Supermarket Tithing: Worshipping Down the Isles

As of the 2010 Census report¹, 39.8 million people in this nation are living in poverty; while approximately one in seven households goes without food.  About seventy-five percent² of the American population identifies themselves as Christians.   That means 234,052,709 people profess to be followers of Jesus Christ.   What would happen if we all gave at least ten percent (10%) of our groceries to the church or some other charity to help those 39.8 million?  Sound crazy?  Actually, it’s biblical!

Leviticus 27:30 says, ‘And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree is the LORD’s.  It is holy to the LORD.’  Biblically speaking, ten percent (10%) of all agriculture belongs to God.  So let’s break that down.  That means every time 234,052,709 Christians go grocery shopping, a tenth of all their groceries belongs to the LORD. 

But maybe you think supermarket tithing isn’t under the New Covenant.  Better tell Jesus because he didn’t get the memo.  The Lord said in Mt 23:23, ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice, and mercy and faith.  These you OUGHT TO HAVE DONE, WITHOUT leaving the others undone.’  Mint, anise, and cumin are herbs; in essence - food.  So even in the new covenant, tithing FOOD is expected.

Please don’t misconstrue this.  I am in no way trying to tell you how to spend your money or make you feel guilty.  Honestly, the LORD gave me this revelation almost nine years ago and I just put it into practice last weekend.  But I wanted to share this with you.  Because when we know better, we do better. 

However, if you aren’t tithing financially, perhaps beginning with ten percent of your shopping cart would be a start.  Don’t just purchase Great Value and Best Choice either.  Remember, the tithe, whether food or finances, goes to God – by way of your church.  ‘It is Holy to the LORD.’  (Can you imagine – grocery shopping being holy and time of worship? WOW!!!)

For time and convenience, consider purchasing gift cards from your local supermarket and putting them in the collection plate on Sundays.  That way if the church wanted to buy ground meat or turkey for a family, they could.  Pastors and ministry leaders, keep in mind, perishable items are good but meat is also essential in the lives of those in need. 

                      

REFERENCES

1 http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/us_hunger_facts.htm

2 http://christianity.about.com/od/denominations/p/christiantoday.htm

Global Tithing

ISSUE: GLOBAL TITHING 

'...for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.’ Malachi 3:9 

As I was hearing a teaching on tithing by my e-Pastor, Bro. Keith Moore of Faith Life Church in Branson, MO, the thought came of “what if a whole nation tithed?”  What if an entire country gave ten percent of its national income to promote the kingdom of God here on earth?  

RESEARCH AND STUDY

What percentage of the United States governments’ income is spent on foreign aid? According to the Congressional Research Service report on the ‘State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2011 Budget and Appropriations’, 54.22 billion¹.  For time sake, is fifty-four billion ten percent (10%) or a tithe of the federal governments’ income? Yes.   According to the Concord Coalition², our government reported 2.162 trillion as income for fiscal year 2010; which means ten percent (10%) of that 2.162 trillion is 2.162 billion.  So, our government surpassed the ten percent tithe benchmark by 250%. 

Currently, the U.S. distributes that 54.22 billion to approximately 150 countries.  However, the top recipients of that aid according to Vaughn’s Summaries³, is dispersed to eighteen (18) countries.  Chart A-1 provides those top recipients and the percentage of the Christian population⁴; 

·          Israel (Christian – 3.5%)

·          Egypt (Predominantly Muslim, Christian – 12.9%)

·          Columbia (Christian – 97%)

·          Jordan (Predominantly Muslim, Christian - 6%)

·          Pakistan (Predominantly Muslim, Christian – 1.6%)

·          Peru (Christian – 93.8%)

·          Indonesia (Predominantly Muslim, Christian – 12.3%)

·          Kenya (Christian – 85.1%)

·          Boliva (Christian - 97%)

·          Ukraine (Christian – 91.5%)

·          India (Christian – 2.4%)

·          Haiti (Christian – 83.7%)

·          Russia (Christian – 70.3%)

·          Ethiopia (Christian – 64.5%)

·          West Bank/Gaza (Christian – 0.7%)

·          Liberia (Christian – 40%)

·          Bangladesh (Predominantly Muslim, Christian – 0.3%)

·          Bosnia (Christian – 51%)

 

Of those 18 nations, 5 are predominantly Muslim⁵.  That means 72% or the bulk of foreign aid is going into predominantly Christian nations.  So what’s the problem within those countries? Why do these professed Christian nations require assistance in bilateral development, multilateral economic contributions, humanitarian and military aid from the U.S.?  Could it be that those Christian nations are themselves failing to tithe; thus they are ‘...cursed with a curse, for [they] have robbed [God], even [those] whole nation[s].’ (Malachi 3:9)  The leaders of those nations have not dedicated ten percent of their countries income and/or resources to God.   

But let’s ask the question—should foreign aid be considered as tithe? Technically no, because the tithe belongs to God and would have to be designated as such. In addition, the tithe would have to be given to those nations supporting the gospel.  But could that aid actually be the contributing factor as to why God continues to protect our nation in spite of its moral flaws?  

OUR ASSIGNMENT

Repent and ask God to forgive us for our penetrating observations and comments about the government.  Then purpose to keep our mouths off our governments’ leaders.  Pray and ask God to ‘give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. (Ephesians 1:17) Ask God to ‘fill them with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom, including the financial wisdom found in the Word of God, and to give them spiritual understanding about how to spend our nations income and best utilize its resources. (Colossians 1:9)

Be sure to cast your vote at the bottom of the page!!!

REFERENCES:

 1 Congressional Research Service, ‘State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2011 Budget and Appropriations’, http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/161352.pdf

2 Concord Coalition, http://concordcoalition.org/federal-government-income

3 Vaughn’s Summaries, http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/politics/us-foreign-aid.htm

4 Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_by_county

5 Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Muslim-majority_countries

Ignorant Men

ISSUE: IGNORANT VS. IG'NANT

I sat in the very back of the bus a few days ago between five men – four black, one white – all ranging in ages from 18 to mid 50’s.  Though varied in ages, temperaments, and swag; they all had one thing in common – ignorance.  Hear me out!  Not ignorant as in ig’nant.  But ignorant as in they lacked exposure to the finer things in life.  More importantly they lacked God! Hosea 4:6 says,  ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.  Because you have REJECTED knowledge…’

These men were ignorant because they lacked the knowledge of God.  Yet these same men spoke authoritatively on how many grams were in a dub and were quite knowledgeable about the price of corn (weed) today as compared to 2004 and 2005.  I listened as they spoke eloquently about the Dallas Mavericks and even predicted you couldn’t get a good job without a high school diploma. One even bragged about being 21 and not having his diploma while the others joked about it.  I watched discretely as the elder of the men nodded as if to give his approval of their dissemination of the thesis at hand. I listened intently because though they were young and male, we all had one thing in common – we lacked the knowledge to get the transportation needed to avoid our overheated, slightly crowded seating conditions. 

The old me would have judged them, but the new me knows that all they need is knowledge and exposure into new territories other than traps and county jails.  They needed an education; first spiritual, then formal.  Because these same dudes who understand the measurement system and have been following the pricing trends of marijuana for the last 7 years of their young lives, could actually excel on Wall Street as stockbrokers or even as salesmen or chemists for a large pharmaceutical company – with the right education and exposure to the knowledge of God.

I empathized with them because that education and exposure often comes through elders. But if the elders themselves are unexposed, uneducated, and unknowledgeable, what can they do? 

As I sat through the entire trip, I wanted to hand them my BFF’s new book, ‘Kingmakers: Weapons of Our Warfare’, but I couldn’t.  In this book, he directs the fatherless to the Heavenly Father and those needing a role model to the throne of God with a practical, hood type, yet executive approach.  But because I didn’t have the finances to equip myself with the resources they needed, I decided in that moment that I would make sure I have something other than judgment, to give those men.  Won’t you join me? 

OUR ASSIGNMENT

The next time we see people of any persuasion behave ig’nantly, pray and ask God to open their hearts so that they can receive His Holy Spirit and confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  Pray that God would send laborers their way to minister, mentor, and provide opportunities for employment and/or education.  Even if you don’t have the money, you can do something.

For my economically stable readers, prayerfully consider buying several copies of the Bible to distribute.  Purchase several copies of inspiring, godly material such as ‘Kingmakers: Weapons of our Warfare’ [To purchase go to: kingmakers 2011.eventbrite.com/] and just give the material to those young men – without a lecture and without expecting so much as even a thank you. 

Men: The Conception of Rejection (Part II)

In Part One we discussed that each time men smile and we look away, compliment us and we don’t respond, or speak and we refuse to acknowledge their presence, that we have just sown seeds of rejection and would reap the harvest in our children.  Let’s take this further and discuss why most men get rejected in the first place.

Can you imagine how many times a day a man gets rejected in some form or another?  Let’s factor out of the equation their race; because it’s known historically that African-American males experience far more rejection than any other race.  But let’s consider that any man, regardless of creed or nationality, usually experiences some sort of rejection – daily.  But why?

Men don’t greet themselves.  Because I grew up in the inner city, I can only speak from what I’ve observed.  And from what I’ve seen, both old and young men alike, generally don’t speak or acknowledge one another.  If they do, it’s with a grimace or mean mug.  When I asked my now 21 year-old son why, he said that it makes them look ‘weak’.  What?  How could something as simple as speaking to a man make another man “feel  weak”? 

Yet far too often as a result of those ‘feelings’, we see the cycle perpetuating and men reaping immediate harvests.  Because when a man goes out of his way to speak to you and didn’t acknowledge the man standing in front of you, he just got a quick return on his investment.  He didn’t speak to the man standing beside you( seed) and you didn’t speak to him (harvest).  He got what he invested.  He reaped what he sowed.  Sow a smile, reap a smile.  Sow a nod, reap a nod.  Sow nothin’, get nothin’! 

Brothers in Christ open your mouths and speak.  Acknowledge the man next to you first before you speak to me.  

YOUR ASSIGNMENT
Repent and ask the Lord to forgive you for rejecting and not acknowledging other men.  Ask Him to help you speak to other men without feeling weak or vulnerable. 

Men: Seeds of Rejections (Part I)

I watched as my then 19-year-old son’s countenance began to change.  He wasn’t as outgoing or confident as he usually was.  Because we are so close, I noticed in our talks he’d ask, “Why don’t y’all women speak?  I mean, I’m just speaking!”  I asked myself why I didn’t.  So I told him, “It’s the way a man speaks.  If he’s speaking like he’s flirting, then I don’t respond.  But if he’s sincere, I’ll speak.”

I watched as the days went by that he seemed weary and somewhat depressed.  I prayed and asked God  what I could do.  He began to reveal to me how I had contributed to the problem.  What?  ME!?!  What’d I do?

He revealed to me each time a man smiled at me and I looked away, complimented me and I didn’t respond, or spoken to me and I refused to acknowledge his presence – that I had just sown a seed of rejection into that man and was reaping the harvest of it in my son.  He showed me it’s not my place to demand that a man speak to me in a certain way.  That’s PRIDE.  Proverbs 6:16, 17 says, ‘These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him; a PROUD look..’  As a child of God, Jesus commanded in Matthew 5:47, ‘… if you greet the brethren only, what do you more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so?’ 

So for about a year-and-a-half, I had to greet the brothers; even when they hadn’t met my standard of speaking.  I’m not advocating and obligating you to respond to every cat call, whistle, horn, question, or greeting.  (That’s another issue)  But for me, I had to start by just looking in their direction when they spoke.  Then I’d gradually wave or grin.  One day I’d nod, which eventually led to me speaking. Until finally, I am now able to hold a brief, and I do mean brief conversation.  That’s major because I haven’t dated since 2002. (That’s another series – be on the look out!)

Sisters in Christ, I encourage you to start where you are.  Smile, nod, wave, friend him on Facebook, speak but acknowledge that man in some way if and only if you have a peace about it.  Mothers, speak for your sons; and homegirls - no, he may not be your next husband but he’s someone’s son.