Hi,
I just signed up for ths forum and have a question about tithing. To clarify up front, I'm aware of another thread discussing whether or not tithing is required. I started reading that with interest. But, my question assumes that God directs us to tithe and I am asking about further guidance.
Having recently relocated to begin a new job, I am looking for a church. I visited two churches and will probably visit a couple others before settling upon one. In the meantime, I’m sitting on a stack of God’s money.
While I attend worship at local churches, and the offering comes around, my understanding is that most visitors are not expected to give a tithe. The church asks that you drop in a new member form, or something similar, that has your contact information. I do put in some cash, but not nearly 10%. This is because I feel a sense of responsibility for the money that God has entrusted me with. I ruled out one of the churches and do not feel comfortable giving the money to them. I do not want to just hand money over blindly because I happened to have attended a particular church on a particular day. So, God’s money is accumulating in my bank account. And with every passing week I am more and more aware that He did not give this to me to simply let it sit there.
It appears that there are 3 options for what I can do in the meantime.
a) Continue holding the money until I find a new church, keeping it segregated from my checking account, and then pass on the full accumulation to whichever church I join.
B) Tithe every Sunday, even if I do not ultimately join the particular church that I attend on that particular Sunday.
c) Use the money to advance God’s work in other ways, such as donating it to Christian charities that feed the poor and shelter the homeless, to Christian ministries whose radio programs I have learned from for years, or use the money to do good deeds.
Is there any guidance in scripture for tithing while one is church searching? My understanding of scripture leads me to rule out option ( B). I am leaning more toward (c ). But I am certainly interested in any insights from scripture that others may have to offer.
I just signed up for ths forum and have a question about tithing. To clarify up front, I'm aware of another thread discussing whether or not tithing is required. I started reading that with interest. But, my question assumes that God directs us to tithe and I am asking about further guidance.
Having recently relocated to begin a new job, I am looking for a church. I visited two churches and will probably visit a couple others before settling upon one. In the meantime, I’m sitting on a stack of God’s money.
While I attend worship at local churches, and the offering comes around, my understanding is that most visitors are not expected to give a tithe. The church asks that you drop in a new member form, or something similar, that has your contact information. I do put in some cash, but not nearly 10%. This is because I feel a sense of responsibility for the money that God has entrusted me with. I ruled out one of the churches and do not feel comfortable giving the money to them. I do not want to just hand money over blindly because I happened to have attended a particular church on a particular day. So, God’s money is accumulating in my bank account. And with every passing week I am more and more aware that He did not give this to me to simply let it sit there.
It appears that there are 3 options for what I can do in the meantime.
a) Continue holding the money until I find a new church, keeping it segregated from my checking account, and then pass on the full accumulation to whichever church I join.
B) Tithe every Sunday, even if I do not ultimately join the particular church that I attend on that particular Sunday.
c) Use the money to advance God’s work in other ways, such as donating it to Christian charities that feed the poor and shelter the homeless, to Christian ministries whose radio programs I have learned from for years, or use the money to do good deeds.
Is there any guidance in scripture for tithing while one is church searching? My understanding of scripture leads me to rule out option ( B). I am leaning more toward (c ). But I am certainly interested in any insights from scripture that others may have to offer.