A few weeks ago I attended a church that had passed out a survey, asking questions on what are commonly called spiritual disciplines. The church was a large, well-established congregation in the suburbs. The survey included such things as reading the Bible, praying, quiet time, journaling, etc. It was part of a series called Moving Forward, focusing on four stages of spiritual growth, from a “discovery” phase to living a Christ-centered life.
The worship service one particular week focused on catalysts for spiritual growth, using the results of the survey to get a “snapshot” of where this congregation falls on the spiritual growth scale. The results were somewhat surprising to me.
The Pastor focused on three specific areas to measure spiritual growth; Bible reading, prayer, and tithing. The results of the survey indicated the following about this congregation:
42% practice tithing (defined as giving 10% or more to the church)
38% pray regularly/daily
22% read the Bible daily
38% pray regularly/daily
22% read the Bible daily
I have to confess, I was surprised by the results. I thought it was obvious that Bible reading would be at the top of the list, prayer next, and tithing well towards the bottom.
Maybe it was the denomination I grew up in, a denomination that did not emphasize tithing but taught us that our giving was between us and God. Maybe it was my personal belief that tithing needs to be defined broader than just giving to a specific church. Maybe it was just the naivety of a Christian who assumed everyone reads their Bible every day. No matter the reason I was surprised by the results.
The statistics are even more telling when placed against what the Pastor defined as the two greatest catalysts for spiritual growth, prayer and reflection on Scripture. I believe the two of them are bound together. People who pray Scripture are some of the best prayer warriors you will ever meet.
It’s interesting to note that tithing is not listed as one of the top two catalysts for spiritual growth. When comparing tithing to prayer and Bible reflection there are some interesting things to notice.
- Tithing is an outward expression of spiritual growth; prayer and reading the Bible are inward expressions.
-A tithe is very measurable; growth in prayer and scripture not nearly so.
-Tithing asks you to give of your money; prayer and Bible reading require time and commitment.
-Believers and non-believers alike give financially; only believers will bury their head in the Bible or bare their souls in prayer.
Looking at these statistics I tried to determine what these things say about this church. Needing a second opinion I asked my wife, whose vision on these things is often much clearer than mine. Knowing the church that took the survey she said it tells us that since the congregation is upper-middle class, giving is the easiest of the three disciplines for them to practice. Prayer, she said, is harder, but you still can pray anytime, anywhere. Reading the Bible takes a real commitment. It takes having a Bible, opening it, reading it, reflecting on it. It involves more than a wallet or a checkbook; it involves your body and your mind and your heart.
Churches tend to do a good job of teaching the Bible stories, particularly churches with a focus on biblical exposition and preaching. Yet many churches fail to ignite a passion for the Bible. Too often the Bible is reduced to a how-to manual for spiritual life and we never develop into people who burn with a desire to read it every day, people who long for intimate time with God.
A passion for the Bible ignites a passion for prayer. The Bible is filled with prayer stories, answered and unanswered prayer, passionate and desperate prayer, bargaining, pleading, praising prayer, even complaining prayer. The Bible introduces us to prayer warriors and to prayer chickens, people just like us.
A passion for the Bible ignites a passion for prayer. The Bible is filled with prayer stories, answered and unanswered prayer, passionate and desperate prayer, bargaining, pleading, praising prayer, even complaining prayer. The Bible introduces us to prayer warriors and to prayer chickens, people just like us.
It seems to me that our faith is rooted and grounded in the Bible. This is where we read the stories that satisfy our appetite for God. Those stories teach us about grace and gratitude. God speaks to us through the Bible. Bible reading becomes the foundation of our prayers, encouraging even greater spiritual growth. Spiritual growth, in turn, urges us to act on our faith, giving sacrificially, giving or tithing as a spiritual act of worship.
Tithing may be a visible measure of our spiritual growth but passionate pursuit of God in His Word and in prayer are much better measures. Tithing can lead to a certain pride, a sense that we’ve done our share, a sense that giving meets some requirement for grace. It can even limit joyful giving; some people feel if they meet the tithe their giving is done for the year. Passionate giving, motivated by an understanding of what God gave for us, giving beyond our means, leads us to the humility of complete dependence on God.
The author of the book of James urges us to be “doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deluding our own selves.” (James 1:22). Can we really become doers of the Word if we don’t first spend the time listening to what it says and talking with God to understand what it means in our life?
May the Lord ignite in all of us a burning desire to meet Him prayerfully in His Word, and may we seek visible ways to live out what we hear from Him.
1 comment:
Pastors never seem to explain the truth about the Biblical tithe.
First, ONLY those who inherited the promised land with everything on it were commanded to tithe. In other words, God GAVE to them their land and all buildings already on that land, including houses, barns, etc. No mortgage payment. No rent payment. Free and clear. Then God said He reserved a tenth of the crops and animals that HE would increase. He gave them the land and buildings, and then the crops and animals, but reserved, for Himself, a tenth of the crops and animals. He gave them their home and their job! He never asked them to pay Him a tenth of any money they earned; i.e. from selling the food from the crops and animals, or from bartering the crops and animals, or from any other income or earnings.
He then gave His tenth to the Levites as their inheritance, instead of land ownership, and the Levites were to work at the Temple. They actually worked at the Temple about two weeks per year on a rotational basis.
Now, wouldn't it be nice if today God gave each of us a piece of land with a house on it, free and clear, and only required us to pay Him a tenth of what we earn? That would be a great deal for most of us.
What tithing was in Biblical times and what tithing is today is like comparing apples to automobiles. It is like comparing a gift to a debt. There is nothing common between the two other than tenth.
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