“One who wishes to donate should not give more than a fifth of his income, lest he himself come to be in need of charity.” — Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 50a
During my time in the Independent Fundamental Baptist Church, we were REQUIRED to TITHE ten percent of our GROSS income to the church. Sadly, this teaching was the cause of many years of struggle to be able to pay our bills and buy groceries to feed our family. The stress that this placed on my husband and I was unimaginable as we worked countless hours trying to make a living to be able to cover this tithe AND, meet the basic needs of our household. Not only this, we were also required to give to missions and other projects that the church undertook. When all was said and done, at the end of the year, we were realizing that what we gave far exceeded the ten percent that the Jews were required to give! No wonder we were in poverty and always in need of charity ourselves!!
What is amazing is the fact that Gentiles are being REQUIRED to adhere to an Old Testament law that never, at any time, applied to them. This law was for the Jew, not the Gentile. Also, this law for the Christian Jew, is no longer in force and was done away with under the New Covenant. What I have come to realize is that the masses of Gentile peoples truly do not understand the tithe. They are just believing what they are TOLD about tithing without doing their homework to find out if they are being told the truth. My book, The TRUTH About Tithing, teaches people about how this law for the Jews has been corrupted and, used as a means of acquiring wealth by Christian leaders.
No where in the New Testament does Christ or any of his representatives teach tithing. What is taught is charitable giving. Christians must understand this fact. We were taught that if we did not give a tithe off of our gross income, that we were robbing God. What a terrible lie of the church that puts people in bondage and poverty. It is time for people to take back their finances and realize that THEY are being ROBBED. They are NOT robbing God. Really? Robbing the God of the universe that doesn’t NEED your money? Really? What detriment to God happens when you keep your money to feed your family and pay your bills? Don’t you think God wants you to be able to provide for your family first and foremost before giving to others? Don’t you think that God WANTS you to have a good testimony by paying your creditors on time? You cannot help others until you help yourself first. Give from what you have, not what you don’t, or you will find yourself in need of charity just like we did for many many years. If your church is telling you to tithe or give and you can’t pay your bills, SHAME on the church!