| Answer
from Jesus:
The Bible contains several
references to the principle of paying tithe. For example, Abraham paid
tithe to Melchizedek, the king of Salem. So in that respect, I would
say that paying tithe is scriptural.
The simplest way to explain the principle of paying tithe is to compare
it to the process of sowing seeds. You have a person who after a long
winter has a little grain left. He now has to go out into the field
and bury that grain in the ground where it could rot or be eaten by
animals. The person has no absolute guarantee that his efforts will
bear fruit. Yet the person does have an absolute guarantee that if he
does not sow the grain, he will not receive a harvest.
Money is a symbol for the light of God. Everything in this universe
is made from God’s substance, God’s light. The nature of
God’s light is to flow. This is expressed in the saying that freely
ye have received, freely give. When you recognize that it is the Father's
good pleasure to give you the kingdom, then you should freely share
and give of what you receive from God, what you receive from life.
You can even see this in society. When the economy of a nation begins
to contract, people become pessimistic and spend less money. This causes
the economy to contract even more. When the economy is expanding, people
feel optimistic and spend more money, which causes the economy to grow
faster.
What I am saying here is that the nature of God is to flow and expand.
When you are in alignment with the principles of God, you are receiving
freely and giving freely. As part of giving freely, you can consider
giving a certain part of your income to purposes that are not related
to your personal needs or desires. You would give this 10% of your income
to what one might call God's purposes. You would give it to areas of
society that have a greater need than yours.
When you do this, you demonstrate to God that you are willing to give
part of your income to causes that do not relate to your own personal
needs. You are willing to put your own needs second to the needs of
another, to the purposes of God.
God will multiply the offering according to the purity of your heart.
My parable about the talents demonstrates this principle. You will see
that the Master praised the servants who multiplied their talents and
chastised the servant who buried his talents in the ground. The basic
principle is that you should allow God’s light to flow through
you. When you do so, God will multiply your offering manifold. If you
put one grain of wheat in the ground, you will receive many in return.
I am not saying that you can pay tithe exclusively to a church or religious
organization. You can certainly pay tithe to any form of charitable
organization.
In the past, many churches
have used the principle of tithing by trying to make their congregations
feel obligated to pay tithe to the church. Some churches have even attempted
to scare people into giving them money. This is a misuse of the law
of the tithe because it violates the principle of freely receiving and
freely giving. You should not give tithe out of fear or a sense of obligation.
If you have such feelings, then use the teachings and techniques on
this website to consume those feelings.
Likewise, you should not pay tithe out of an expectation of a return
because this also violates the principle of free receiving and giving.
Tithing is not a business deal between you and God, and if you approach
it as such, you break the circle of the free flow of God’s light.
If you are currently paying tithe out of any negative feelings, here
is my suggestion for you. Stop paying tithe on an indefinite basis.
Study and apply the teachings and techniques on this website to overcome
your fear-based approach to religion and adopt an approach based on
love. Simply don't pay tithe until you get an impulse from within, an
impulse based on love, that tells you where to give your tithe.
As a side note, let me say that in many industrialized countries taxation
is very high. I would therefore consider it acceptable that people paid
10% of their income after tax. This can still fulfill the law of the
tithe. Render unto Caesar's that which is Caesar's and unto God that
which is God's.
Let me also say that people should not become attached to the figure
of 10%. Remember my parable about the woman who gave all that she had
and received a greater return from God than the rich man who barely
noticed his gift. If you cannot afford to pay 10% of your income, then
pay what you can afford and pay it with love. God’s multiplication
is not so much related to the outer amount but to the amount of love
in your heart.
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Copyright
© 2003 by Kim Michaels |
