Friday, January 20, 2012

Tithes

I fully agree that I should always pay my tithes and catch up later if I fell behind. Nevertheless, I do not agree that tithes must go to the televangeliests. It is my decision to make but I tend to think that the local church is the place for tithes assuming that you attend a local church. If all tithes are paid to television then there will be no local church for you. You are just a mass media believer of the generic variety. You will not get anything more than the basics from TV. For the masses of ignorant couch potato cash machines it really does not matter what you do. If you so like, the TV ministries will do all of your Christian charity duties for you and all you have to do is mail the check or pick up the phone and contribute or something like that. However, if I prefer to own my own life and make my decisions, then televangelists and/or Hoskins have no reason to be smashing my brains on the pavement to try to wring some dollars and cents out of me. They already have entire vaults crammed full of the accumulated wealth of millions of people so there is no reason for them to have any interest in the tithing choices that I might make as an individual. The televangelists always say those things every day on TV about contributing money because what else would they have to talk about otherwise and also it is true as a general principle that you should tithe off your income but you don't necessarily have to give it to them. You could also give it to the local church or some other non-broadcasting parachurch ministry. It is your decision to make. I am not telling you where to mail the check. If you have a lot of surplus money to burn you could also donate money to TV if you want to but it is your decision to make. It is not like the money belongs to me, or even to you. All good things come from the Father in heaven anyway and you can't take it with you. Life is short.