Okay, first what does the bible say about tithes and offerings? I believe one of the best places is Malachi, the last book of the old testament. Here God is talking about tithing. Malachi 3 is very pertinent:
Malachi 3:
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
You should note that God says the reason for the tithes is so "that there may be meat in mine house".
Haggai 2 speaks a bit about the money in the church:
Haggai 2:
7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
8 The silver
is mine, and the gold
is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
Now we see that the money that goes to the church is Gods.
I once asked my mom about tithing, I don't remember the question I asked her, but I remember her reply, she said "when I tithe I don't get any more money, things just cost me less." I wasn't quite sure what she meant. One time I went to buy a leather jacket, I didn't look at the prices I just picked out the nicest jacket that I wanted. When I went to pay for it I found it was the cheapest jacket in the store. Another time, years later, I went to buy a leather jacket, same thing, wound up being the cheapest jacket in the store. This goes alone with Malachi where God says: "and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." I always have everything I need. Even if I don't have the money to buy it, God makes it so that I get it cheap or given to me or however God wants to do it.
If you are complaining about tithes and offerings the best I can suggest to you is don't give it. It will do you no good to give a tithe and offering grumbling, it won't benefit you in the least. Not only does God love a cheerful giver (as seen in 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”) but god hates a giver who grumbles (I can't find the reference right now, but it was when God told the Jews to not bother to tithe and offer because they were doing it with a grumbling heart and it irritated Him).
The original reason for the tithes was so that the priesthood could live off of them as they did God's word, the tribe of Levi, which God did not give an inheritance but they lived off the tithes and offerings (some of them). That is the same reason we give in church, to pay the pastor and the staff, to pay the taxes on the building, to keep the lights and heating on, etc...
Another reason for tithing was so that the poor could eat. Deuteronomy 26 "
12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year,
which is the year of tithing, and hast given
it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;"
So, if your pastor and staff is well paid, for is not a workman worthy of his hire? Is the house of God in good repair? Does your church have enough to supply the homeless and poor that need it? Is there food in God's house? If not, I do not believe God is very happy with the members.
In conclusion: We are not required to give 10% since we are not under the Mosaic law. We need to give what each man has desired in his heart to give. If you give to God, he will fill your storehouses. If you do not, learn from what God did to the isrealites when his house was in disrepair.
Haggai 1
5 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages
to put it into a bag with holes.
Just as God can make things cheaper, He can make them more expensive.
It is tricky, however. If you give with the intention of being blessed and no other reason then you are not giving with a glad heart. The first time I started tithing it was with an attitude of okay God, here's your money. You better take care of me. All my money went into a bag with holes. I stopped tithing for a few years. Then I decided I didn't care if God blessed me or not, I would tithe because I wanted too. And everything was cheap. At one time I held God up to the promise in Malachi and it was so strange. For three months straight the money I gave God in tithes someone gave right back to me out of the blue, the same amount.
Giving to God is something personal to each Christian and their relationship with God. You can be blessed greatly from learning how to cheerfully give to support God's work, and you can be cursed for giving with a grumbling heart. If you do not give at all God will let you take care of your own finances. But take heed:
Ecclesiastes 2
26(a) For
God giveth to a man that
is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to
him that is good before God...
Romans 8
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to
his purpose.
So, what I get from this is that if I work to please God not only will he make it so that things work out for me, but the ones who don't please God will be gathering riches to give to me.
If you think of giving to the house of God or to the poor as a chore, you'll have no reward. If you do it will the intent to please God, then you'll lay up not only riches in heaven but here on earth too.
God is a living God. He has promises He's laid out in the bible and he stands by them. You can think of the bible as just a book some people wrote to be good and the preacher just wants to make money, or you can realize that the bible is the word of the living God and we are supposed to try to use it to make us grow in God in all ways.
I've tested God in Malachi as He asked me to and have been blessed greatly by it. But it took quite a while to get the correct heart.
Matthew 25 is good to learn from. The King here is Jesus.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed
thee? or thirsty, and gave
thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took
thee in? or naked, and clothed
thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done
it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done
it unto me.
Realize your pastor, who makes a living off of the offerings, is also our brethren.
I am not talking about those TV evangelists who make a 10 million dollar salary. For everyone who does the will of God there is the one who will abuse it. God is their judge, however, not us.