Lessons

The Principles of Giving. God loves a cheerful giver. There is an important distinction between giving and tithing.Tithing is not giving and giving is not tithing. Tithing was a tax imposed on Israel to support the priestly structure among the twelve tribes. In the Old Testament, we learn of three tithes that were established. Numbers 18:21 tells us of a National Tax that was used to care for the Levites. Deuteronomy 14:22 identifies a Feast Tax which was used to help feed everyone. Finally, a Priest and Poor Tax is given in Deuteronomy 14:28 which occured every three years. These tithes were for the nation of Israel in their obedience to the law. Today we need to know God’s principles of giving. There are three general principles that can be obtained from 2 Corinthians 8. 1) Verses 1-2 remind us that whatever we have, it comes from God. 2) Verses 3-12 shows that God looks upon the heart and knows the purpose behind your giving. God loves a cheerful giver which is a voluntary giver. 3) The third principle in giving is from verses 13 where we are instructed to be careful to whom you give your money. You duty is to give to reliable and responsible recipients who administer the gifts appropriately. One such organization is the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Click here to listen to the lesson from 06-02-2002 on the principles of giving.