Out of a number of people that I tried to have casual relationships with, in a church I attended for several years, there were only one or two that cared to socialize much. It hasn't mattered to me whether someone is a member or not, but after attending a church for a few years you can pretty much tell who they are. Other than disclosing the usual family problems that Christians share with the rest of the church, everything is usually proper and business like. Church members always have a smile that seems to beam from ear to ear and a hand that's ready to shake yours at arms length if you care to. Unfortunately, the greeting is just a cordial formality that very seldom ever goes beneath the surface. For me, there have been too many handshakes with the same people, over a long period of time that haven't developed into something more personal. It's kind of like the thought that was expressed in a TV commercial years ago when an older lady, after being given a skimpy amount of meat on her hamburger says, "Where's the beef??"
It's possible that their unwillingness to get very acquainted is because I'm not a member? It's hard to say. For the most part, in my opinion, it seems that you need to be a part of the inner circle, with those who give the church their ten percent, their 'tithe' before church members will give serious consideration to someone. I've never given ten percent of my income to a church, especially after being told by the pastor that it's a requirement for becoming a member.
I've always felt that giving is a personal matter between an individual and the Lord. The bible says that, "Each man should give what he has decided in his own heart to give," (2 Cor. 9:7). If someone only gives ten percent of their money to the church, what are they doing with the rest of it? Do they go out and buy expensive material things like cars, houses, gold, and diamonds that reflect secular values because it's the socially acceptable thing to do? Ten percent, hmm? Does God only want ten percent of our money and our lives? If we pay our 'tithes' to a church, are we to be held accountable for what we do with the rest of our money? I've given a fare amount of money over time to churches that I've attended. I've never wanted anyone to know how much I give, because I believe it's a personal matter. Sometimes I have more to give and sometimes I have less to give. In Mark 12:41, Jesus spoke about a widows offering when a poor widow put a fraction of a penny, which was all she had, in the offering, and it was plenty good enough. Either way, in order not to leave a paper trail for others to monitor, I've always put cash in the offering plate. Why should anyone need to know what I give? There are a lot of inquisitive people who would do much better, I think, if they didn't know the amount of money each person gives to the church. In addition, the church is supposed to be separate from the State, but it's a little too involved with the U.S. government as for as I'm concerned. By reporting the amount of money we give to church throughout the year to the IRS, we are able to get a tax return!...
From everything I've studied in the bible and elsewhere, the institutional churches are simply refusing to submit to the truth regarding the old Jewish ordinance of tithing and its relevance to non-Jewish Christians. It can only be seen that the churches are intentionally preaching the false doctrine of tithing in order to insure a sustainable income for themselves. They're masking the truth of the New Testament Gospel and living by the laws and ordinances of the Old Testament rather than according to the Spirit in the New Testament. By placing a form of taxation on believers (ten percent of their income) and giving them the impression that it is Biblical to do so, church leaders have misrepresented true Christianity of the New Testament. Consequently, it gives those who tithe, a false sense of security, and a distorted awareness that there is no condemnation from God regarding what is done with the rest of our money, as long as we obey the law of tithing. It also enslaves believers to live according to the law instead of encouraging them to live by faith which is the consistent message throughout the New Testament, as Paul states in Gal. 3:23-25. By instituting the ordinance of the old Levitical law of tithing, churches are the ones "robbing God" (a verse pastors like to use against non-tithing Christians, taken from Mal. 3:8) by demanding money from believers who are poor, the very ones they are supposed to be helping!, and by giving God only ten percent of everyone's income...
In addition to tithing, this same line of partial dedication, instead of all of our dedication to God, is reflected in worshiping one day a week instead of all seven. The law declared one day out of seven to be holy to the Lord in the Old Testament, but Christ sanctifies all seven days to Himself to be holy in the New Testament, which is the fulfillment of the sabbath in Christ (Col. 2:16). This is seen as a guard against legalism about worshiping on a particular day, and on the other hand, guards against a lack of concern about relating one's time to God. So, in other words, since we as Christians don't live by the law as the Jews did in the Old Testament, but by the spirit, we should worship Him every day, all of the time and not just on Sunday....
After being born again, we're set free from the things that have kept us from being the person we need to be. There is no one day a week, or any ten percent of our income that we must obey. I don't have to try very hard to remember the six days in California when I wept and basically just gave up my old self, as I'd known it, for so many years. Prior to that time, I'd always thought of myself as an achiever and a leader, not a follower, but God showed me that without Him I was nothing. After all, He was the one who formed me in the first place, and so I don't just owe Him a part of me. I owe Him everything I have....
0 comments:
Post a Comment