Greetings evangelical sisters and brothers
We will deal with this subject by first bringing the question about what is tithing. It is important that every evangelical and Christian in general knows what the function of giving money to his church is, and that it has much more to do with an act of faith than with a deposit of money with the intention of return.
The amounts paid to a church have many historical origins, and often were not noble or Christian. Catholic priests, for example, once charged money to the rich to perform the extreme unction, which was basically a prayer to secure forgiveness of sins at the end of life, guaranteeing a place in heaven. Similarly, many churches and religions today "charge" tithes in exchange for praise and blessings that they cannot perform.
In the Bible tithing is described in several parts. For example in Deuteronomy, chapter 14, verse 22 it is written, "Set apart the tithe of all that the land produces yearly." The tithe means the tenth part, or 10% of all that one has as produce from the land, in the case of the part highlighted here.
Today, many of us do not get our riches from the earth, but from our labor, through wages when employed, or income from the services we perform. The Bible says that we should give 10% of all that we earn to give to the Lord.
And who receives nothing? Like often the evangelical woman who doesn't work and has to stay with her children? She can give the tenth part of what? As an honorable and wise woman, she should guide the one who brings money into the house to tithe, since her husband's work is only possible thanks to the work that the woman does inside the house.
The act of faith of giving to the works of Christ does not depend on whether there is actually money to be donated, or income that can be allocated, but rather the donation in truth of part of our life for the work that Jesus left us.
This donation can be in cash, directly to our Church, which, many times, especially the smaller ones that exist in the communities throughout Brazil, depend essentially on tithes to keep up, evangelizing, and performing many important ministries for the lives of countless people.
After all, donations are necessary for the maintenance of any religious institution, be it evangelical or not. After all, to organize a service it is necessary that the church's bills are paid. Water, electricity, telephone, the professionals who broadcast the services on television, radio, and the media in general. Even though everyone involved in the service does their part with a lot of faith and dedication, these people need to support their families, pay their bills, feed themselves, and it is fair that they should be paid for their work.
Tithing, then, is very important for the practical maintenance of the places where we profess our faith in Christ. It should be practiced without expecting immediate retribution or direct prosperity. It should be given with an open heart, by the Christian who understands and believes that that money or material donation will in fact serve so that other brothers and sisters can, with dignity, work for the Gospel and so that the word of Christ can spread.
Of course, God will never turn his back on an act of generosity, and if your tithe is given with faith and commitment to the right people, for sure these amounts will return to your life, often in the form of blessings that could never be paid for by the amount initially donated.
The evangelical woman, endowed with honor, sensibility and wisdom should guide her home so that the tenth part of the resources is not destined to sin, as in the case of lusts or extravagances that only take us away from Jesus. She should guide her husband to not only give his tithes, but to work for his faith in Christ, helping the Church in whatever he can offer.
Those who cannot give money should dedicate at least a tenth of their time to Christ, which is very little if we think that Jesus dedicated his entire life to all of us. Let's not be stingy about material riches and let's share with the evangelical community what we can to spread our faith.
My name is Maria. I am passionate about theology and I have been writing about the religious world for 5 years. I am curious and research everything about the religions around the world. I love researching the curiosities that guide the most varied doctrines in different countries and languages. Today, I am an editor and love to share my knowledge on the portal Prayer and Faith.