Be Wary!

While watching a program recently on one of the religious networks,I came across an "evangelist" making an impassioned plea to viewers to tithe a tenth of their earnings to God via his ministry.It was a shameful display of greed and distortion of scripture that is all too commonly seen on religious cable networks.

In making his "pitch" on the necessity of tithing,this "preacher" repeatedly quoted from the Old Testament to justify his point of view.Predictably,he finished with a familiar quote used by all those wishing to have their audience give,and give more.He went to the last book of the Old Testament,Malachi,and read the following from chapter 3,verse 8 in a somber and ominous tone:"Will a man rob God?Yet you have robbed me! But you say,In what way have we robbed you? In tithes and offerings." As an aside,the reality is,is that nowhere in the New Testament are believers instructed to give a tenth of their earnings.In the Old Testament though, there are very specific commands on how,when and how much you are to give.Observing this so-called man of God giving his slant on tithing reminded me of a responsibility that all those who call themselves Christians have,and that is to prove all things you hear and read.Are passages used to make a point being taken out of context,are they even relevant to the New Covenant church?Too many faiths,denominations,sects and careers have been borne from some person's interpretation of portions of scripture.You see examples of this all over.One only has to look at the Messianic movement and the 300+ off-shoots of the original Worldwide Church of God to understand.These groups validate their belief in keeping a Saturday Sabbath and the Jewish Feasts by lifting quotes that validate their beliefs, and explaining away the others(like Colossians 2:16)which show that they are in error.

Scripture tells us that we are to prove all things(1 Thessalonians 5:21).This is a command and a responsibility for all believers.

As a postscript,the New Testament example of tithing is given by Jesus in His account of the widow's mite,and,the fact that giving is a part of a Christian bearing the fruit of his faith.If we keep these two things in mind,we'll never have to worry about "robbing God."