Exodus 5 addresses navigating hardships we face in life and responding to God in the midst of troubles. How do we respond to God in the midst of hardships and undesirable circumstances? Three responses are shown in the text; Pharaoh’s, the elders and leaders of Israel, and Moses. God then responds.
Philippians1v21 
December 19, 2016 at 1:09 am
Good day sir, I have read and Learnt from many of your posts. However, I want to ask a question that has been bugging me for a while because you seem very knowledgeable about the word and I think I will get the perfect answer from you. I love to pay my tithe but I would like to know if it is OK for me to sometimes give my tithe to the needy rather than the church. It doesnt mean I will totally stop giving to the church but I just want to know if it is OK to give the poor since God says He is also in the poor. Princewill from Nigeria.
December 19, 2016 at 12:42 pm
Princewill,
Thanks for the encouragement. That is a good question about tithing. It is important to understand that the requirement from the law to tithe (give 10% of our first fruits) is only applicable under the Old Covenant. As partakers in the New Covenant, we do not have an established amount requirement we must all give.
However, that doesn’t mean God’s expectations for us are less when it comes to giving. In fact, as followers of Jesus we are expected to give Him 100% of our lives (not just 10%). We are to lay our lives down as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1). That means we recognize that everything we have is really His and He has entrusted it to us to use wisely. I have written some on this already in Comment #55 here. Please read that.
We don’t have a strict, set amount we are to give, because we all have the Holy Spirit. God is with us, guiding each of us and helping to show us how and where we are to give. When we are following the Holy Spirit’s leading and looking at our time, talent and possessions as God’s given to us for good stewardship, we will be able to make wise and godly decisions about when, how much and where to give. Thus, I cannot tell you how much you are to give or how you should divide that up.
There are, though, some general points that we can take from the bible that help guide these decisions. As Christians, our giving should be: sacrificial, consistent, and gracious. When we are giving this way, we are pleasing God. These are not items we can check off our list or objectives we ever arrive at. We are to continually strive to be growing and making progress in each of these areas. We are to continually work to get better at each one. Make progress (1 Tim 4:15).
Let’s look at the first point: giving sacrificially. This means we must give such that it impacts us. We give so that it means there are things we would like to do or have that we don’t, for the sake of God and others. We give till it hurts. We give such that it requires faith in God to provide to make up the difference. This builds our faith and reliance on God and decreases our reliance on things and this world. I know that for me this doesn’t equate to 10%. I know God has called me to give more than that. I continue to work to get better in this area.
We also give consistently. This one gets to your question, directly. We are called first and foremost to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters who God has placed in our church family and to support the mission of our local church (see Acts 2:42-47, 4:34, 5:4, 6:1-7, 1 Cor 16:1, 1 Tim 5:17, Phil 4:15-16, and John 3:17). The world will know that we are Jesus’ disciples primary and foremost by how we love our brothers and sisters in Christ in our church and meet their needs (John 13:25, 1 John 3:16-18, Matt 25:31-46, 1 Tim 5:8). We see in the example in 1 Cor 16:1 that this provision for those within the congregation, the supporting of paid teachers and elders, and the meeting of the financial needs of the local ministry was accomplished by the regular (weekly) collection of offerings from the church.
Whenever we give, meeting these needs of ministry and support within our congregations should be our first and primary priority. Our giving for this should be regular and consistent, not sporadic. This helps the church plan, budget and best manage God’s resources to accomplish the most. It allows for those who serve God by spending their lives ministering, teaching and caring to have a consistent and steady income (1 Tim 5:17-18). Additionally, our funds, when combined with the funds of others in our church (as well as beyond our church), have the ability to accomplish more good than we could do separately and individually (see 1 Cor 16:1-4, 2 Cor 8:1-9:15 and Rom 15:14-32).
Thus, giving to your local church should always be your first priority. This doesn’t mean you must stop there and not give to other godly causes or directly to those you see in need outside the church. However, I would encourage you to make this giving above and beyond your regular giving to your church. These are opportunities the Holy Spirit gives you to grow in your giving and rise to the occasion to meet a need. I would suggest you try to avoid decreasing the amount you give to your church to meet a need like this. Rather, look at other areas of your life to see if a reduction somewhere else can be made. Think bigger and give sacrificially, trusting God to provide. In my experience, you cannot out give God.
Lastly, we are to give graciously. We are to not give grudgingly, but cheerfully (2 Cor 9:7). We are not to give seeking reward or recognition. When at all possible, give without others knowing about it so that it is only seen by God, who will reward you (Matt 6:1-4). It is the heart condition that matters when giving, not just the action.
Remember, this is a journey not a destination. We all have room to grow in this, myself included. We need to be continually striving to make progress.
God bless,
Jake