scriptures on tithing

Flattery Will Get You

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever tried to soften a difficult conversation by complimenting the person first? It is a common personnel management tactic to do exactly that. I had a friend who used the Thanksgiving Dinner analogy. Rather than start with the complaint about the burnt, dry stuffing, you should first mention how lovely the table looked, acknowledge how hard the cook worked, remark about how delicious the gravy was, and then drop the bomb about the stuffing. It’s known as “buttering someone up.”

Softening the blow when a difficult topic has to be discussed can be appropriate, but flattering someone just to deflect attention away from your real agenda is not. That is just straight up deception. Such is the case in today’s passage where the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus into saying something that would get him in trouble with the government. See how they first try to praise him with their empty, hollow words:

Matthew 22 (The Message)

15-17 That’s when the Pharisees plotted a way to trap him into saying something damaging. They sent their disciples, with a few of Herod’s followers mixed in, to ask, “Teacher, we know you have integrity, teach the way of God accurately, are indifferent to popular opinion, and don’t pander to your students. So tell us honestly: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Of course Jesus would not fall for that. It was the first time this group had ever said anything positive about his ministry and he instantly knew something was up. He didn’t fall for it, and neither should we when our enemy is trying to get us to say something controversial.

18-19 Jesus knew they were up to no good. He said, “Why are you playing these games with me? Why are you trying to trap me? Do you have a coin? Let me see it.” They handed him a silver piece.

The subject of their inquiry was tithing. In Jewish tradition, one tenth of one’s income was to be presented to the Lord. These men are trying to set up an either/or scenario, but Jesus is not playing.

20 “This engraving—who does it look like? And whose name is on it?”

21 They said, “Caesar.”

“Then give Caesar what is his and give God what is his.”

Yes, we have to pay taxes. That is a given in life. But if we follow Scripture, we also have to offer God ten percent of what remains, right off the top. The Pharisees weren’t pleased to hear this.

22 The Pharisees were speechless. They went off shaking their heads.

The Scripture challenges us to consider our own giving. Truly everything we have comes from God. Everything we have belongs to God. Jesus is clear when he says, “Give God what is his.” Do you do that? Do you need to catch up? Jesus was all in for us. Can we be all in for him?

Taxes and tithing aren’t an either/or situation. This is a both/and thing. May we be faithful to the word.

All In by Michelle Robertson

Multiplication

Posted on by Betsy

I came across a math problem on social media this week. I thought I would give it a go, even though I am terrible at math. It was a multiplication problem, and the trick was to figure out where the parentheses should go. But that turned out to not matter, because it was a series of steps that concluded with “times zero.” So no matter how you added, multiplied, or subtracted the other numbers, “times zero” resulted in zero. Anytime you try to multiply something by nothing, you get nothing. (Cue Billy Preston.)

Many of us are familiar with the stories of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes in the New Testament. All four gospels record Jesus’ feeding the multitudes of people with a small portion of barley loaves and fish. This story is so important, it is the only story besides the resurrection that is recorded in every gospel.

But did you know that a similar story appears in the Old Testament?

Our scripture from 2 Kings today tells a story about Elisha that sounds very familiar:

2 Kings 4 (New Revised Standard Version)

42 A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, “Give it to the people and let them eat.” 

43 But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” So he repeated, “Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’” 44 He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.

There are several things that jump out in this passage. The man presented food from the first fruits to Elisha, who was a man of God. The phrase first fruits refers to the first and best part of the harvest in the amount of ten percent. This tells us that the giver was obedient to the tithing law. He brought one-tenth of his harvest to Elisha as the Law instructed. Somehow this man understood that you can’t multiply something from nothing, and so he brought his small offering with the understanding that it would be multiplied.

Do you tithe? This ancient practice is as relevant today as it was in those times. The people of God who give generously of their time, talent, and tithe can tell you what blessings flow from this practice.

And we have to pay attention to Elisha’s response. His instruction to his servant was to give it all away. He didn’t take a portion for himself and then instruct the left-overs be distributed. No, he is confident that his needs will be met if the people are served first.

When you receive an unexpected blessing of abundance, what do you do with it? Do you hoard it, bury it in the ground, bank it, or do you share it? God’s word affirms his desire that we should serve others before we serve ourselves. We can do this with confidence, knowing that Jesus’ example of washing his disciples’ feet was a lesson to us about how to have a servant’s heart. Where is God calling you to put someone or something first?

Finally, this passage assures us that God always makes good on his promises. Elisha was standing on the word of God when he made the crazy suggestion to feed one hundred people with twenty loaves of bread and a few heads of grain. He probably didn’t even count what had been set in front of him. He didn’t do the math to figure out how small to cut the slices, like a worried mother would when too many people show up at the birthday party. No, he just gave it all in the firm belief that God would multiply it, simply because God said he would. And not only did everyone get enough to eat, there were left-overs!

Where is God calling you to stand on his promises? Where is he nudging you to let go of the little that you have so that you can receive the abundance he is waiting to deliver? When we let go of the things we hold onto the tightest, such as our resources, our time, our fears, our past history, our mistakes, our pre-conceived notions, etc., it is only then that we are open to what God is trying to give us.

We live our lives out of a theology of scarcity or a theology of abundance. Jesus came so that you might have life, and have it ABUNDANTLY. God invites us to trust him today and let go…and receive.

Abundance by Kathy Schumacher

Standard of Giving

Posted on by Betsy

TAXES. The old joke goes that there are only two things guaranteed in life: death and taxes. It is no wonder that a politician’s campaign and career can be made or broken by the promises he or she makes about taxes. We all understand the necessity of paying them but that doesn’t mean we have to like it!

Taxes are the subject in this passage in the book of Matthew. The Pharisees (it’s ALWAYS the Pharisees!) were trying to trap Jesus into speaking out against the Roman government. They hoped to be able to make a case for sedition and treason and so they asked him about paying taxes. Notice how they buttered him up first with false flattery:

Matthew 22 (Common English Bible)

15 Then the Pharisees met together to find a way to trap Jesus in his words. 16 They sent their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are genuine and that you teach God’s way as it really is. We know that you are not swayed by people’s opinions, because you don’t show favoritism. 17 So tell us what you think: Does the Law allow people to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Silly Pharisees. Jesus can read your hearts and minds, so of course he is wise to what you are trying to do. His response is epic:

18 Knowing their evil motives, Jesus replied, “Why do you test me, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used to pay the tax.” And they brought him a denarion. 20 “Whose image and inscription is this?” he asked.

21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”22 When they heard this they were astonished, and they departed.

All Pharisees (including us) should take this to heart. When Jesus reminds them that we should give unto God what belongs to God, he is referring to a very well known standard of giving set forth in Malachi that refers to tithing:

Malachi 3 (New International Version)

10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

Perhaps the better question is about tithing. God’s word instructs us to bring the whole tithe of ten percent into his storehouse. How are you doing with that? If you’re not there yet are you working toward it?

God throws open the floodgates of heaven to those who read and heed his word in all things. He loves to pour out blessings on his people. This is something you can absolutely count on! Taxes, death, and blessings…all of life’s guarantees.

Floodgates of Blessings by Becca Ziegler