Generosity

 "You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year.
Deuteronomy 14:22 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.14.22.ESV

Do Christians have to tithe, to give 10% of their income to a wolf in sheep's clothing to pay for his private jet? Of course the wolf says yes, but we need to contextualise the Bible's teaching on tithing.

In the old testament, Israel wasn't a church. It was a nation state. Tithes were like taxes. The new testament doesn't reiterate tithing commands.

What the new testament does do is to say that we should collect money weekly in our churches to provide for the needy in our midst. The Lord loves a cheerful giver, not a begrudging taxpayer. What's 10, 20, 50% to give for Someone who's given everything for us?

The early Church was amazing in that there were no needy people in it. The rich looked after the poor within their midst. So it should be today, not as a tax, but as a freewill offering.

'God our Provider, please give us what we need and more, so that we can be generous towards other people. In Christ's name, amen'

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