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SELFISH TITHE

Like all aspects of our relationships with God in which the Creator presents us with ways to grow and mature into the Kingdom, tithing is for the tither, not God. Even though it often looks otherwise, we do nothing for God. God needs nothing from us because God is us. By focusing our energies, including cash, on God, we help ourselves move closer to God.

"The earth is the Lord's, and every thing in it, the world, and all who live in it" (Psalm 24:1)

While the percentage of a tithe is arbitrary and might very well have been an amount that less faithful early religious leaders determined they needed and could get from their followers, the act of tithing, itself, has great power. In a day and age when money and the comforts it buys are the tangible outcome of our time spent toiling to make ends meet, ends that seem to grow faster than our income, a ten percent commitment of that income to something that does not tangibly benefit us exercises our faith. In the same way that exercising our muscles improves our ability to perform physically, each time we practice our faith we strengthen our faith.

Typically, tithes are given to churches, but the inherent power of giving a substantial chunk of one's income is available through gifts to not-for-profit charities for the less fortunate, in direct giving to people who are less fortunate, to organizations whose mission is to protect and/or improve the planet, and even to relatives or friends in need. In fact, *where* the money goes is much less important than the act of giving, so long as the giving is done with the right attitude.

"And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:3).

When we tithe, our heart and soul must infuse the giving with love and faith. If we tithe with thoughts of how it will benefit us, then the power is tainted. The money or goods given will do their work for those in need, but the act of giving will not serve the giver insofar as strengthening his or her relationship with God. The focus is misplaced.

In the search for biblical guidance on the subject of tithing, it is interesting to note that while the Old Testament has plenty to say about tithing, a religious practice long in place before Jesus' arrival, Jesus, himself, said virtually nothing. In the New Testament, we are forced to look to Paul who wrote about giving in the quote from Corinthians above as well as a few other instances. However, for some reason only accessible by speculation, tithing, per se, was not a critical piece of Jesus' message.

What Jesus did say that we can relate to the general issue of righteousness to which tithing was an avenue is the following: "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven...But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you." (Matthew 6:1-4). In tithing as in prayer, we must make our offering and our entreaties with humility and alone.

Learn more about this author, Michael Burgwin.
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