Dannie Putnam
BULLETIN BITS ON TITHING
Six Short Thoughts on the Benefits of Tithing.
A church council took their pastor to dinner at a fine restaurant. The food was tasty, the waitress efficient and courteous.
During the meal they discussed church finances. The giving level was low. Some members gave 3%-8%, most only 2%.
When the restaurant bill came, the treasurer carefully figured a 15% tip. Automatically, all the members reached in their pockets to give the same. Seeing the tip, the waitress was more courteous than ever.
As they rose to go, the pastor thought, “We tip the waitress 15%. Otherwise she’ll think we’re cheap or ungrateful. Her opinion must matter more to us than God’s, because we leave Him only 2%! Yet He gives us the bread of life and water of salvation.
God deserves more, not less!
A Fable
Published by: Neibauer Press, Ivyland, PA
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)
We are made in His image to have dominion over all the earth, just as God has dominion over us. With this dominion comes a great responsibility to recognize Him as the highest Lord of all. By tithing, we give tangible proof that He is Lord over us and all that He has given into our care – something that is quite easy and convenient to forget.
The tithe is the Lord’s and is holy unto Him.
It is to be used according to the plan set up by God himself – to support the ministry, to minister to those in need and to lead others to salvation.
All of us need guidance and “ministering to” each and everyday of our lives. Although our ultimate guidance and comfort comes from God himself, it is through His ministers and the preaching and teaching we receive in our church that we are led closer to Him. Our tithes provide the financial support that makes the work of the Church possible.
Tithing is one of God’s commands; it was not instituted by man, but by God himself. Our tithes show that we put Him first in all things – that we love Him and obey His commands.
Tithing Christians need never fear running out of money to provide the physical necessities of life. By putting our faith in God and giving Him our first fruits, we trust Him to care for all our needs. He will never let us down.
“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” (Jer. 17:7-8)
The tithe helps us to remember that God is Lord over us and over all we have, and helps lead others to that special knowledge also. Giving God our first and our best is the first step in making His promises come true in our lives.
“But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:19)
Did You Ever Wonder Why We Are Made in the Image of God?
Published by: Neibauer Press, Warminster, PA
Giving is a part of discipleship. The Christian steward lives as a person under “orders.”
Christian discipline requires that a person be obedient to the call of Christ in all phases of life. The cause of Christ is served in the exercise of every gift or material thing with which a person is endowed by God. The
expenditure of these gifts is the measure of a man’s stewardship.
We live in an economy of abundance encompassed by a morass of poverty, lack of opportunity and injustice. Therefore, it is essential that each American Christian balance his pressing personal needs against the needs of others and the needs of society of a whole. Christian stewardship requires a continuous appraisal of how best to expand talents and fortune to help fulfill the mission of Christ to the world.
*Discipline giving is planned, purposeful giving designed to achieve worthy ends.
*Disciplined giving is proportionate giving. The Christian steward so disciplines himself that he designates a specific portion of his income for the work of the church and other charitable purposes – the greater his
means, the more he gives.
*Proportionate giving fulfills the scriptural directives: “On the first day of the week, each of you is to put something aside… as he may prosper.” (I Cor. 16:2) and “To whom much is given, of him much will be required.” (Luke 12:48)
*Disciplined giving may be percentage giving, the setting aside of a fixed percentage of income to be given at stated times to the church and other charities.
Responsible stewardship requires the kind of discipline that makes giving an intregal part of the management of the total income. Giving is, therefore, constant, recurring sharing of the abundance of God’s gifts, “according to what a man has” in expression his faithfulness and obedience to Christ.
Disciplined Giving
Published by: Neibauer Press Inc., Ivyland, PA
The Tip Step – They give God a quarter as they do the girl that checks their coat. They may even give fifty cents, and equal their gratuity to the porter or waiter at their club. Surely God is not pleased by such
ungratefulness.
The Promise Step – It is a well known fact that some pledge that which they never even try to pay. They impress the church canvassers with their false “generosity” and do not hesitate to let others know how much “we pledge.” What God think of this is found in the story of Ananias and Sapphira who made a pledge, had the money to pay it and then held out on God. They were accused of lying to the Holy Spirit, and their punishment was death. False promises do not merit His blessing.
The Amusement Step – These folks give when, or if, they attend church. It is on the same level as their patronage of the theatre or baseball park. Others may support the church fifty-two weeks a year. They pay only when they go, or as a government official once put on his pledge card, “$5 per week, when I come.” Can we hope for God’s blessing on such giving?
The Tithe Step – Some believe the tithe to be God’s plan for all time and therefore binding on Christians. Honesty requires them to pay it. Others accept is as a fair and reasonable plan for recognizing His ownership and their stewardship. But whether we consider it an obligation or a privilege, surely we ought not to do less as Christians than was required by the law. God’s challenge has never been recalled, “prove me… and see if I will not pour out a blessing.”
The Tithe and Offering Step – The tithe of old was the measure of honesty, but the offering the evidence of love. God, speaking through Malachi, said, “Ye have robbed me in tithes and offerings.” The tithe places rich and poor on the same plane. The offering above the tithe enables the one of large means to show his true appreciation of his greater blessings. Perhaps God is saying to you, “Friend, go up higher.”
Five Steps On Which Folks Stop in their Financial Relation to God
Published by: Neibauer Press, Warminster, PA
“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6:33)
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26)
We must learn:
1) God is owner of all things Time, Talent, Treasure…
2) We are God’s stewards. We are responsible for properly using the things entrusted to us.
3) God wants faithful service. It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.
4) To give God His portion.
Have you learned how to live?
In 1923, a group of the world’s most successful financiers met at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. Present were:
-The president of the largest independent steel company.
-The president of the largest utility company.
-The greatest wheat speculator.
-The president of the New York Stock Exchange.
-A member of the President’s Cabinet.
-The greatest “bear” in Wall Street.
-The head of the world’s greatest monopoly.
-The president of the Bank of International Settlements.
Here were gathered a group of the world’s most successful men… men who had found the secret of “making money.”
25 years later:
-The president of the largest independent steel company – Charles Schwab – lived on borrowed money the last five years of his life, and died broke.
-The president of the largest utility company – Samuel Insull – died a fugitive from justice and penniless in a foreign land.
-The greatest wheat speculator – Arthur Cutten – died abroad, insolvent.
-The president of the New York Stock Exchange – Richard Whitney – was recently released from Sing Sing.
-The member of the President’s Cabinet – Albert Fall – was pardoned from prison so he could die at home.
-The greatest “bear” in Wall Street – Jesse Livermore – committed suicide.
-The head of the world’s greatest monopoly – Ivar Kreuger – committed suicide.
-The president of the Bank of International Settlement – Leon Fraiser – committed suicide.
All of these men learned how to make money, but not one of them had learned how to live.
What Are You Living For?
Published by: Louis Neibauer, Co. Inc. Jenkintown, PA
Q: What is the meaning of Tithe?
A: A tenth of income from salary, investments or from industrial pursuits. Minus living expenses? NO. Minus support of dependent relatives? NO. Minus taxes? NO.
Q: Is there any distinction between tithing and systematic giving?
A: Yes. A man may be systematic in giving any fraction of his income, but there is a distinction between giving and paying. We do not give the tithe. It is not ours to give. We pay it as belonging to God.
Q: Should all tithes be given to Church benevolences, or should part be given in a private way?
A: Each steward should make distribution of the tithe according to the best light he has since he is answerable to God for its uses. Some advocate “The Storehouse Plan” which places the tithe under control of the church authorities.
Q: Name some practical difficulties in the way of tithing.
A: None worthy of mention.
Q: Do you consider tithing a wise policy?
A: The Bible gives us the policy. It is not for us to question it. God does not consult us.
Q: Under what conditions would you consider tithing too much or too little?
A: “Too much?” Where there is no income, there is no levy. “Too little?” Proportionate giving is plainly taught in the scriptures. “As God hath prospered him” answers the question. Any one whom God has favored with ability to give after his tithe has been paid, is expected to honor the Lord by free will offerings in proportion to his income.
Q: Should people tithe when in debt?
A: The intelligent tithe-payer regards himself as always in debt. Whatever his fiscal relations with his fellow men, he is always in debt to God, the owner of all with which he is entrusted and who has first claim on his
profits. It is a manifest injustice to use God’s tenth in squaring accounts with human creditors.
Q: Is tithing easier for the well-to-do or the poor?
A: It is not “easy” for anybody who lacks in love for Jesus Christ and in zeal for his cause; but to the devout whether rich or poor it is a delight. We pity the man who feels it a duty to tithe, but who knows nothing of the joy of the Lord. If his income is low, he won’t like giving from the little he has: if his income is high, he won’t like giving from resources which to him somehow never seem enough.
The Christian who pays the tithe as an act of worship, finds in the practice a sense of fellowship with the Lord that renders him oblivious of sacrifice in its attainment.
The tithe is not an experiment. In all lands Christian believers have demonstrated it as a present day method of financing the Kingdom that is practicable, equitable and efficient. Nor is it merely a superior financial system, pleasing to God and profitable to the church. Its spiritual results commend it as a divine institution. Next to prayer itself it is the surest means of keeping alive a sense of dependence on God. It is a form of Thanksgiving that affords the best possible expression of gratitude.
Q & A – Tithing Questions Answered
Published by: Neibauer Press, Warminster, PA
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