Tithing

Speaking of tithing, this is a rather sensitive subject I reckon. Yesterday we were implored to tithe and to tithe freely. Now, I have no problem with tithing, and am happy to chuck in my money which would otherwise be spent on a DVD or some rather similarly less noble cause anyway so might as well let it be used in Christ’s name to do some good. However, I got a little bit annoyed when the pastor kept going on and on about it and it was the things he said about it.

Anyway the danger with tithing is when we take one verse or a small section, and then take it very literally, because that can completely skew the meaning. From my understanding, if we read through the Bible, there is more than 1 reference to tithing, and it is supposed to mean we should keep what we need, and give to our parents first and then give freely the remaining to the church.

The danger is when people misinterpret God’s word and generates negative reactions in others, or even leads others away from God’s meaning. In this case it might be tithing. What if it was something else? This is what led to the notion of jihad and terrorism, is it not?

I hope I was the one who was overly sensitive and misunderstood him then.