But I will. I really like Rick's and Brian's and Rob's comments. They are deep, thorough, and provide excellent perspective. A couple of thoughts I had.
1) Although I agree that a steady cash flow every month from tithe payers is much better than one lump sum, I do not think that paying all at once is really that difficult. The church has so much money (roughly $12 Billion per year in Tithes/Offerings), that they know how to manage their cash flow. 1 person's lump sum is insignificant on the overall tithes (unless the last name is Huntsman or Marriott). Even so, with the church's emphasis on being smart with your money, I doubt this would cause concern.
2) By the way, does anyone know who comprises the church auditing committee? I think I am going to call and find out.
3) On one of the posts, someone mentioned dying prior to paying the 4 months worth of tithing. But just because it is not paid, does that really make one not a full-tithe payer? Let's say that you get paid on Friday (and normally pay tithing the Sunday after the paycheck comes in), but catch the flu and cannot make it church. Instead of mailing it to the Bishop, you simply wait until Sunday to pay? So are you for the week not worthy to enter the temple? I dont think the Lord is an accountant (sorry Rob). Do you think he is really counting to the penny? Does he really care? Isnt it more about where your heart is anyway?
4) I agree - just wait until the money is ready to write the tithing check. Do you really need to past-date it? But then again, do you only receive the blessings after you pay? I dont think so. The next question to this reasoning would be: how long does your tithing check qualify you for blessings? If you only pay 1x per month, are you only good for 2 of the 4 weeks for blessings? Are you covered until the next paycheck comes? This just seems too Pharisaical to me. I lean way too much on the spirit of the law.
5) Do you get more blessings if you pay 15% tithing?
The overall message is this: tithing is a preparatory law. Let's not get caught up in all the nitty gritty. Do your best, and then leave the rest to the Lord. He does not even need your money anway. And in actuality, anyone who has gone through the temple should live the law of consecration. We should be willing to give all, not just 10% (or 5% after Rob's all tax loopholes). Tithing is the lesser law. Why are we splitting hairs on this? Where is your heart - that is what God wants anyway. Is our wealth and money getting in the way? Are we camels trying to go through the eye of the needle?
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2 comments:
Did Em write this?
"Tithing is a preparatory law" & "Tithing is the lesser law" I am not disagreeing with these points, but would like to see references cited to back this up. (Its preparatory for what? The Law of Consecration? Haven't we already committed to that?)
I once had a father tell me when I asked if I should pay tithing on my Net or Gross, "If you pay on the Net, remember that you'll need to pay tithing on your tax refund since that is untithed monies. You can still hold a recommend and pay this way. But, when the Lord is admitting people through the Pearly Gates, I don't want him to have St Peter go over my life like an accountant balancing debits and credits because that's what I did with tithing."
I think this probably could apply with 401(k) matches, stock dividends, and the other examples listed above.
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