I've been mulling over some thoughts on tithing and offerings. What I am thinking is disturbing because if my hunch is right, much of contemporary teaching on the subject may be called into question. Anyway, here are my initial thoughts in very rough form. (I'm going to try to refine them and add to them later).

Given to Share
Do a study on the tithe, and you will probably discover that it is not what you thought it was. In the First Testament, the tithe was part of a larger system of sacrifice and food sharing. The tithe was a tenth, but this was not the only offering given, and it was most often given in grain, fruit, or livestock. If the tithe was to be bought back, it was to be bought back with 20% interest.

There was also a set of specific offerings. The system of offerings also included the offerings of grain, fruit, and/or livestock. Five different offerings (burnt, grain, fellowship, sin, and guilt) had different reasons behind them. Sin and guilt offerings were given to make atonement for sin. Burnt offerings and grain offerings were given in gratefulness to YHWH. Fellowship offerings were given, basically, to throw a big community party in thanks to God. These offerings were included in a further set of festivals, or feasts, and special days.

As you study these tithes and offerings, what emerges is a picture of God providing for the people, who then provide for those who cannot provide for themselves. The tithes and offerings of grain, fruit, and livestock were either burned up completely, or they were eaten by those who had no ‘inheritance,’ or land with which to raise crops or herd livestock. The storehouse, so well known from Malachi 3:10, was there to provide for the poor and the helpless in Israel.

So if we were to identify where things went, we would say: 1) up in smoke!, 2) providing for those who had no means for providing for themselves (the Levites—the priestly family—and the poor), and 3) throwing parties.
Incidentally, Solomon’s temple was not built with money from tithes and offerings, but with funds from heavy taxation (to pay for materials and craftsmen) and forced labor.

It is tempting to turn tithing into a kind of ‘holy flat tax,’ set by God at 10%. Churches can use tithing as a kind of ‘fund-raising’ to support its operating expenses. People can become imprisoned by guilt or use it as an excuse for greed (‘God gets his portion and I can do what I like with the rest’). Others, identifying as an ‘old covenant’ institution, see justification for ignoring it altogether. How are we to translate the ‘tithes and offerings’ of the First Testament into our practice today? What light do Jesus’ teachings and the practice of the early church shed on the issue?

Malachi’s comment (Malachi 3) that people were robbing God, arose from the neglect of the most poor and needy people among them—they weren’t sharing what God had given them. Jesus declared his ministry to be the start of the Jubilee—the forgiving of debts (not just sins!), return of property, and liberation of slaves and indentured servants. Several early disciples sold property and gave the proceeds to be distributed so that no one would be in need. Paul instructed the wealthy to be generous with their riches, providing for those who were in need. The consistent principle I see in all the scriptures concerning our use of resources (grain, fruit, goats, or money) is that it is given by God so that it can be shared with those in need—not stored up solely for my own use.

Here are a few thoughts I had this morning. You may recognize the line of thought if you've read Parker Palmer's, "Let Your Life Speak"...

Limitations and Potential
Jesus said, “With God, all things are possible.” That is not the same as one popular saying today that says, “You can be anything you want to be if you set your mind to it and work hard enough.” What Jesus was saying was that on your own, you have many limitations. The second saying, an American Dream, says that you have no limitations.

The American Dream is a myth that has encouraged many people to be rich and ‘successful,’ but has also left many more disappointed, depressed, confused, and angry. It ignores the very real limitations we have and raises peoples expectations (and pride) to ungodly heights. It also has more to do with getting than giving.

The Jesus Dream, however, is that our identity, our sense of story and purpose, would be formed, not on our own, but by our Creator. To have your identity and sense of purpose formed by someone else is not the American way—we decide who we are to be. Yet, we have often proven that ‘he who directs his own life follows a fool.’ Jesus said that those who are wise build their lives upon his direction and teaching.

When we recognize the fact that we do have limitations, we are free to discover our true potential. We are free to discover that the potential of a God-directed, God-empowered, God-filled life is truly full of possibility. We are freed to engage ourselves in the things that God has called us to do, trusting that he will provide for us beyond our limitations—for God’s ability is without limitation.

It may seem strange, in thinking about gifts and abilities, to consider our limitations as a gift. Many of us need to be convinced that we have some wonderful gifts and abilities to be used for the benefit of others. Many people do not think they have much to offer—or else, they think that there is no place for them to offer what they have. Often all they see is their own limitations. It seems to me, however, that God has a pattern of finding the most limited people to get involved in what he is doing. Yes, even your limitations are a gift because they give God opportunity to demonstrate how great his ability—and his love—truly is. Paul heard God say to him, “My power is made complete in your limitations” (2 Corinthians 12:9, paraphrase).

Your limitations are also a gift because they create space for God to provide through the abilities of others, and vice versa. Did you ever think that your abilities were not given to you to make you great, but to provide for someone else’s limitations? And did you ever think that someone else’s abilities were given to provide for your limitations? Your God-given limitations give someone else the opportunity to share their God-given abilities. The God-given limitations of others give you the opportunity to share your God-given abilities. God has called us, all people, to be together so that we can provide for each other where there is need. In one sense, it is in this way that all our needs are met in God—through the God-given abilities present in one another.

I wanted to get a thought down here that came up yesterday at the GR Ooze group thing. I was thinking about the idea of privacy. I jumped into a conversation with the line, "We need to convince people that privacy is really a bad thing." Now, of course, this being a very unformed thought, I had to stew on it through the rest of the conversation and, in fact, parts of the rest of the day.

I think what I really had in mind is that certain kinds of privacy is a bad thing. Certain kinds of privacy is a good thing. Like, it's a good thing that my personal financial information is relatively private. Those who need to know will know, but everyone doesn't need to know my bank account numbers, etc. Nor does everyone need to know every little dirty secret in my past. It would be injurious to other people if I went around blabbing about it and making it public. Again, those who need to know will know.

What is bad is to live unaccountable to anyone--to live without responsibility to my neighbors. A few guys chafed when I said that we should at least know our (geographic) neighbors (this is in the 'burbs of Jenison). They were suggesting that neighbor is no longer defined by geographic proximity. Granted, cell phones, IM's, email, and super-mobility have changed the ways in which we connect with people, but I believe that we have a responsibility to the real (not virtual)SPACE in which we live.

The suburbs are made for privacy. I pull into the garage, close the door behind me, and people only knock on my front door twice a year. I don't have to answer it. The garage door is closed, it's daytime, so the lights aren't on. The person will just go on to the next house. I really hate that. Our backyard has a chain-link fence--better than those 8-feet tall PRIVACY fences, but still it says "Mine & not yours. Please stay away." My dream for our backyards is that the five families whose backyards butt up to ours would get together and make one giant common space (no fences), and say, "Ours. You are welcome."

Privacy, as it is taken to the levels to which we take it, only creates loneliness and isolation. How can I know if my next door neighbor needs help or attention or love if our lives are not at least in some way public to each other? How can I be a blessing to them if I don't really know what that would entail?

What I really appreciate from Joe Myers is that he has helped me see that there are different degrees of connectedness and different degrees of privacy. I don't have to be intimate or even personal with my next door neighbor to know enough to help them out in some way. I am not responsible to know everything about them or to reveal everything about myself, but I am responsible to show love to them in whatever way I can. To do that, I need to at least begin by learning their names.

As soon as the snow melts (in June!), Torie and I are going to work on a project with John and Amy across the street. We're going to share a mailbox post, so we need to install it together. I just learned John's name last week. Hey, it's a place to start.

Finally, back to blogging! I lost my login password and now it is found! Come, let's kill the fattened calf and break out the good wine!

Okay, it's not that big of a deal. sorry.

I met with the Ooze group folks today. We met some new friends there: Dean, Nick, Paul, and Evan (for a second). Dean and Nick were bringing up some crazy good stuff about how irresponsible Western Society (and the church as far as it has bought into the assumptions of consumerism, etc.) is and where things might be headed--and why some collapse might not be a bad thing. Dean was talking about Jesus people addressing the true needs of human life: air/breath, food, drink, covering/clothing/shelter, and community/love. Dean seems like one of those smart, quirky, passionate, green folks that I truly appreciate so much. Nick, so says Mark Riddle (my friend who it was good to see again), is one of those guys who hasn't read much in emerging church book circles, but is living it all out anyway. Nick's a long-hair who really 'feels it.' It was a good trip to the Urban Mill.

In other arenas, I just finished up the third session of this series I'm teaching at Jenison Christian Church. I've posted the text at my personal weblog (here). I don't know what's up with that site, though. It has been taking an inordinate amount of time to load the page. So I apologize if it takes forever to load. Just open a new window while it is working, or use it as a spiritual discipline to develop patience.

Following God is not exactly safe in the way we usually want to be safe.