Week Eleven (Tithing) - Sunday

Tithing

Billy Graham was speaking in the San Jose area, and on closing day told this story.  It seems there was a strong man who traveled with a circus.  One of his most impressive stunts was to take an orange and squeeze every last drop of juice out of it.  Then he would offer one thousand dollars to anyone who could manage to squeeze as little as one additional drop from it.  He went from town to town, making his offer, but no one was able to win the one thousand dollars from him.  Then one day, he came to a small town in California and made his demonstration of juice-sqeezing prowess and his challenge.  A small, wizened, ninety-eight pound weakling type man came forward and said that he’d like to take a try at the challenge.  He too the crushed orangeand proceeded to squeeze, not one, but six additional drops of juice from it.  The strong man was amazed.  He could hardly believe his eyes.  He asked the small man how he was possibly able to do this.  The little man shrugged and said, “Oh, it nothing really.  I’m the treasurer down at the Baptist church and we do this all the time.”

There is probably no other habit that we will consider that will raise more ire and cause more distress than tithing.  The reason may be that money is the one thing that we have that we want to hold on to more than anything else.  We often put into God’s hands the things that we think is most important to us – our family, our jobs, and our lives – but our money – Hands Off!

It may be that the first thing that we need to understand is that all we have, including our money, has been given to us by God.  Think about it, who was it that gave us the ability to earn our wages?  Who was it that gave us our talent and placed us in a part of the world where we can work for the betterment of not only ourselves, but of the world?  All we have is ultimately God’s, but God graciously allows us to keep so much and only requires a small percentage in return. 

Some may wonder whether tithing is giving a tenth of you net or gross income.  Well, sorry folks, the writers of the Bible did not have the same understanding of economy as we do today.  What the Bible says about tithing is really related to livestock and crops.  It states that a tenth of every animal and a tenth of the harvest was to be designated as holy, that is the tithe.  In cases where the livestock or crop had to be sold first, a tenth of the sale price became the tithe. 

Today, we understand tithing is giving to God by giving to the church for its function in ministry and mission.  But more importantly, tithing is an expression of our love, gratitude and trust in God.  We tithe because we love God.  We tithe because we want to show our gratitude to God for providing in our needs.  We tithe because we trust God to use that what we give for God’s glory and that also because we know we can trust God to provide in the absence of that amount.

Likewise, when we fail to tithe, we are implying that we cannot trust God to provide for us.  It also implies that we know how to handle money better than God.  Worst of all, when we fail to tithe, it is essentially stealing from God.  This is explicitly stated in Malachi 3:8, “Will a man rob God?  Yet you rob me.  But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'  In tithes and offerings.”

Some may ask, “Why can’t I give my money to other non-profit agencies?”  The answer is that you can, but just giving to any organization doesn’t count as tithing.  God made detailed instructions as to how tithes are to be used.  They are to be given to the priests and for priestly functions.  That is the purpose of the church today, to carry out priestly functions.  When we support the local church through our tithes, we are supporting not only local ministries and missions, we are giving to God’s kingdom around the world.  Children are being fed in Peru, medicine is being distributed in rural America, relief is being extended in war-torn Afghanistan, homes are being rebuilt in storm ravaged Florida, the gospel is being spread in Cambodia,….the list goes on and on.  Collectively, as the church, we can do so much more than by ourselves.

So friends, it is important not to look at tithing as a burdensome cross that you have been forced or coerced into carrying.  Tithing is a sharing in the building up of the Kingdom of God.  It is an honor and a privilege to share in this.  Be glad and joyful to give back to God what is God’s.  God will provide for you because God is faithful even in light of our own unfaithfulness.


JOURNAL QUESTIONS

1. Reflect on your sermon notes and journal reading from today.


GROUP EXERCISE

10 minutes - Community Building (informal time of gathering)
10 minutes - Sharing of Concerns and Praises
  5 minutes - Prayer for One Another
30 minutes - Discussion of Topic
                     - What journal entry would you like to share?
                     - How important is thithing?
                     - Do you consider tithing to be: fulfilling an obligation, a noble act, or an act of love?
                     - How can we encourage each other to "Put God to the test" (as in Malachi 3:10-12)
                     - Is tithing limited solely to money? 
  5 minutes - Wrap Up/Closing Prayer