Saturday, January 26, 2013

Seeing God as Father: Tithing

Tithing is an old covenant practice & the institutional church is in no way the modern equivalent to "the storehouse." But I'm not going to expose the fallacy of tithing teachings on biblical grounds. Instead I'm going to do it on fatherly grounds. Jesus told us in Matthew 7:8-11 that God is the best Father there is & He knows how to treat us better than even we know how to treat our own children. So let's expose the sickness of tithing teachings by simply seeing God as our Father.

Tithing doctrine says God will only "rebuke the devourer" if you pay Him 10% of your income weekly. Meaning if you don't pay Him for the upkeep everything you own will fall apart & need repairs quicker. This concept pictures God as a mafia godfather rather than as God our loving Father. It is also taught that God won't bless you or take care of you unless you tithe.

What father would refuse to help his child financially unless his child paid him a weekly portion of his or her income?
What knowledgeable father would refuse to help his child repair a car, appliance, or home because his child failed to consistently give him a portion of his or her income?
What father demands payment (regular payment, even) before he will help, bless, give, or even protect his child?
What father would let a bully come in & wreck up his kid's room because his kid didn't pay him back a dollar when getting an allowance?

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