Nothing plugs Christian ears faster than lessons about giving more money to God.
Are your fingers heading toward your ear canals?
It shouldn’t be this way, of course, since every penny a Christian has is from God’s hand in the first place.
But who said logic determines every thought?
I’m not perfect in my logic and you aren’t either. Because of this, I’m not going to give you a lecture because it’s not my place and there’s somebody else much more qualified for teaching on giving.
His name is Jesus.
And here is what He said in Luke 20:25 found in today’s One-Year Bible reading — give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.
Jesus had been asked if believers should pay taxes.
Jesus said they should. But they were to also give the offerings that God expected.
Those offering amounts weren’t to be determined by the level of public taxation, He said.
A faithful Jew couldn’t legitimately give a smaller sacrificial gift at one of the annual temple feasts just because Rome imposed a tax increase.
Government’s appetite for taxes had no bearing on how the faithful were to obey God’s call for sacrificial gifts.
This principle is still true.
Government taxes should not determine how much we give to God as our tithe, just as the grocery store or gas station prices should not determine how much we give to God as our tithe.
Early believers almost certainly didn’t figure their tithe after taxes but instead before.
Shouldn’t our pattern be the same?
Please open your heart, your mind, your ears and your wallets so that “what is God’s” actually does end up being used in ministry for His Kingdom.
This is not just me talkin’….
It’s what Jesus said.
As always, I love you
Martin
Luke 20:24-25 (KJV)
24 Show me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s.
25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.
Whose IMAGE was on the coin? Caesar’s. Therefore, render unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s.
WE were made in GOD’S image. WE are to render ourselves unto God.
There is no mention of tithing or offerings in these verses.
The New Testament makes it perfectly clear that God only wants us to give from what we have, not what we don’t have. Since taxes are taken before we get our paycheck, the amount we have has been reduced by the taxes deducted.
Thanks for the insights, Gary. That’s the good thing about sharing our perspectives. It allows us to engage in collective discovery in order to better discern/declare what we believe to be true. Blessings to you for loving and serving God.