the Lord,

Serenity.

TITHING! TITHING! TITHING! A very nice topic that you would never want to stop reading about. My perception is that you are blessed in all aspects. The majority xtians look at the payback from God(because they've met an obligation) and that is very wrong because we are simply following the bible law. On the other hand, Yes God multiplies our wealth(barns) but not necessarily each time we tithe. We get protection, providence, promotions thru' titing. Infact I agree with Serenity when he/she says: Tithing and offering is not just about finances, it is about our love, time, effort, our minds, our lives etc....Do we just tithe 10% to God, or do we just love God 10% or just give 10% of our time, effort, energy....God is suppose to be our all, our everything; the 10% is a base line figure the least we can give God. TITHING OR OFFERING IS NOT ABOUT JUST GIVING IT TO A CHURCH, it is about putting it where God wants u to put it and HOW MUCH HE WANTS TO GIVE IS UP TO HIM"

Clayton, when you fail to pay your tithe(or default as you put it here) God already knows what you are going through or what motives or attitude you have towards tithing. He knows better that all of us. When you say defaulting, I dont know whether it is by coincidence or intentional. Maybe you had a problem. Maybe you actually didn't have what to tithe! God knows

My problem with tithing is when I get my wages and find that my immediate needs are overwhelming that I can hardly tithe. Am not saying God becomes secondary but I want to use my brains to meet my needs with what God has given me, or helped me to earn. It's so confusing. Say I need to pay rent on time, power bill on time, my daughter's fees in full & also visit her, wooh! the list is endless... Anyhow, I try as much as possible to pay my tithe. Infact it's what I consider first B4 anything else. When I fail to pay I try to double the tithe the following month.

When I fail to pay, I dont want to feel guilty because at the same time I dont want to feel pain when paying it. I want to be a CHEERFUL GIVER. It can become tricky & confusing. Steve please give more light on this one too.

God bless and hey! brothers & sisters, dont stop tithing. You dont know why you have that special protection in that house all by yourself, you dont know why you have never been involved in any accident, U dont know why U were unhurt in that fatal train crash, you dont why you always have food in your house, you dont know why U always have someone who gives you clothes & shoes even if you earn just enough to cater for that! Ask yourself why and know that your blessings are a result of your faithful tithing.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: <MJCARES>,

Hi MJ,

Amen....as for strugging paying tithes...please don't struggle, rest in the Lord's faith, sometimes our tithes going into our temple our restoration, however the Lord places what needs to be done in my heart for others, sometimes I am required to pay more, other times the Lord wants me to bless the creditors. U C what I have is the Lord's, he gave it all to us, which also includes stewardship and looking after it...and also distributing. I have been required to give a lot and not much was coming to me, I really didn't need it and it was wonderful the joy in experience the I really needed this thankyou and I say thankyou to the Lord for using me to bless others. Today I was blessed with someone giving me some much needed books. I have bought books plenty and before I am even finished the person I have to give it to comes into my mind and I know this person needs it, how can I say no, I don't get to keep them even if I really like them...sometimes if I really like it and still feel the Lord wants me to keep it I will go out and buy that book for that person. This is what I do, because it comes from the guidance of the Holy Spirit, for someone else it may be completely different.

Please don't be pressured about tithing and the Lord knows you have bills to take care of, place your trust in him and u will walk right on through with a stronger faith. Sometimes the stretching principle needs to be prayed, the Lord here is my income and all you have given me, you know what needs to be distributed and what is a blessing to others, my family and myself...I ask that you stretch all that I have, just like was done when Jesus asked you to bless the fish and the loaves, many people ate because of You, our Saviour and a small boy...I call upon you to stretch what I have so it is enough to meet every good need. May I always hear your promptings through the Holy Spirit, whatever you lead me to do, I will do...I live by your faith and I know, that my family and I will always have our needs met no matter what because u look after all your children. I give you my all dear Lord, I give you my heart, in Jesus' name, Amen...

love and blessings in the Lord,

Serenity

SerenityStyle, you are such an angel. Thx for your responses on Fasting & tithing . These are a blessing. God bless you too. Am still fasting I put both of you in my prayers. May God meet all your needs.

Doxa, thx for your response to fasting too. I had written to you privately. Am just eager to hear from you. Plz check your private GDW mail. I can only know this the following day as our times differ. God bless you too.

Although I have practiced tithing for almost twenty years, I agree that it is not required to keep our salvation, which is by grace, not works lest any man should boast. I think DGBagbee had some good points that were backed up with scripture and included analytical thinking, something rarely taught in church today.

Tithing in the old testament is not the same as giving to the poor. It was to support the Temple in Jerusalem. We still need to support our local churches today. They have utility bills and mortgages just like we do. The tithe is a good general rule of giving, but it isn't a law under the current dispensation.

It is easy to become cynical about tithing with so many high-profile ministries making such a big deal out of being prosperous and giving to get. I was that way for a long time. The motive for giving should be to bless and obey the Lord, not to get something in return. I heard it preached many times that it will take money to spread the gospel. I don't see it that way. It costs me nothing to tell my neighbors and co-workers about Christ. Many times giving money to a ministry to spread the gospel becomes an excuse not to spread it ourselves. We should give to the poor, the church, and ministries that spread the Word, but we also need to pay our bills and care for our families, and continue to share the gospel ourselves.

What I find helpful when I cannot see how to pay my tithe is to pray, "Lord, I really want to pay my tithe this month. Please make a way for me to do it." I have been amazed at how often I have received unexpected money after praying this way. It works the other way around too. If I have paid my tithe and now I don't have money for a pressing need, I pray specifically for that need to be fulfilled. God really does answer these prayers! He is a good God. May He bless you this day.

This is a long topic & I didnt read all of what went before, but for a while it looked like it was getting kinda weird so I will also throw my 2 cents in... "Therefore I said, hearken to me; I also will show mine opinion." Job 32:10
There are manay aspects to tithing, 1st of all I am pretty sure that it was instituted in the nation of Isreal for the purpose of feeding the Levites, who had no land as a possesion but the work of god was their inheritance (Numbers 18:23-24) so because they had no feilds to plough, no crops to harvest, God wanted to make sure that they ate every day; there is also the issue of a surplus, wich according to one pastor's intrerpetation of the verse in Malachi when God pours out a blessing that cannot be recieved was in actuality some sort of feast where the Levites gave back to the communty & everyone got a chance to eat of the tithes (if you don't agree its ok, but David did eat the showbread). There is the consideration that the doctrine of tithes is much older than the covenant in mount siani, because Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek - now if I am not mistaken it said that he paid tithes of all he had - so that would seem to me to include money (If they used money in Abraham's time) I am pretty sure they had gold & silver shekels wich would serve the same purpose. So for someone to have said that tithes were never monetary sounds foolish. Tithes are "the firstfruits of all your increase", so however you are increasing, that is how you should be tithing. However there is that passage that was mentioned earlier by someone else that Jesus said the Pharisees paid tithes of mint & cumin & that brings me to the point that in the new testament he said that we should tithe. But getting back to the feeding of the preists, I dont know how it works, but I think that a high percentage of the clergy of today have some other job on the side, Paul was a tent maker & he said "What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not the gospel." 1 Cor 9:18. I have a feeling that we are under a different dispensation than that of the early Jews at sinai. It is up to God to direct the current recievers of our tithes as for it's usage. I personally dont appreciate that every pastor I ever met drives a car & I can't afford one, every pastor I ever met has a nice suit or 6 that costs hundreds of dollars & I can't afford one, however without that car & suit that pastor probably wouldn't be in the position to give the word to ppl who only respect suits & cars; so who knows? There are pastors who use tithes for community improvement programs like schools & community centers where kids can go & have a good time in a christian environment. So even if our current priests don't need to be fed by the tithes (some may) there is never a shortage of good causes that the money can be put to use. In the old days (before I was born) it was the church's joy, priveledge & responsibility to provide education & social security, not the state's (at the rate that the government spends our social security money on other things, we may have to rely on the church again for that & soon). Some pastors may spend the money unwisely (bad business decisions), or frivolously (extravagant parties), or even disobediently (on something like prostitutes); but the pastors' disobedience has no bearing on our disobedience. And the sins of our teachers don't give us an excuse to sin. When we go before God to be judged according to our works (Rev 20:12) we will not have to give an account of our pastors' use of our tithe money, we will however have to give an account of why we didn't tithe. Just as your pastor will have to answer for his own actions. And if you feel like your pastor isn't using the tithes wisely then ask God if he wants you in a different church home, or to confront that pastor & tell him your concerns, perhaps you can lead him to a better understanding of godly finances. I still regret keeping my mouth shut & running away when I had known in my heart that my pastor was making a mistake. My fear of having the whole church house call me a heretic & throw things at me took over.
There is also the issue of the widow's mite... She offered a penny, surely not 10% of her earnings unless she got 10 cents a week or month or whatever & if she got that little how could she live? In any case Jesus said that she gave more than ppl who were pouring out money into the collection plate. So as steve mentioned, it is an issue of obedience, moreso then a legalistic ritual.
There is another issue still, namely that God owns everything & doesnt need anything of ours... "I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the feild are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell thee: for the world is mine and the fullness thereof." 50 Ps 9-12. Tithing is not an issue that we can just summarily dismiss with the rest of the old testament laws like tattos for instance, because of the mentions of it made in the new testament. However it doesn't seem a critical issue like faith in Jesus or repentance from dead works. Tithes are kinda like ummm a test of your heart; I heard that whatever you spend the most of your time, money & energy on is your God. So if you say you love God, but spend all your time, money & energy on comic books, do you really love God, or do you love comic books? James said "...shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works." Jas 2:18b, This looks like it applies here - a great deal in fact I would care to wager. I understand that a lotta times in this society we can spend more than 90% of our incomes on bills alone, but then we gotta think is our car, our 2 bedroom house, our other material items that we are paying these bills for more important than God? How about we think about living below our means instead of above them; then there would be enough to pay those tithes, because it is not so much that a mean God wants 10%, it is more like a gracious God owns 100% but he allows you to have 90% - hey when I look at it like that paying tithes are not hard at all! I mean look at it like this: Jesus sacrifieced his very life for us! Can't we repay the favor by sacrificing some video rentals at the Blockbuster & perhaps that giant screen television or new flat-screen monitor for him?
However I admit that I, personally have a problem with obeying God at all times in this matter. I am quite poor to begin with, making well below the poverty level of income. I think $30.000 a year is middle class (a long time ago) Well still today I make about $12,000 a year if I am lucky, sometimes as low as $7,000 a year. So I have often tried to justify personally not paying my tithes, however I will say this: that when I do pay my tithes, God still meets my needs. As far as the issue of paying back past unpaid tithes I agree with Steve that we gotta pray & ask God his will on our personal situation. Now as far as giving to needy people & calling it tithes, maybe God lets you do that; but he told me that it is wrong for me to do such a thing, when I give to a needy person (hard to find a person more needy than me!) it would fall under 1 of 2 other categories, namely alms or offerings. And one other thing, just that if you give a beggar some money in the name of God & he buys a bottle of wine & further destroys his liver, you may not be doing God any favors... Perhaps if you want to give to the needy think about giving to a food bank, soup kitchen or buying the beggar a meal. Maybe contributing to a community program that helps ppl find jobs. Also there are professional beggars who live in apartments better looking the the closet I live in who get all their income for that apartment from begging. Maybe not many, but they exist.
Just remember that tithing, like every other behavior mentioned in the Bible is a matter of obedience. And Jesus said if you love me keep my commandments. Now each one of us has to pray to God for direction as to where to tithe & how much, a tithe means a tenth, so it is not really an issue of how much, but there are offerings wich go above & beyond the tithe, these ought not to be forgotten.
Also as far as the issue of giving is concerned, I had heard a sermon that went "If we behave like a resivoir, the blessings that God gave us will stagnate, seeing as how they aren't seeing any use. But, if we become a channel, there will be a constant, fresh supply of blessings; because we are not hoarding it to ourselves, but passing it along to others."
One last thing; I wrote this from the perspective of being an american, in america; one of the wealthiest countries in the world - I have no clue wat some of the dynamics are that people deal with in Zimbabwe, where this thread started, I am sure there are different cultural & political considerations there, but the word of God is pure & so at least the scriptures that I gave should be of some assistance.
I hope this may be of some help - or at least get someone to think about a side of the issue that they hadn't seen before. Aloha & God bless you all.

just joined this board and the info on tithes was helpful to me. i always thought it had to be 10% of income.
thanks
finding to lord again