I think someone once said (it might have been Mark Twain) that clothing is a bad thing. They have pockets in them, and then we want to fill them, causing greed.
Ban greed by getting rid of the clothing that causes us to want to fill our pockets!
Bluespoet, I do not believe for one moment that tithing originated with the LDS Church. Tithing has been an important part of the Christian Church since it's very beginnings and is simply a carryover from the tithing that was practiced in the OT.
Many people assume that the Law was completely done away with at the advent of Christ. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. Jesus said that He did not come to ABOLISH the Law and the Prophets, but rather to FULFILL them (Matt 5:17). Jesus is the fulfillment of the types and shadows found in the OT ceremonies, temple practices and sacrifices and in the Sabbath. So His advent does indeed do away many of the ceremonial and civil law. However, Jesus Himself acknowledges that an important part of the Law remains. When asked which is the greatest commandment, Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matt 22:37-40). These commandments are merely a summary of the moral Law which is the portion of the Law that continues even today.
God prescribed tithing as a means of supporting those who's lives were 100% dedicated to the teaching and spreading of His Word and those who were widowed or orphaned. In the NT, tithing is more an act of obedience, similar to following in Believer's Baptism. Doing so demonstrates our willingness to trust in the promises of God. However, also like baptism, it is not salvific, Tithing or not tithing has no affect on our salvation. It only affects our communication or our fellowship with God. In Malichi, God challenges us to tithe and to see if He will not open the floodgates of Heaven.
I don't know about you, but I do not want to miss out on the opportunity for blessings from the Lord because I refused to return a very small portion of what He has blessed me with. After all, all of this is not more than hay, wood and stuble.
Most churches are in the business of helping those less fortunate. If you go to that churchparticularly if you are a member you should support it in every way including monetarily. Not everyone can tithe but God knows what you can give and how you really feel about it.
Do the right thing a lot of people need your help.
See you in church
Rickpat
It remains my contention that if the body of Christ lived at a minimum according to the example of the OT, tithing at least a tenth of what God blessed them with back to the overall Church or their local Church body, or better yet, according to the example of the Church in Acts, there would be no need for government sponsored welfare. I believe that welfare through the Church or synogogue is far more efficient at meeting the actual personal needs of those in need than impersonal state sponsored welfare. In general, those that approach the church have a personal relationship with other members in the church, either directly or through their local community, neighbors or friends. As such, the Church is better equipped to assertain their specific needs and meet them, not just throw money at them and make them pernemanantly dependent on the state.
While I do believe that God does establish and ordain our governments (See Romans 13), I do not believe that God ever intended for those governments to provide for the individual welfare of it's citizens apart from civil order and security.
It remains my contention that if the body of Christ lived at a minimum according to the example of the OT, tithing at least a tenth of what God blessed them with back to the overall Church or their local Church body, or better yet, according to the example of the Church in Acts, there would be no need for government sponsored welfare. I believe that welfare through the Church or synogogue is far more efficient at meeting the actual personal needs of those in need than impersonal state sponsored welfare. In general, those that approach the church have a personal relationship with other members in the church, either directly or through their local community, neighbors or friends. As such, the Church is better equipped to assertain their specific needs and meet them, not just throw money at them and make them pernemanantly dependent on the state. While I do believe that God does establish and ordain our governments (See Romans 13), I do not believe that God ever intended for those governments to provide for the individual welfare of it's citizens apart from civil order and security.
That is an interesting thought.
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