Kleptomaniac

Cold hard cash plays a role in our society and in the church. The money tithe system is the major source of income for the modern church institution. To sustain the influx of money, people must invent fund-raising schemes to keep the money flow constant. The Bible even says in Ecclesiastes 10:19 “…But money answers everything.” This Bible verse speaks volumes because pastors and church leaders who support tithing, view money as the ultimate answer to ministry rather than trusting God to move on the hearts of people. Weekly cheerleading sermons focus on how important it is for believers to open their wallets and pocketbooks and hand over 10 percent to God to receive manifold blessings. The argument that you owe God a tithe and you can’t beat God giving is powerful in collecting a tenth of income. However, no one ever discusses that theologians, Jewish sects, scribes, pastors, and Christians have argued over the validity of tithing money for centuries. Some who investigate biblical history on this phenomenon have concluded with certainty that biblical people tithed crops, cattle, sheep, goats and flocks but also gave money. Today, those who disagree with mandatory tithing doctrines have garnered the wrath of institutional church leaders; some feel marginalized and devalued because of their stand against tithing.

This chapter examines many Old Testament Bible verses with the word money. In fact, there are 140 verses in the Bible that use the word money. Believers should research every Scripture to discover how biblical people have historically handled money. Money was vital in the Bible; however, some argue that Israel and secular nations did not use money in a significant way. Some believers think Israel’s entire economy was agricultural. However, if money was not an important commodity of that time, why are there 140 money verses as opposed to only 38 references to tithe/ tithes in the Scripture?

While I cannot cover all 140 biblical references in this chapter, I will highlight some of them to give you insight into Israel’s money practices. In this chapter, you will discover whether money was tithed in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. The proof that someone actually tithed money in the Scriptures must be clear. Somewhere on the pages of the sacred text, it must be evident that Yahweh converted the herd and crop tithe to money. We know the Old Testament mentions both money and tithes but they are not synonymous.