Tithing: Money Back Guarantee?

I wrote an article a while ago called Tithing in the New Testament and in light of the post I put up yesterday about tithing spell inward debt, I just had to share something I found. I am not sure how I haven’t heard of this until now, but apparently, “LifeChurch.tv, a multi-site, media-intensive church out of Oklahoma City, encourages testing God. They not only advocate such testing, they back it up with an unorthodox guarantee.” They have been running this program for 11 years!

Test me similar a shot inward this…

The article I found was called The Tithing Challenge over at ChristianityToday.com. In it you find that this unconventional church building puts their money where their mouth is – or more appropriately – God’s mouth 😉 . They challenge the congregation to tithe for 3 months inward improver to if at the finish of the 3 months the participants are not convinced of God’second faithfulness, they tin strength out acquire a full refund of every dollar they withdraw hold given, no questions asked.

It is, of course, based off of the Malachi 3:10 verse that (as far as anyone has found) is the only Biblical encouragement to “examination God.”

Malachi 3:10-12 (NIV)

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that at that spot may concord out food inward my venture. Test me inward this,” says the LORD Almighty, “too take in if I testament not throw opened upwardly the floodgates of heaven in addition to pour out inward add-on to so much approval that you volition not select room enough for it. I testament forestall pests from devouring your crops, together amongst the vines inward your fields testament non cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty. “Then all the nations testament telephone telephone you lot blessed, for yours testament exist a delightful world,” says the LORD Almighty.

The results

While I have seen God’s faithfulness equally I convey tithed, I would figure that some people would expression at God’s provision as luck or coincidence. To my surprise the sum of people who requested a refund was surprisingly low… “From the recent large forcefulness, five participants out of the 550 who signed upwardly requested their tithe be returned.”

Five people out of 550. That is less than 1% of people who took the challenge!

Tithing plant?

I honestly think the tithing challenge idea is a pretty proficient i. Before I started tithing, the chief footing that I didn’t was because I didn’t think I could give upward 10% of my income together amongst withal meet all my needs. If I would accept been offered something like this I probably would select jumped on it.

But as I think about it, the whole challenge is kind of a faith-transfer. The pastor is thence convinced that what Malachi says is truthful that he is stepping out inwards faith for his congregation. While I admire him for doing it, I am not certain if that is ultimately a proficient matter for the congregation, since it is impossible to please God without religion (Hebrews eleven:half dozen). But, on the other paw, if it gets people to consider that God is faithful, that is adept isn’t it?