The Wilful Sunflower

You know, you'd think all the stuff you've written gets buried in obscurity under the newer stuff, but Google does a pretty good job of keeping it alive.

I recently got a new comment on an old post I wrote about tithing (paying 10% of one's income to God, or to the church). I was conflicted about the whole tithing issue then, and this comment reminded me that I'm still conflicted about the issue now.

We want desperately to give ourselves spiritually to this religion -- but how can we??? We have almost nothing left over at the end of the month after paying all our bills/debts. And a child will take what's left. My whole life I have felt God telling me to be a mom. Paying out 10% of our income means no savings, no improvement in our physical life condition, and certainly no possibility to afford having a baby. Factoring in tithing cost, by the time we can afford to have a baby I will be too old to conceive.

So, this religion that I feel incredibly called for seems to be making me choose between robbing from the Lord and disregarding the purpose He has called me to in life.

I am uncomfortable with the idea of tithing as an obligation, but I don't know why. Certainly I was brought up to tithe -- Mom taught me to tithe from my weekly allowance when I was in high school. She said it was a reminder to us that our money was God's, and a way of thanking Him for providing for our needs.

Tithing is, to me, somewhat similar to reading the Bible daily: you know you are supposed to, and if you manage to do it, sometimes you feel really proud of yourself, as if you are such a great Christian. If you don't do it, you feel horribly guilty and have visions of God turning His back on you.

It doesn't help that the Bible says failure to pay tithes is akin to robbing God. Robbing God??? That's serious stuff, man. You don't want to mess with the Almighty, you know!

I've also been told that if I don't tithe, I'll bring a curse upon myself and my finances. However, this doesn't sound right to me because how can someone in Christ still be living under a curse?

But we know that it's not honouring to God for a person to be deeply in debt. Say, for example, that this guy used to be a gambler. He's racked up hundreds of thousands worth of debts. Say this person has repented, come to his senses, is trying his best to pay off the debt accumulated by self-indulgent wasteful living, and every extra penny goes to that... he's trying to honour God with his money, he is trying to do the right thing. The question is, if he doesn't tithe, will God hold it against him?

A friend wrote,

There is a relevant principle here, namely, our duties to our family ought to be discharged before performing duties to the temple or church.

Was it not Paul who said that if a man is unable to govern his own household, he is not qualified to govern the church? Therefore a case can be made that those who have urgent needs to meet in the family would be "exempt" from the duty of tithing.

It would be something like how widows, aliens and other needy people are exempt from the obligation to tithe. This is not a violation of OT principle because God made provisions for the poor.

Having said that, I am careful to note that UNLESS we really can't afford it, the tithe is a test of our obedience. Anything above that is a test of our generosity.

He also quoted John Piper, who said, The question is not can I afford to tithe, but can I justify the life-style that consumes 90% of my income?

Now I'm feeling guilty again... although I'm not sure that I'm feeling repentant. Dear Lord, forgive me...