Giving

THANKS FOR COMING – THAT’LL BE $117.50! [Exodus 25:1, 2; other topics - Heart-health; Law -vs- Spirit; Sanctification; Tithing]

Church leaders who are frustrated with members who won’t tithe may take notice of this story.

A synagogue in New Jersey is suing some members for back dues. One member who settled out of court this week says the entire matter is “morally and ethically wrong.” According to CNSNews, when joining, members signed a contract for goods and services in the form of annual dues which cover synagogue expenses. In the mid-90s, a court ruled a synagogue is free to sue its members for non-payment of dues; but cases like this are apparently extremely rare. [Excerpted from www.agapepress.org, December 2000]

Thank goodness it’s rare … perhaps it should be extinct? If I’m not mistaken the Old Testament, like the New Testament, teaches the righteous man lives by faith [Habakkuk 2:4] not by dues … and “gives” out of the heart, not from coercion.

Paul teaches payments are like wages; are we to now believe worship of Jehovah includes the delivery of goods and services for which His people must pay?Would someone call the Commerce Department and see if we can get the latest GSP (Gross Spiritual Product)?

TSUNAMI GIVING

I've been watching the mad race to one up each other with reports on tsunami giving. Haven't we learned by now that it's not the size of the gift but the motive behind it that really matters? Evidently not!

One sixth-grader's gift-giving motives came into question this past year. The AP reported on this recently .

It seems a middle school teacher in South Carolina discovered, during a parent-teacher conference, that the cubic zirconia necklace given to her by the parent's son was actually a one-carat diamond necklace the sixth-grader had pilfered from his mother's jewelry box. The boy probably was suffering from puppy-love and, though the end didn't justify the means, his intentions were probably genuine.

We don't need to be questioning one another over the amounts we've given to assist in the relief of the suffering ... if the motives are genuine.

One benefit of the national and international brinkmanship is that it's driving up the totals.