There is an interesting - but disconcerting - trend in many of today's mega-churches. They build a false doctrine on Old Testament Law, and apply it - uncritically - to today's worshippers. They use many scriptures like:

"Make an offering of ten percent, a tithe, of all the produce which grows in your fields year after year. Bring this into the Presence of GOD, your God, at the place he designates for worship ..." Deu 14:23  The Message, or

Jesus said, "Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear." Mat 13:8-9  ESV

Christians live in the New Covenant. Jesus fulfilled the Law, did not cancel it.  But Christians are not in bondage to the Law as Israel was. Because we (Christians ... and herafter) live under grace the requirements are greater, so the tithe is only a starting point.

However, what happens, is that the preacher distorts Jesus' teaching above and say, "If you bring your tithe into the storehouse, God will bless you sixty or a hundred times." If you are unable to pay over your ten percent, they place you under judgement and lay a huge guilt-trip on you.  I prefer to see Christianity as a Faith rather than a Religion. The word religion comes from the Latin word ligio =  to bind. When guilt is used as a manipulative tool one truly falls into bondage and false religion!

So the people are trained to bring their money into the storehouse (often to enrich the pastor) in order to receive a manifold blessing. But, God sees the attitude of the heart. If you give because you worship and adore the Lord, and what Jesus has done for you - not to manipulate God - God will indeed bless the giver.

About the author:

	Geoff Paxton lives in South Africa. He has been an ordained minister for 20 years and has extensive business experience as well. He is not currently active in parochial, formal ministry. He has published a bookWealth be my Friend available from Amazon.com - follow link - cover shown here at left. (He published under his middle name as there is already a pblished author Geoffrey Paxton.) This is a precis of some of the content of the book.  Visit his web site click here   Send email – click here Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal).   Web useless-knowledge.com