1st Corinthians 16:2, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.”
Contrary to what most preachers have probably told you, there is nothing in the New Testament that commands anyone to tithe 10% of their income. You cannot show it to me! I have met umpteen angry people, mad at preachers who have lied to them their whole life about tithing 10%. I don't blame them for being upset, because it is a horrible thing to manipulate people to get their money.
As our text Bible verse says, every man ought to give only as GOD HATH PROSPERED HIM. You ought never tithe when you owe money and are in debt. God loves a cheerful giver, but not someone who is shady and doesn't pay their bills on time. Some preachers will tell you that you ought to pay God first. I get mad at preachers for saying stuff like that, because it is not Biblical. If you are in debt to man, you need to pay your debts first. Everything that you own belongs to God if you are a Christian. We are bought with a price the Bible says, and that price is the precious blood of Jesus (1st Corinthians 6:20; 1st Peter 1:18-19).
I think it is very wrong for any pastor to pressure you to give 10%, when all his bills are paid. When pastors need money, they go to the pulpit and pressure the church congregation. But when you fall behind financially, you have to sign-up for overtime at work. I realize that this is a heated topic, and I couldn't care less who gets offended. I believe in tithing, but the Bible says to God as God has PROSPERED YOU! That means if you work a minimum wage job you likely cannot give anything!
Kindly, my former wife was always a die-hard tither at church, after she divorced me in 2006. But she'd come to me for money when she needed things, and I always bought it for her. I never once have denied her requests for money, and never will as long as I have some to give her. However, she couldn't tithe if I didn't voluntarily give her money. I think that is messed up! If you are tithing because you believe it is right and proper, but then you have to go ask other people for money, that is not good. I give her money because I love her with God's unconditional love, and I understand her faith and beliefs. But right now I am teaching you. I think charity starts at home, and then the church comes second. Preachers will tell you that by giving money to their church, you are giving it to God. Well, there are many ways to give to God. A lot of churches waste money! A lot of churches pay ridiculous salaries to their pastors. I get sick knowing that some churches pay 6-digit salaries to their pastor.
I know some Christians will disagree with me. That is fine! What saith the Scripture? You cannot show me anywhere in the New Testament where God requires a 10% tithe! In the Old Testament, the Jews were required to tithe a tenth of all they owned to the priestly Levite tribe. If the other eleven tribes didn't tithe, the Levite priests and their families didn't eat! Today, anybody can open a church and claim to be God's man. As we all know, most churches today are pathetic. It would be a wonderful thing if people all stopped tithing, and about 340,000 of the estimated 350,000 churches in America closed their doors permanently!!!
The Bible teaches in our text passage for every man to give as he is able, according to how much God has already prospered him. False preachers tell you to give to get, but the Bible says to give to the Lord's work as God has already blessed you with money. In our corrupt U.S. economy, where tens of millions of jobs have been eliminated, outsourced to foreign countries, tens of millions of U.S. citizens cannot find decent jobs. And then to add insult to injury, U.S. citizens have to compete for the low paying jobs with criminal illegal immigrants!
I hate when pastors pressure their congregations to give more money, while never mentioning a word about the criminals in our government who have betrayed the people, taking away their jobs. And then we are insulted further by being constantly reminded by the rich and successful that American is the land of opportunity. Yeah right! In other words, when Uncle Sam gives your job away to China, it is your fault if you are not ambitious and skilled enough to figure out how to survive and make ends meet! What scumbags! I'm talking about your Congress, Senate, U.S. Presidents and the whole rotten damned government.
God's curse is deservedly upon America! Our love for sin as a nation has made us weak, foolish and vulnerable to all manner of deception. Kindly said, it doesn't matter if Donald Trump or Joe Biden runs the White House, because the ungodly New World Order will continue, no matter what, until Jesus Christ returns in the future to destroy the whole corrupt world system and put the soon coming Antichrist down. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!!!
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