Tithing: It's a Law of the Heart

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Donald Drusky of Syracuse New York took God to court. The one-time employee of USX Corporation blamed God for failing to rectify the wrong done to him when he was fired in 1968. Drusky waged a 30-year battle with the steelmaker, before deciding to take legal action against God. The suit reads:

The defendant, God, is the sovereign ruler of the universe and took no corrective action against the leaders of his church and his nation for their extremely serious wrongs, which ruined the life of Donald S. Drusky.

For damages, Drusky asked for the return of his youth, the skill of a great guitarist, and the resurrections of his mother and pet pigeon. Drusky hoped that God would fail to appear in court, allowing him to win the case by default.1

Drusky's case was declared frivolous and thrown out by a Syracuse court, but I imagine he made a bit of money on the late-night talk-TV circuit.

Some folks quicky turn to blame God when life hands them disappointment, but thinking we can turn the tables on God is even too much for a court-room.
We forget that God is the law-giver and the judge of all the world.
If He were just our judge, and nothing more, then humanity might be understood if we spent our time thinking of ways to outwit our creator, as futile as that would be.

But God is not just creator, though that is enough to hold us accountable for all the law and commands we have been given. God is creator, and . . .

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,?
says the LORD Almighty, ?and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much
blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Malachi 3:10

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; ...But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. Hebrews 12:18,22

Donald Drusky of Syracuse New York took God to court. The one-time employee of USX Corporation blamed God for failing to rectify the wrong done to him when he was fired in 1968. Drusky waged a 30-year battle with the steelmaker, before deciding to take legal action against God. The suit reads:

The defendant, God, is the sovereign ruler of the universe and took no corrective action against the leaders of his church and his nation for their extremely serious wrongs, which ruined the life of Donald S. Drusky.

For damages, Drusky asked for the return of his youth, the skill of a great guitarist, and the resurrections of his mother and pet pigeon. Drusky hoped that God would fail to appear in court, allowing him to win the case by default.1

Drusky's case was declared frivolous and thrown out by a Syracuse court, but I imagine he made a bit of money on the late-night talk-TV circuit.

Some folks quicky turn to blame God when life hands them disappointment, but thinking we can turn the tables on God is even too much for a court-room.
We forget that God is the law-giver and the judge of all the world.
If He were just our judge, and nothing more, then humanity might be understood if we spent our time thinking of ways to outwit our creator, as futile as that would be.

But God is not just creator, though that is enough to hold us accountable for all the law and commands we have been given. God is creator, and redeemer. He has created us and has purchased our freedom from our failures by the price of His own son.

Today I want to look at how we position ourselves in relation to the Old Testament requirement of tithing, especially in light of the fact that we do not live under law, but under grace.

I want to start in the book of Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets, sometime in the mid 400's B.C.
They have returned to Judah from Babylon. The work of Nehemiah is long completed. Jerusalem and the temple are reconstructed, but there is total apathy in Judah. Few, including the priests themselves seem to have much regard for God. In much the same spirit as Mr. Drusky, the attitude is ho-hum, what have you done for me lately, God?

They are saying, "Obey God?...what for? God doesn't care one way or the other. It's really much too tedious."
And so God sends along this fellow, Malachi. We know virtually nothing about him. We are not sure his real name is Malachi, which means, "my messenger".
But what he says is clear and to the point. He says to them, you have been wearying ME with your half-hearted obedience. He reminds them that is is He, the Lord who has looked after them and cared for them, not the other way around.

He offers them a challenge if they think He is really uninterested in their lives. He says:

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,?
says the LORD Almighty, ?and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much
 blessing that you will not have room enough for it.


The Old Testament standard for giving to God was the tithe, or tenth. In actuality, it was the FIRST tenth, not what was left over. He tells them, "you think I don't care and that any half-hearted attempt is good enough. It's not, but check it out and see if I don't make good on my word. Make your offering an honest tithe and see if I don't respond to you in overwhelming ways. Try it and see."

In a sermon on giving, Dave Ferguson, pastor of Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois, read this letter from Jeff and Julie, who attend the church:

Julie and I started attending Community Christian Church in January 1993, after moving here from California.
We moved here for a business opportunity that ended up not working out, and we soon found ourselves in a desperate financial situation. We were behind in our rent and our car payments. We had back-IRS payments, 16 credit cards with more than $40,000 in debt, and not enough food in the fridge to keep our tummies full. And on top of all that, we decided to start a business.
Well, in the middle of this, Jon had challenged us to include our finances in our commitment to following Jesus, and I really struggled with this. It wasn't that I didn't want to support CCC or set an example for others to follow. It was, in fact, that on occasion Julie and I were so broke that we ended up going to a friend's restaurant to ask for free food. I thought, If I'm struggling to keep my family, how can I commit what I don't have to God? What am I supposed to do; just write a check for ten percent of my income and hope that something happens? Jon urged me to trust God and give it a shot.
After prayer and discussion, we decided that God would get the first portion of every check and not just what we were willing to give up each week. We learned to make God the first priority in our lives, and we had no idea how we'd get by.
During the week after this decision, my brother and I were dropping off flyers at a construction site looking for work. We'd started a carpentry company. We met a builder, and he asked if we would be interested in doing their work. He had a house that was ready for us to start immediately and about twenty more to do during the next twelve months.
Julie and I no longer questioned how we'd honor our financial commitment. Julie and I decided to increase our giving.
If our story ended there, it would be a good story. However, you cannot outgive God. Over the next couple of years through a complicated and divinely orchestrated series of events, Julie and I also went from renters to homeowners. Owning a home has given us the ability to restructure our debt and give us some security and stability. I felt the need to tell our story. The story is much, much more than about finances. It's about faith, stepping out and trusting God with all that we have?our lives, our future, our relationship, and even our finances.
Now as I reflect on this story and what we experienced, I'm still trying to answer one question. What was it that we sacrificed?2.
 That is fine, you say, but we do not live by the Old Testament law of tithing. We are under the New Covenant of grace.
Yes we are, and here is what the writer of Hebrews says about that:
You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm;  to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: ?If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.?  The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, ?I am trembling with fear.?
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?

When Jesus was questioned about the law he said, I have not come to abolish one bit of the law, but to fulfill it.
It is not a law that is honored just in the letter, but in the spirit in our hearts.
Jesus said to us, "You have heard in the law, do not commit murder, but anyone who has unreasoned anger in his heart is guilty of murder. You have heard, do not commit adultery, but anyone who lusts has commited adulterly in the heart and is just as guilty before God."

Jesus is NOT saying murder and adultery don't matter.
He is saying that just walking inside the boundaries of the law while your attitude stinks is not what God wants. He wants BOTH your strict observance of the letter and to do it for the right reasons.

But let's face it, sometimes strict observance of the letter is the best we can do some days.
We stand up before a preacher who asks us, "Do you?" and we smile and say, "I do."
And so we do.
But anyone who has been married for any time will tell you there are days when you do simply because you promised.
There are no angel voices or songs in your heart, but you cook his dinner anyway and you make sure her car is running right.
You do it because you promised you would.
You fulfill the letter of the law and pray that you will be graced with finding its spirit again. And when you do that, you do find the spirit.

You go to work and do what is asked and maybe a bit more because you are going to cash the paycheck.
In other words you fulfill the contract even when you are not enthusiastic about your company's mission and vision, if it even has one. But you signed up to do no less and so you do your part of the bargain.

That is called living with integrity.

The author of Hebrews says "listen, those people who were under the law were required to fulfill their side of the covenant with God. They did it becasue they knew it was required. They made a deal with God at Mt. Zion which was so awesome that not an animal could set foot upon it on pain of death. But we have not come to an earthly mountain. We have come to Zion, the home of God. The covenant we have with Jesus is not a lesser covenant, it is greater and more awesome even than that at Zion. Why should we treat it with less respect than they did?"

God does not set us a law of giving a tithe as a law to be fulfilled in the letter. He wants us to do better than that. He wants us to give of ourselves to Him because we love Him, not because we have to.  But some days we do it because its called integrity and we do what is expected of us.

Or we don't.
Only God knows the difference.

God still challenges us:
Test me and see if I will respond to you when you respond to me.
Try tithing your time to God. Spend time each day in prayer.
Try tithing your substance. It all belongs to God who has given it to us.
Go the extra mile and see where God is willing to take you for your faith and obedience.

Preached October 30, 2005
Dr. Harold McNabb
West Shore Presbyterian Church
Victoria, British Columbia
Notes
1.Servant, a publication of Prairie Bible Institute (Issue 70, 2004), p. 9
2.Dave Ferguson, pastor of Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois, from sermon "Here Is My Investment Strategy"


Online Resources Consulted
www.preachingtoday.com