One of the more disheartening thing I've realized over the last year is how few Christians give even a minimum of what Christian teaching requires. A recent study shows that of those who claim to be Christians, more than 25% give away NOTHING, not $5 to their churches or charity each year. Thirty-two per cent of evangelicals give away less than 2% of their income. Only 27% actually tithe ("tithe" by definition means ten, or 10%). Pathetic.
Not only do I hate the implications, the absolute stinginess of a group that claims to be all about loving God and their fellow man, but this results in further and further government intrusion into our lives and wallets. If Christians won't obey their command to take care of the poor, widows, and elderly, well then, the government will step in and take our money and do it for us. And study after study shows that the government doesn't do it nearly so well, and it costs more.
I'm fortunate that I was raised tithing before I even knew what money could get me. Everything was provided for me when my grandparents would give me money for a birthday or Christmas and my parents would teach me that 10% of it went into the offering plate the next week at church. It was no skin off my back. We're doing the same thing with Ben and I love it when he says, "This is God's." He hasn't gotten the 10% down yet and he loves to give the whole thing away.
The result of this education has been that tithing has not been difficult for me. Giving beyond that has been a real struggle and continues to be as I think, "Save for a down payment or send off money to a ministry whose results I may never see." I'm still working on this and praying on this and as a family, we have made a commitment to give more away and put it in the budget so I don't spend as much time debating with my selfish nature every month.
The same study (Passing the Plate) found that collectively, those in this country who say their faith is "very important" to them and who attend church more than twice a month are in themselves wealthy enough to be admitted to the G7, the group of the world's seven largest economies. And if this group were to simply tithe (even just their after-tax earnings), it would add another $46 million to ministry. What an amazing difference we could make in this world. And not even the money; when people give of the things they treasure, what they give to becomes their treasure. Soon their actions follow. Volunteerism and giving are inextricably linked.
For me, this information has strengthened my resolve to help our family live within our means, stay out of debt, and live more simply than our culture deems we should. Giving is something I want to make an addiction of, and something I want my children to embrace as they grow to understand that everything they have is from God and really belongs to Him anyway.
Source: Scrooge Lives! by Rob Moll, Christianity Today, December 2008
3 comments:
I love what our pastor says--How can we ever presume to GIVE anything to God. It's already His. Tithing is an act of obedience and faith.
But you're right--it's easier when you've been in the habit of doing it all your life.
Amen. I think of this all the time when I'm sitting through legislative budget meetings when we're talking about housing/clothing/feeding the elderly and poor.
Ahh, what a catch-22 this is.
Churches don't take care of the needy, so government does, so people don't give to church because government takes their money without their permission, so fewer churches take care of the needy, so more people expect government to do what churches and individuals should really be doing.
I wonder how many people realize that there was a day when government did not take care of orphans, widows, those who were hungry or homeless, etc. In fact, it is a fairly modern idea for governments to provide education!
Churches and individuals were long responsible for taking care of those who were less fortunate or in need. They provided schools, hospitals, orphanages, etc.
Having also been raised to give "the first 10%" of everything I received or earned, I find it sad that so many Christians ignore this basic Biblical principle.
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