Tithes and Taxes

    Woe to you, blind guides! Which say, “Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it means nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, is bound by his oath – he is a debtor.” Foolish and blind! For whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that has consecrated the gold? Matthew 23:16-17

   It needs to be said: Numerous radio and television ministries prey upon family/social concerns to plea for our hard earned cash. Theirs is a phenomenal and pervasive intent, some half-heartedly and others directly manipulative, with an ‘us against them’ philosophy to bilk the people, including you and I, out of their trust in faithing their resources to God in the things He leads. The most often and directly repeated, not simply implied, message is that the out-flowing of God’s power of change, His Spirit, is the money you and I send to those swindlers. Not specific to anti-christian Christians, ill gotten gains always go hand-in-hand with religious persecution in some way.

   As in everything men and women put their minds to, there is confusion about the purposes of taxes, tithes, and offerings. Taxes are governmental provisions for public safety, Tithes are provisions for the needy, and Offerings are appreciation for word and work done for God’s glory. We should not give to give. And we certainly should not give to get. Either way tempts prideful self motivation and other’s judgments about our motives. We should give because it is the right thing to do. This gives to us the understanding about our priorities of living within our chosen responsibilities to those we are committed to by promise.

   Subsequently, this connects our stable rational togetherness, founded in mutual trust with sharing God’s indwelling purposes, of faithful decision making for His sake. If we give or do not give it is not for anyone to question the reasons because, if they do, they are assuming we are either giving to get or giving to give as they are. To see the historical will of God concerning spending income from labor and commerce, as applied to present time, we can find the common basis of Secular and Religious economics displayed in the workings of traditional family organization.

   Under Mosaic Laws and Ordinances given by God, the Church is the State. Public matters involving Government services were tended to by the Priests of the Sanctuary of God. Moses, in present understanding, may be considered (along with his brother Aaron) the head of state, the president; and the evangelist, the senior pastor. Tithes, in Old Testament times, were equivalent to the modern income tax. From Moses, until the people asked for a king as other nations were pleased to have, the living God of Creation was the Head of State and all collective and public functions of government were established and completed through the hands of the Church functioning as the State.

   Not coincidentally, the Constitution of the United States of America was formed with the understanding that an income tax may be levied only in cases of wartime because wartime diverts attentions from daily peaceful and private living to defending a nation publically under the divine establishment of God in Christ for His glory as the “Church of Philadelphia” – a nation of, by, and for the people unto God. The kings of Israel necessarily established an integrated division between Church and State because a man, instead of God, took a paradoxical position between the High Priest and God and between the High Priest and the people.

   Thus, government became intertwined with church where tithes as taxes were allocated by the church and also the state. State ‘tithes’ became taxes and Church ‘taxes’ became tithes. By the time of Roman occupation in Israel during the time of Christ’s ministry, the taxes of “protection” by Rome were drawn through the Synagogue as pious justification via the priests to use the law of Moses as formula for public and private social control to prosper the Roman State. With Christ’s Resurrection the veil of the temple to the Holy of Holies was rent giving each and every head of household, man as one with his wife, authority in Him to live unto God as the High Priest of his family.

   As families gather together in a community building called a sanctuary, they share in common concern for their collective society with respectful regard for the place(s) marriage and private endeavors find through Christ unto God. Identifying well being needs of each of the families, as well as faithless non-church participants who are members of neighborhoods, towns, cities, states, and countries, is what tithe giving of income is stipulated for, by God. Fulfillment of God's laws of commerce is in Christ's Body of redemption, so any government can function well with 10% taxation. Excesses are due to people looking in the wrong places (their neighbors' prosperity through government intervention) for services and helps.

   This confusion about taxes being different from tithes causes a misunderstanding about the Church where tithes become a “required response” to word and works from pastors – as if pastors are in the Old Testament role of the priests and must thereof derive their income. So, the Church, large organization or small community independent, becomes a business that takes authority over men and women’s family faith authority rather than being the power of joyful freedom God designs the Church to be. In Christ, if a man professes to live his vocation being a minister of God’s Word, the Gospel, he is in the stance and position to draw his income from unrequested offerings and not tithes.

   Many congregations are subject to on-the-spot panhandling as an integrated segment of “worship services”. But, people are confused and/or eager to profit concerning the purposes of tithes as God provides. Offerings take on an emotionally guilt-ridden compensation to relieve concern about other’s hardship in charitable giving. Pass-the-plate offerings, by their subversive nature, pressure resentful sharing by appeasing one’s flesh selfish nature with an elevated self-esteem over personal generosity. So tithing, as lawfully required by God, becomes an emotionally stable sense of obligation by "faith".

   Oftentimes (Mostly?), church organizations will appeal to the very greed and pride of their “believing members” (as considered somehow different than visitors and guests) in calls for their tithes and offerings with a “payback” incentive of seeds of growth from God – and often in opposition to the tax burden against tithes people are suffering. Vending machine preachers hoard their corner on the Truth of God to scrape through their follower’s pockets, thereby stripping them of their own freedom of God’s Word of life directly in their own strengths of understanding.

   The reason (God’s ‘why’) the Bible suggests to give tithes, offerings, gifts, or any help to another or others must not be to gain advantage or in order to receive for one’s self. If strings are attached with behavioral compliance, capitulation to your expectations, or presumed honor (extortion/blackmail); it places others in the position to grovel at your feet. It causes a loftier holier-than-thou self-righteousness which leads to hidden motives, withholding forthright communications, and generalizing specific standards distorted into self-generated morality while specifying generalizations to specifics that require consistency to your will instead of faithing their will in appreciation to God in Christ.

   The world’s wisdom of, “Put your money where your mouth is!” directly contradicts the fact that the Gospel Word of sharing salvation is about sowing the seeds of the bread of life where the renowned parable of the seed sower (Mark 4:3-33) is about giving the Word of Life, and not money. Though the promises of God are to bless many times over our giving for His and the Gospel’s sake, the actual practice of giving on order to receive is exactly what Jesus Christ Himself taught against most adamantly and directly while He was with us in the world. It is mostly the reason the then Church, the “Priests of God” tenders of dispensing the Word, took Him to the overseeing rulers of State, the Roman Authority, to have Him crucified.

   The traditional difference between taxes and tithes (with the understanding that taxes and tithes are actually both Tithe in their specific portion of income) has been taxes generally are taken to provide public services of protection and utilities while tithes are taken to provide personal health and welfare services. Since taxes, according to God’s design and according to a man and woman’s income are actually tithes, one can understand that governmental taxes over ten percent – and without regard to church dealings in society - are cruel and oppressive at the precise point they claim to be beneficial.

   Another form of hidden tax usury used to profit from needs and fears is insurance in its many forms. Trusting insurance is nearly a direct substitute for tithing in its faith for protection in the face of risk. Additionally, as Government takes on an increasing role to provide public health and welfare services through taxes, the collective Church is losing, through attempts at traditional status and self-preservation of power, the decision making strength of family freedom in the purposes that Government and Church depend on to survive.

   About ‘big’ business: Corporations are owned by stockholders/shareholders. Publically held companies are much like a democratic government because people give their power of persuasion, money, to committees, managers, vice presidents, and CEOs. That means corporations fall under the same guidelines for tithing, giving 10% to the poor, that any person in God’s awareness has the joys of responsibility to extend. To remove great controversy out from burdensome governmental taxation for everyone, and to literally transform the entire globe overnight, policy decisions by company boards can be made to help the poor with 10% of baseline profits.

   Using organized churches to do so is mostly where, because of various differences of religious faith approach, barriers to chivalrous giving is bound. Aside from all the chaos and confusion people devise, the fundamental function of both Church and Government is to uphold and sustain the business and commerce of men and women’s dignity in marriage (the Church: health and welfare – the State: safety and security) who represent the families they are responsible to defend. Because of this, the true Gospel in God’s Reality is being stripped of its commission given by Christ in Matthew 25:31-46:

 Whensoever the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then will He sit upon His throne of glory: And there will be gathered before Him all nations: and He will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats:

And He will set the sheep indeed on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then will the King say unto those on His right hand: Come you, the blessed of My Father! Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; For I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave Me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me home. Naked, and you clothed Me;  sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came unto me.

Then will the righteous answer Him, saying, Master! when saw we Thee hungry, and fed Thee; or thirsty, and gave Thee to drink? And when saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee home; or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee? And answering, the King will say unto them; Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, you have done it unto Me.

Then will He say, also unto those on the left hand; Depart from Me, you accursed ones! into the everlasting fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry, and you gave Me not to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me not to drink. I was a stranger, and you took Me not home; naked, and you clothed Me not; sick, and in prison, and you visited Me not.

Then will they also answer Him, saying, Master! when saw we Thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and ministered not unto Thee? Then will He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as you did it not unto one of the least of these, you did it not to Me. And these shall go away into everlasting correction; but the righteous into life eternal.

   This is always accomplished in particular order according to God’s Creation in Christ. His understanding about our responsibilities with regard to respect for our promises and concerns, considering abilities and resources, allows our satisfaction to do what we can, where we can, with what we have. Men and women should always put their husbands and wives first and their children next to honor who they are in Christ – if that is the scope of available energy, time, and resources God is pleased with it.

   Other family members, neighbors, and one’s with needs of which we are aware should always be considered after one’s spouse and children depending upon responsible positions, needs, and abilities. Since God upholds marriage and family as His pattern for social well being, He understands that keeping to this way alleviates suspicions, betrayals, and personal and social discord. To reiterate the way we are called to work through the “chain of command” of faith in living for Christ:

   A man and woman are designed to take care of each other in marriage without intrusion from other's desires, expectations, and influences because those concerns are in the realm of God's responses to our faith action with those who share a faithful commitment. A husband and wife, together, take care of their children; so, the family of a man and his wife with their children work together with respect to their God given respective roles in taking care of relatives to which they are responsible. Then they, through the witness of Godly respect for each other in who they are unto Christ in marriage and family, may take care of friendships, neighbors, and anyone else they encounter who will benefit, according to Gospel purposes, from their expressive cares and loving-kindness.

2 Peter 1:1-10