Why I Don't Tithe
2 Chronicles 31:1-10

(skit on Matthew 19:16-22 – The Teacher and the V.I.P.)

I wonder how Jesus looks at how willing we are to part with our money? 

It reminds me of an oft told story of this aging and very wealthy man who tells his wife that he wants to take all his money with him to the grave; that his wealth was not to be given to family or charity or church. 

“Please honor me with this final request,” he pleads. 

And so she agrees.  And so he died.

Against the counsel of friends, family, and I assume, her minister, the wife dutifully fulfills her husband’s wish to be buried with his money.  At the grave site as the casket is lowered into the ground there is a hushed silence.

Finally the minister can stand it no longer and asks the grieving widow, “How could you bury him with all that money?”

“It was easy,” she replied. “I wrote him a check.”

Ah, the wisdom of the wife.  It’s an old joke – but it does illustrate how some of us are just determined to hold on to our money – even after we die – and the lengths others might go to thwart that effort.

One of the most difficult things about being a Christian in this day and age is the challenge of managing so many competing claims.

We live in tension over how much time and energy to give to our work and how much to give to our families. Over how much to devote to our friends and how much to commit to volunteer, civic and church work.

Over how much to do for others and how much to do just for us. And of course, this time of year, over how much money to give away and how much to keep for ourselves.

Even though we are surrounded by abundance, many are anxious there will not be enough.  So we plan and invest, we accumulate and we worry.  Amidst this amassing, convincing our selves that acquisition is necessary for our security, it is easy to become enamored of things.

The idea is that we can become so attached to things – and the security and comfort they can come to represent – that we depend on possessions more than we recognize our dependence upon God. We believe what we have is our own, that it is ours because we’ve earned it, because we deserve it.

“Dear God.” Bart Simpson prays at the dinner table, “we bought all this stuff ourselves … so thanks for nothing.” 

Our gratitude to God corrodes in the illusion of our own provision.

But, Psalm 24 says, "The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it; the world and those who live in it." See, it's all God's to begin with ... and if that’s true then every decision, every priority, every competing claim must be looked at in that context. In other words, when you make decisions about how to use your time, remember who created you and gives you time.

When you set priorities for how to use your talents, remember where they came from. And when you allocate your financial resources and spend your money, remember who it ultimately belongs to.

Well, it's in this context that I want to talk with you this morning about money, and particularly about the money you give to this church. This is not a comfortable subject for many of us. I realize that. But I also realize that if I am to follow Jesus here, I have to talk about it.

Did you know that the only other subject Jesus talked more about in the gospels than money is the kingdom of God? As a matter of fact, he talks about money five times as often as he does about prayer.

The first thing I need to say is that I probably like money as much as the next person. I like the security I feel when I have enough money and I’m not particularly fond of the insecurity I feel when I don't.

Though I have always tried to live a relatively simple lifestyle (at least since I’ve gone into the ministry), I like the freedom money gives me to buy the things I want to buy and do the things I want to do ... even if I choose not to buy and do them.

And that can be a challenge when it comes time to filling out my pledge card.  It is especially a problem if I plan to tithe – if I plan to give 10% of my income to the church. 

Yet, that is the directive I get when I read my Bible.  It should be easy, but it’s not.  It should not take a lot of thought and effort to make that choice – but it does. 

This morning we will/are handing out envelopes with a Stewardship Letter and pledge card attached.  Over the next couple of weeks we are going to ask you to prayerfully consider what you will pledge to the church for the coming year. 

Truth is, almost none of you will tithe.  As a matter of fact, not all of you will even pledge. 

I read somewhere the top five reasons that people don’t tithe. Given the fact that tithing is so rare in the church, I thought it might be interesting to see why.  See if any ring a bell.

Before I go any further I want to assure you that it is not my intention to put any kind of guilt trip or judgment on anyone. I don’t think that God does guilt very often.  I don’t think it’s a very good motivator.  And I don’t think it makes us very good Christians.

However, I do think that it is important to reflect on why we do what we do.  And when we do – if we’re open – often the Holy Spirit will guide us to deeper understandings. 

But no guilt, okay?

Number 5: We  don’t tithe yet because the church doesn’t talk about tithing very much. 

Maybe we hear it on Stewardship Sunday – rarely any other time.  But, Jesus wasn’t afraid to talk about money and about our patterns of giving.  As a matter of fact, he made a point of it.  Why is money/tithing such a sacred taboo? 

Number 4: We’re stuck on the idea that we give in order for the church to make its budget.. 

But that’s not it at all.  Although Jesus talks about money a lot, he never talks about the need of the church to receive.  Jesus always talks about the need of the giver to give. 

When the apostle Paul invited the Christians to give money to Jerusalem Relief, he did not say much about the beneficiaries of the offering.  Instead, he wrote a paragraph about the effect of giving upon the givers. 

Generous people will reap bountifully, he said, and always have enough of everything.  By making these claims, the apostle did not offer a sanctified investment scheme, but a strategy for conversion.  If we practice generosity, he promises God will change our lives and enrich us. 

          Number 3: We don’t tithe yet because we regularly forget that our entire life is a gift from God.  That’s what the 24^th Psalm that I quoted earlier was trying to convey.  Everything we have is a product of God’s grace – God has given us everything to be good stewards of – to watch over,  to take care of. 

And the amazing thing is that God wants us to keep most of it … and not just 50%, not 75% - but 90% is ours to keep. Yet we want to keep more and more and more. 

          Number 2:  Giving is not a first priority or a regular discipline in our life.  

In ancient Israel, the people gave their FIRST fruits to God. By contrast, many of us give our money first to our creditors and save some of the leftovers for God.  When we do that, there is rarely enough left over.  There are always bills to pay, things we want, and places our money could go. 

It is easy at the end of the month to find ourselves with less than we expected.  And if we wait till the end of the month – God almost always gets shortchanged.

As a tithing friend reminds me, “When the first check I write each week goes to the church pledge, I affirm that I belong to God before anybody else gets a piece of me.”

And if you write your first check of the month to God … then it always seems that the rest just fall into place.

But the Number 1 reason we don’t tithe is: We don’t trust God enough. 

The question is always, if I tithe, will God catch me?  Or will I face financial self-destruction?

It’s not easy to trust that God will provide – especially when there is not enough to go around.  But that begs the question: how great are our wants compared to God’s needs? 

If I look at what our family spends money on - I probably should be ashamed – especially since I am not a true tither. 

We live in a very, very comfortable house, eat good food, eat out often, spend money on vacations, never want for clothes, have multiple cars, newspapers, magazines, put money away for retirement, and the list goes on and on. None of which is inherently wrong.  Could we cut back and then afford to tithe?  Of course.  Do we?  No.

I’ve always pledged ever since I joined the Presbyterian Church in 1981.  I even pledged when I attended seminary and was living hand to mouth most of the time.  But I didn’t tithe. 

Lately, I have increased the % of my pledge to approach the tithe, but I have to confess I am not really there yet. 

This year I tried to tithe.  In fact I did – but it was based on the amount I earned AFTER I subtracted the 15.3% self employment tax I have to pay the government.  That means I am contributing $5700 this year to the church.  Could I use that money for other things?  Of course. 

In fact, because DeLynn is going to school and we only have my income to live on – we have had to borrow money the past two years to make ends meet – a lot of money.

          But, even in being “almost” faithful to God’s giving invitation – we have been blessed.  Of course, not like Ken where he quadrupled his money.  But we did find sources of loans that were very affordable that we may not have otherwise. 

And in so doing I discovered that giving money away also brings me a feeling of security and freedom. There's a kind of security in knowing that who I am and what I'm about is more lasting than money. There's a kind of freedom in knowing there are some very important things in this life that money simply can't buy.

          Now I tell you this, not so you can say – “Oh wow – he is so faithful” (or unfaithful, depending on your perspective) but because I want you to know that I really believe what I am telling you this morning and that it is not idle ramblings – and anyway, God told me to tell you! 

And furthermore, in preparing this sermon I came to realize that I have to be faithful – completely … so for 2007 I pledge to be a PRETAX tither.  And believe it or not, that is truly liberating!

          God is in the blessing business.  He is in the joy business.  He is in the smiling business.  Is that true? We cannot know unless we give.  Transformation will occur only when the grumbling of giving is replaced by the laughter of generosity. 

When God moves us beyond the reluctance of writing out a check or the burden of compulsive obligation, we become cheerful. Did you know that the Greek word for cheerful is the root for hilarious.

God wants hilarious Christians.  And that is our challenge. How will you give to one another and beyond these walls to people you don’t know, but whom God loves?   How will you offer forgiveness and acceptance?  How will you offer love?   What will be the resources you give here?   What are the ministries you will support or not?

Most people give an average of 2% of their income to the church.  Not everyone can give 10%, but we can at least start with something and move up, and stretch as we learn the joys of returning to God what is already God’s. 

What would your faith look like if you began to look at all your resources as borrowed from God?  If we didn’t go through Starbucks one morning, saved $5 that day and did that once a week, and added $20 a month to our giving, what would happen to us inside, as well as here? 

I am excited about what God is doing here at Santa Teresa Hills Presbyterian Church.  I am excited at what the future holds for this church AND for this congregation.

May you each be blessed in rich abundance with all that God has in store for you and may you feel God’s presence, not only this day but always.

Amen!