Stopping Tithe

SasyBoy · May 7, 2009

It is with great sadness that I’m considering stopping tithing. Before I was saved I got myself into a rack of debt and I’ve paid tithes faithfully since the early start of my Christian faith around two years ago. Even though I’ve been baptised I don’t feel completely reborn as this debt still hangs over me.

I’m going to ask the lord to forgive me for this I’m sure he’ll understand my predicament. It’ll take me two years to pay off my debts but I will go back to tithing after this.

My main reasons for going down this tack is:-
• Debt is a sin
• I can’t except trying to be richous whist owning people money
• I’ve been in this state now for well over ten years
• Maybe God wanted me to tithe so I could learn how to set aside money
• I want to do this to make me up standing in the Lords eyes
• If something goes wrong with my work life I’ll have to clam bankruptcy. Is this fair to my debtors?

Surely owing money and holding money from humans when I’m supposed to love my neighbour is more important than the tithe?

I tell you these things for good advice. The lord has blessed my immensely over my time as a Christian, I’m scared not tithing would effect this but this weight of sin is just too heavy for me to carry much longer. Wouldn’t God want me to work myself out of debt?

I keep asking him to remove me from this and I know his time is perfect but maybe this is my calling?

Boanerges · May 7, 2009

God blesses you because He loves you and it is His hearts desire. Pray and seek His face and He will lead you in what to do.
While tithing is mentioned only as pertaining to practicing Jews in the New Testament and never again from the Book of Acts (the birth of the Church) and on giving certainly is. Not giving under compulsion, not giving in hope of getting, not giving to maintain a relationship with God and thus stay blessed but giving from a cheerful heart. This is to be done at His leading and it is to be noted that some of the poorest churches were praised by Paul for giving the most.
Our supply is not based on what we see and neither or giving on what we deduce as good but instead as New Testament Christians we are led of the Spirit in all we do. God is faithful and wise and His counsel is always best my friend. I will be praying for you to hear His voice clearly.
Many blessings in Jesus wonderful Name,
your brother Larry.

stephen · May 7, 2009

It’ll take me two years to pay off my debts

You are doing the right thing paying off what you owe. The Lord will help you in this as you serve Him.

If you cannot afford to pay your tithe, due to the deby hanging over your life, do not give it. Jesus understands all people.

However continue to give the "sacrifice of praise"

Lion_of_Judah · May 7, 2009

You are a priest forever

"You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek."

Hello brother SasyBoy,

Hebrews 7
1 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him,

2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means king of righteousness; then also, king of Salem means king of peace.
3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest for ever. 4 Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!

5 Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people— that is, their brothers— even though their brothers are descended from Abraham.

6 This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
7 And without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater.
8 In the one case, the tenth is collected by men who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living.
9 One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, 10 because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

14 For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

15 And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears,
16 one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.
17 For it is declared: You are a priest for ever, in the order of Melchizedek.

1 Corinthians16:1, 2
1 Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do.
2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

2 Corinthians 9:6-13
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
9 As it is written:
He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever.

10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.

Brother SasyBoy,

I say trust God in His power to mold you and form your character, into whom He wants to make it.

Of course our debt is not His mistake, but our life is to be that reflection of Him in us, and we're not perfect as He was.

Once I too was in a similiar position. In fact I was suppose to make a deposit on a trip to England with several others at Easter time. The amout was $500, but I owed several hundred in back-tithes for the year. (He allows us that from the OT) I was expecting a bonus as it was December, and it had been $1,000 the previous 2 years, and it had been another good year.

I came to the conviction that "what consequences befall upon me was of my own doing",
and I would not compromise. The tithe was not mine, ...it was His.

I set my face and heart to do this. The deposit was due after the new year began, and as I opened the envelope for my Christmas bonus, my heart about stopped just then, as the check amount written was FiveThousand dollars!

I encourage you to give Him your all. The struggle you feel inside is that conviction ahead of those
who ask you, " Do you tithe?" " Well I used to. "

It just doesn't ring true of who you are, does it? It has an unsettling feeling.

I'm not telling you what or how to live your life. Only saying let God show His character through you, and honor you through Him working out " all things together for good to those who are called according to His purpose."

God bless you with wisdom,

LoJ

SasyBoy · May 8, 2009

Thank you all for your sound advice and support.

@Lion -> I know what you're saying and I of course respect the word of God. What you've quoted of course holds great truth and I'm happy that your situation worked out well. My situation is somewhat different to yours as the debt you quoted is a 10th what I owe. But then my salary may be different.

Saying that though I believe the Lord like your case works with us. I find myself saying to just trust in the Lord. Because I believe he will give me what is needed... his plan is of good not evil right.

I begged him to help on several occasions but seeing my counter argument I feel he is moving me forward. He knows the problems I'm going through with this and he also knows how it kills me that I am even considering not tithing.

Now consider
The book of Romans - 13
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.
9 The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not covet," and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbour as yourself."
10 Love does no harm to its neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.

Saying that however something happened in my life yesterday which I believe was the Lord lifting me because he not only loves me but wants me not to suffer and pass this trial.

I begged....

I got an answer phone message in the morning about job opportunities in my local area which is wired because my type of job involves commuting. Reluctant to call because I'm happy where I am the conversation was very positives and one of the jobs seems great and where I want to go.

So... watch this space I guess. I want the Lord to help me work though this problem... for me to pay every last penny. I think he knows I can't do it on my own and something needs to change in my life. I look to him for the answer and listen for guidance.

Oh how my I love the way he works with us he is surly worth of amazing praise.

I ask you to pray for my situation I must redeem myself.

Giggles4God · May 10, 2009

Hello SasyBoy.

Yes, God is wanting you to be debt-free. He also says in His Word in Malachi 3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “ If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

Yes, this is in the Old Testament, but I have heard much and have seen much. My husband and I have debts, BUT I have never heard God calling us to stop tithing. Even when we thought we would not have enough for bills and tithe, GOD provided! When God says to do something, obey.

Like my pastor says, I would rather have 90% blessed than 100% cursed.

Just do what God says...pray...do the right thing. He won't let you down.

MontanaCowboy · May 12, 2009

I agree with everyone. Fact is your tithe is the Lord's, not yours so if you give it to a debtor, are you not then in debt to the Lord? Of course God does not like debt so if you stay n debt, are you not going against God too? Fact is you are in debt already so the question then is will it make any difference to God if you stay in debt for an extra 6 months or 1 year longer????
But what I think is that, if you want to put the cash to the debt go for it. But instead of cash then tithe your time & labor to the Lord. Do a civic project like habitat for humanity, or preach in the jails, or volunteer at a hospital, homeless shelter, etc.,
Give God you time in exchange for the cash & pay off your debt at the same time. I think that both would be very pleasing to the Lord.

lizabe · May 18, 2009

SasyBoy said:
t is with great sadness that I’m considering stopping tithing

dear sasyboy
I truly understand your predicament. However even tho you wont be tithing, I beleive that contributing to the work of God is a good alternative. I will not suggest any amount to you, but, if you keep the main purpose for GIVING the offering it wont matter how much you give at this time.

God's way is all about INTENTION/PURPOSE, whats in our hearts.
So be encouraged and consider giving an offering to further God's kingdom, no matter the sum.
Sincerely in Jesus
Lizabe

StopPolloition · May 18, 2009

If you've been in this debt for a decade and it will take you two years to pay it off, I'd look at like you're near the end of your ordeal. There are those who contend that the tithe isnt mandated but if nothing else, paying it says to God that you trust him. Your reasoning that you must stop paying tithes to pay off your debt is leaning on your own understanding. Pray and ask to even give you favor with your creditors; perhaps they'll take a lower amount if you've been paying them for 10 years. Whatever the case, don't stop giving to God.

SasyBoy · May 19, 2009

In the end...

I've decided to keep on giving tithe.

I got so confused asking what I should do and begging I just went with my gut feeling and kept with it.

Right now I'm just going to continue to struggle but I came to the conclusion that I'll leave it all in the Lords hands. Right now I'm not thinking how or when something will happen. I've got a lot to be thankful for but I do know this...

Debt is a master in your life that deserves a good beating... even if it means your punches are light at first he'll fall over in the end.

Maybe all this is to teach me how to control spending and value money more although my situation was mostly because of a relationship breakup many years ago.

Thanks all, I'll update if anything changes... I pray things turn for the better... life's to short to have this on your mind all the time and it takes away your focus from God.

Repent2BSaved · May 21, 2009

To anyone in the same situation, try the daveramsey website and check out Total Money Makeover from your local library. Lot's of helpful advice and and easy step by step way to get out of debt.

I would shop around for the mutual fund stuff, just to make the most informed decision. As for how to get out of debt, Dave has some awesome and workable ideas. It is helping me. Lots of youtube videos on how to move up to an almost new car without getting into debt or making loan payments.

Mae

SasyBoy · Aug 7, 2009

Thought I'd update you on this. I did in the end stop paying tithes. I've prayed many times with regards to my situation and got the feeling that the Lord knows how painful it was for me to stop and that he'll support me.

Because of me knowing how important this all is I asked the Lord to discipline me if I'm doing wrong. So far I haven't paid tithe for three months. In total I've managed to pay of £1000 which is quite an achievement for me although the debt is still quite high.

Although the experience has taught me how to manage my money while saving a little for an emergency fund.

The Lord knows how much I dream of saving and giving to the poor as my life experience has awakened me to the number of people that struggle with debt / poverty issues.

To be honest I've been asking the Lord for ages what mission he wants me to perform in my short space of life... and I seem to be shaped towards those in poverty.

I know the simple things which can bring joy in peoples life that struggle in these situations. Once I've sorted myself out I know that I'll bring happiness to many. Although it might be short lived and not enough at least it'll be something.

What joy... although still a long way off.

If you cannot afford to pay your tithe, due to the deby hanging over your life, do not give it. Jesus understands all people.

I think you're right. The Lord knows our harts but be warned, I don't think my action will work for all however.

Strypes · Aug 7, 2009

I personally do not like talking about tithing because I feel it is between that person and God and nobody else. There are those that are die hard give to the local church as the "storehouse". And there are those that are die hard "that is old testament and we are no longer under the law".

The Bible says "God loves a cheerful giver" and if you go to give an offering and remember your brother has alt against you then leave your offering and go to your brother and make it right then come back.

Well when I first gave my life to Jesus when I was 16, I had no clue what tithing was and it was never discussed in the church i was attending at the time. After college I met a friend whose father explained it to me and I decided to "tithe" but I still didn't fully understand the concept of it being "trust".

I tithed for several years but did it out of obligation more than "love".

I had an Italian sports car (Bertone) and excellent credit and an excellent job etc. Then I met my ex husband. When I married Robert I was financially stable and had all the material things I needed. He didn't "believe" in tithing but I continued tithing my salary. Well after two years of marriage, Robert had maxed out all my credit cards, wrecked my car, and had us in bankruptcy court. (chapter 13). After my daughter was born I quit my excellent job to be a stay at home mom. So there was no tithe at all.

Then came his adultery and the divorce. And I got a job and started tithing again. I always had what I needed when I needed it without fail. I understand now that the tithe is worship not obligation. And I have seen the windows of heaven open to bless me.

For ten years I tithed to the church where I attended. (Metro Heights, Stockbridge GA). I remember over the years numerous "talks" about the necessity of tithing. One of the things the pastor would say was "your place is to give and trust that "the church" will use it wisely", The pastor drove a new corvette and his wife drove a Lexus. A "love" offering was taken to give him a new Harley Davidson motorcycle for his tenth anniversary etc.

Well.. That pastor (Calvin Yarborough) had an affair and after he resigned and the books were reviewed, Metro Heights was in extreme debt and bills we had taken love offerings for were still unpaid. The church was never able to bring charges against Calvin because all the records were missing. (that was 2002)

I continued tithing to Metro Heights though my home situation was rather desperate. Being a single mother has many challenges but I continued to tithe. Then one day I was about to loose my house and ask for help from the "church". It was shortly after Katrina and I was told they couldn't help me because they had helped the Katrina victims.

I was watching a Christian TV show on Daystar network one night and they said to call in if you needed help. Well I needed help so I called.

Part of the process of getting help through them was to fill out a form that the pastor of my church had to sign. One of the questions on the form regarded tithing and the records show that I was faithful in the tithe. Daystar called my pastor (interim pastor-metro never did get a regular pastor before it closed it's doors in July 2006 when it was bought by MT Vernon Baptist). I do not know what that conversation was about but I did not get help from Daystar and My Sunday school class paid the past due on my home and praise God my need was met.

It is my belief that Daystar shamed the Pastor for not helping.

Long story short. I do not tithe to the church where I attend (though I believe the church i currently attend are good stewards).

In Malichi the purpose of the tithe is so "there will be food in my house".

not so there is a lexus in the pastors parking space!

anyway, I still give but not in the traditional way. When I see someone in need, if it is within my ability, I meet that need. When I get paid in my head i calculate the 10 percent and I let God show me where to "give it". It has been in the form of concert tickets to Christian concerts, food, several bibles and helping neighbors and the homeless.

God knows my heart (and yours) and I would encourage you to listen to the Holy Spirit and to remember that the tithe is WORSHIP not obligation.

lizabe · Aug 7, 2009

Dear Sasyboy
I am glad you made your decision between you and God and that its working out for you.
I pray the day you will be out of debt and freed from that burden in Jesus name amen.
Thank you Jesus.
Lizabe

inJesus · Aug 8, 2009

I'm sure God is smiling at what you're doing. However, I believe He wants us to tithe as well as avoid (or eliminate) debt. Giving tithe is an external testimony of God's ownership of everything in our lives. It's an act of worship. "All" things are possible through Him. Put God and the Kingdom first and he will provide for all the rest.

Matthew 6:25-33:

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is trusted in).

"Therefore I tell you, stop being [v]perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?

"Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?

"And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life?(B)

"And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin.

"Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity, and grace) was not arrayed like one of these. [I Kings 10:4-7.]

"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith?

"Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?

"For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.

"But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides."

"A farmer always keeps a portion of each harvest as seed stock to be planted the next season. If he didn't, he would not be able to grow another crop. As Christians, our tithe is our seed stock (2 Corinthians 9:10). Proverbs 3:9-10 says that we need to honor God by giving Him the first fruits of our produce (income or compensation). Therefore the first portion of our income belongs to God. It doesn't belong to anyone else—not even creditors." (Crown Financial Ministries)

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"For people who feel that they cannot afford to give the full tithe because they have too much debt, yet they are willing and want to tithe, perhaps there is an option that can satisfy both situations. Because God expects us to remain true to biblical principles, if we have made prior vows (in the form of taking on a debt) to man before making a vow to tithe to God, God directs that the vow be maintained in order to present a good witness (see Proverbs 22:1). In such cases, the tithe should come from the money not already pledged to creditors, but available to disperse. However, a commitment to give to God would certainly take precedence over any payment to creditors for debts contracted after a pledge was made to tithe." (Crown)

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Additional Resources:
--Crown Financial's article, "Finding Financial Freedom."
--"Quicken Online" (has amazing money management software to use for free)
--The following sermon notes I took:

There are 2350 verses about money. Half of Jesus' parables are about material possessions and money. Jesus spoke more about money and its application than heaven or hell combined!

Money is the greatest temptation for us. Money is a tool, a test and a testimony, when we handle it well.

In order to engage in kingdom business, we cannot get distracted. Two things that distract us from doing kingdom business are greed (the number one thing) and fear. Fear is what happens when bubbles burst. If you want to know what your hope is in, just look at what you fear. The doomsday prophets are out again. It's all about fear, all about "we need to hoard", "you better protect yourself."

People who make it through financial crisis follow five key biblical principles:

1) God owns it all. "'All [of it] is mine' says the Lord." God claims it all. It is his and he owns it all. Psalms 24:1 declares, "The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains," and in 1 Corinthians 4:7, Paul asks, "And what do you have that you did not receive?"

2) Long term written financial goals. If you aim at nothing, you hit it every time. Where's the finish line?

3) Avoid being a slave to debt. The bible says don't be a slave to the lender. It doesn't say debt is a sin, it says it's bondage. The opposite of bondage is freedom. If you choose bondage, you reject freedom. Every choice you make is a rejection of something. Look at what you're choosing and also look at what you're rejecting.

4) Spend less than you earn. And you do it for a long period of time. You need to avoid a consumptive lifestyle. It's the parable of the faithful steward: Jesus says, Hey look, if you're faithful with little, you'll be faithful with much. If you're unfaithful with little, you'lll be unfaithful with much. You need to avoid a consumptive lifestyle.

...I was a million dollars in debt...My life turned around when I started understanding what God wanted from me and understanding those principles and what was in that bible about money.

Get...

--A short term plan
Set your foundation like this
1) Get out of consumer debt. You cannot make the return you can make by paying off a credit card. Pay your credit card off.
2) Keep one months living expenses in a checkbook and one year of cash around. You don't go to the next step until you get there.
3) Then you put away savings--if youre' going to need a car, down payment for a house,...You put it away in savings.
^This first stage is called liquidity--you become the bank.

--A long term plan: planning for retirement.

There is accountability for your engagement.

"..that he [Jesus] might know what they had gained by doing business..."

"Well done, good servant. ....Because you have been faithful over little, you will have authority over ten cities [on the remade earth]."

"Heaven is a remade earth." (Randy Alcorn)

This man believed Jesus and obeyed him. He applied Luke 6:38? that says "Give and it will be given unto you." How much will be given to you? By your standard of measure, it will be measured to you."

This person was a grace giver. Not looking for loopholes in the scripture ("Is tithing before tax or after...") A grace giver always asks the question, "Can we?" "How much can we get there?" not "how much can we get away with?" They're asking "Can we go above the 10%?" Which, by the way, seems to be a standard.

[Hebrews 4, order of malchisadeck] "Tithe...is now given to him who now lives" Tithe is an act of worship, not a law anymore. How much can you worship?

God is saying "Move it to heaven."

Grace giver says, "How much can I get there?", not "how much can I get away with?" It's a whole different attitude.If you're ever going to be a good steward of God's money, you have got to change your attitude, you've got to have a heart change by the Lord and say, "What good is it going to do me here?"

Michael Jackson couldn't take any of his millions with him. How much impact did he have on the world? With your money or anything else? How much impact will we have? Are you going to be a grace giver or are you going to be a duty giver?

[Second servant in parable]...Duty giver always asks the question, "Should we?" Always looking for an excuse for why they shouldn't give more. Quit looking for a way out. Notice [with the second servant], there is no "Well done."

The third servant is given to fear. He thinks there's going to be an economic earthquake. He kept his money "laid away in a hankerchief...for I was afraid of you..." "Why didn't you put my money in the bank" He's saying "Here's the *least* you could have done. Could you have done something with your life, instead of protecting your life and living for this world only?" "For the one has none, even what he has will be taken away"

There will be accoutability. This servant never got in the game. We have a wrong view of this world and the world we stand in.

This is the world we live in:

50% live in abject poverty--no shoes, no consistent food source, no clean water

40%--two pairs of shoes, generally consistent food source, clean water, no medical care

That is 90% of the world.

5% are getting by--some housing/shelter, clean water, some medical care, clothing, some educational opportunities (places like eastern and western europe and places in the US)

4.5% live an american middle class lifestyle--about 50,000 a year of income.

.5% live american wealthy lifestyle

2/3rds of the world live in depression every day of their life.

Christians earn 2.5 trillion annually. There's only 7 economies in the world larger than the christian economy in America. Far less than 20% are even willing to give at the level of a tithe. If we evangelical christians in America just gave 10%, we could add 85.5 billion dollars to the Great Commission annually. That is enough to feed, medicate and evangelize the entire third world. We have it, it's not an issue of having it.

This is what Jesus says about investing: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures." It's not a suggestion, by the way, it's a command. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth wher emoths..destroy" Moths don't eat the clothes we're wearing, they eat the clothes in our closets, which we aren't using, the things we tend to hoard up because of lack of trust in God. "But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven...For where your treasure is, there your heart [belief] will also be"

Behavior always follows belief. What do you really believe?

We have so much.80% of the evangelical wealth in the world is in the US and Canada. This means that 9% of the believers in the world have a serious impact on funding the Great Commission--and you're included in that 9%. We hold 80% of the evangelical world's wealth. Less than 6% of our giving ever leaves this country to the other 90% of people, of believers. What we tell the guy whose starving is, "Sorry, we're spending it all, we're doing this all for ourselves." We've got 80% to fund this great Comission.

The Chinese have two words for crisis: danger and opportunity. We have the most dangerous opporunity as believers ever, in the history of the world.

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the End will come." Wycliff Bible Translators figured out that all we have to do is give people the gospel of Luke and 40 stories and then we can start a church. We will have it translated for all the 7000 mother tongues by 2025.

This series is not teaching you how to hoard money--it's teaching you how to use your money and do what Jesus said: Move it! Do you want to be a grace giver or a duty giver? Or do you want to be a "no giver"--do you want to be unengaged and live for this world alone? Are you a citizen or are you a servant? What will your checkbook show? "Your checkbook is a theological document that tells what and who you worship." (Billy Graham)

What will you do with it? Which world are you living for? Some day you will give an account to Jesus. He is very clear it is Him he is talking about and it is us who he is talking to. He said: There will be accountability for it.

Love in Jesus.

inJesus · Aug 9, 2009

^All these things I shared are what God has been teaching me lately.

inJesus · Aug 10, 2009

A verse I meant to include:

"Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the firstfruits of all your income; So shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine."

SasyBoy · Oct 29, 2009

Thank you all for the words. I do read all but sometimes lack time to reply in such detail.

Another £1000 lifted.

This time I don't feel as good about it, I guess because the struggle is getting me down.

I know it's an achievement and today I've moved from the 'black' to the 'red'.

Still a long way to go but I've thanked God for the the gifts he's given me to get past this.

I know I can do it now it's just persistence.

Someone's asked me to look after quite a large proportion of money recently (reasons I will not go into). It's interesting though that if you trust someone who is in debt they can offer the best rate of savings account you can find.

For example debt has a higher rate of interest than any saving account. If someone asks you to look after some money it can be used to pay of debts and free up money form the debt interest that can be used to pay back the friend with a saving interest (say 3%). This would still be beneficial to yourself who could have 10% + on debt. Not sure if that makes sense but it takes a clean heart for it to work. It'll only work on flexible debt as well and has risks to be considered. For example us must be able to ensure you can give back all the money when ever it's needed. Luckily I've been trusted with such a scenario and like a good steward will use the benefits of this wisely and justly. I know some may frown on this maybe because I'm not explaining it correctly.

I'm keeping a record of tithe I owe and whilst in mounts up I know it's interest free. So I'll replay that with a joyful heat knowing that although I've borrowed it at least in some way it's been biblical in the sense that I'm paying of my debt whilst borrowing from God at 0% (0% is the way money was to be lent in scripture right?)

Sorry if this has been hard to follow it's just a spill out of thoughts really.

Whilst it's easy to criticise as Paul says every man should do what he is sure is right. I'm sure I'm doing the right thing and my actions are based on prayers.

If you're going through a similar struggle I advise you to seek Gods will.

Peace in Christ.

eddieb · Oct 29, 2009

i aint saying to or not to pay your tithe. i know the bible says if you dont pay you are robbing God. but what i wanna say is this...

Act 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
Act 5:2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
Act 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Act 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
Act 5:5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

in 5:2 it says he kept back a certian part. before you stop paying you NEED to seek his face on this. what does he want. what does he want you to do. God is all or nothing at all. dont keep back from God. you mentioned he has richly blessed you. the bible says obedience before sacrifice. he desires a deep relationship and disobedience is what got man in the mess its in now(adams fall). if you hold back a portion from God(the bible says God is our portion) he may hold back some of the blessings that he wants to give to you. do you feel condemnation for your debt? does the Holy spirit condemn us? i think maybe the enemy is wispering in your ear. seek him.

SasyBoy · Oct 30, 2009

Well I'm I was in debt before I became a Christian and to be honest it was because of a break down in a relationship. I don't feel condemned as such just burdened even though I walk with God.

I know what you're saying but I think you're wrong.

I don't think God will strike me down or look unfavourably on me because of what I'm doing. He know's how hard I'm work at this.

My previous life is causing me enough suffering as is but I keep on trying to push on.

I'll pay back my tithe if God is willing.

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