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Lay it to Heart

Are You Really Tithing?

If you tithe and your taxes drop as a result then you are not really giving a tenth. Do American Christians really tithe any more? Jesus is the end of the law for righteousness (Romans 10:4), but not the end of the law of righteousness. We are still to obey. When it comes to obligations people like to forget this. When it comes to rights they always remember. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-18, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Jesus supported tithing in Matthew 23:23. Malachi 3:10 says, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." So what are you really giving to your church? If the government reimburses part of your ten percent tithing, you're not actually tithing ten percent, you need to give more. If you deduct your church giving on Federal tax form Schedule A, your taxes may be lower. In some cases the tax reduction will be in the range of 20-25% of the amount given. If that is the case, the US government is really giving part of your tithe for you. You are only bearing the burden of about 70 to 75% of the tithe. You should really increase your giving so that you bear the burden for 10%, and the government subsidy returned to you is not pocketed by you, but put in the offering plate where it belongs. As you give more, you get more back. You might get 5%, 10% or 15% back of what you gave to your church. You will have to figure out the math yourself, but you may have to give a seventh of your income to really give a tenth.