What's that "tithe" thing?

A few years back, I had a conversation with some parents whose son had made some very bad choices and was addicted to prescription drugs.  They told me about going to their pastor to ask for help and prayer.  The first question asked of them was, "Do you tithe?"  They confessed they did not.  The response from the pastor was a shock to them .. and me.  He said, and I quote what they told me, "God will not answer your prayers or help your son if you don't tithe."  Do you find that as disgusting as I did and do?!?

And we wonder why so many people are disgusted with church and its apparent "lust for money"?    

In America, there are several hundred different Christian denominations.  The one thing they have in common is that every year the denomination's main office spends thousands of dollars developing materials to help "their" churches conduct a "successful stewardship campaign."  A churchy way of saying, "GIVE US YOUR MONEY!" 

Whenever a church asks for your money through a stewardship campaign or sermon, they are quick to talk about the Old Testament principle of tithing. 

I once heard a preacher shout - yes, shout - that tithing was what God's word commands Christians to do.  Really? Where?  Paul is not referring to tithing in 2 Corinthians 9; he is writing about the offering he is collecting for the poor, starving Christians in Jerusalem.  (Guess that "selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need" in Acts 2.46 didn't work out so well!)

So, "shout-real-loud" preacher man --- I have news for you. Tithing is not found anywhere in the New Testament!  It is commanded in the Old Testament along with the Festival of Booths, the Year of Jubilee, the Year of Cancelling Debts, the Sabbath, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Sabbath Year, the gleaning principle to help the needy, and the Festival of Unleavened Bread.  Why aren't those "commands" preached in the American Christian church as well?  Why is it that only the Tithe is preached?

Have you ever heard a preacher "shout-real-loud" about the Festival of Booths?  Or the Year of Cancelling Debts? 

Allow me to lead you on a journey of discovery about the tithe as it is presented in the "second giving of the Law" - known by most as Deuteronomy.  

Deuteronomy 14:22-27 states that each year a tenth (a tithe) of one's crops are to be set aside and eaten in the presence of the Lord.  If the Temple (the place where God placed His Name) is far away, one is to sell the tithe for gold or silver and purchase whatever that person desires to throw a party for one's family to celebrate what God has provided in the past year.  (Of course, this is my paraphrase, you will have to read it yourself to get the exact wording.)

Deuteronomy 14:28 goes on to state that at the end of three years, the year of the tithe, give the tithe to the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless, and the widows. 

Deuteronomy 26:12 defines the third year as the "year of the tithe."  The tithe given on the third year is for the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless, and the widows. 

My question is, and has been, how is the American church doing in keeping the commandment about tithing in its entirety?  I'm not questioning an individual's giving; I'm wondering how the churches (the Levites) are doing in their responsibility to share the tithe with the poor and disadvantaged  ("the aliens, the fatherless, and the widows").

The answer I discovered in a Google search was disheartening.  An organization given the task of church financial accountability on a national level reports that 82% of the money given to churches in America goes toward buildings and staff expenses. 17% goes to "programming," which includes Outreach programs, Vacation Bible School, Sunday school materials, advertising, etc.  Simple math indicates that only 1% is shared with the poor and disadvantaged.  If these figures are accurate, why isn't the church being challenged to justify their actions.

Now, don't misunderstand what I'm stating.  Please, continue to give to the church or charity of your choice.  I think it is an honorable and God-pleasing thing to do.  And I do believe, as the apostle Paul states, that "God loves a cheerful giver."  What I'm suggesting is that perhaps the church in America needs to comply with the entire principle of the tithe by increasing the dollars given to the poor and disadvantaged in their communities.  And please notice I stated in their communities .. not "over there somewhere."

And, believe me, God will answer your prayers and strengthen you in the storms of life even if you don't tithe!