I know some who are amazing in manipulating people into giving money. Yet these people love and fear God and are prayerful people. The reason I had to do such an in-depth study of tithing is because of them, and I actually really respect them in all areas but this. I could give examples of how there has been manipulation, but it would serve no purpose. In your opinion, why do they do this?
I couldn't begin to offer a valid opinion about the specific people you know, since I don't know them.
I can give you my observations and my experiences that I think may be pertinent.
First. I was raised in a non-denom, evangelical, charismatic church and spent the first 30 years of my life in that church. It was a relatively small church, so everyone knew everyone else pretty well.
Growing up and even as an adult I believe most of the elder figures in that church were really mature people of God, very spiritual people, who loved God and knew God.
These were people I knew well and had known for literally my whole life.
I had begun to be discontent with church in general, though it was kind of vague and I didn't have specific reasons why at the time. I stuck in that church anyway because my dad was the pastor and it was a matter of family loyalty and I knew he wouldn't take it well if I left etc.
Eventually there began to be some troubles that culminated in some of the elders basically taking over the church and forcing my dad out. Now, I don't pretend to think, or intend to convey that my dad was perfect. He had a lot of faults as a pastor and I can understand why some people were discontent with him. I can understand and sympathize to a certain degree with the opinions and viewpoints of people on both sides of this issue.
However, something was clearly revealed to me during this process. Many of the people who I had respected and believed to be real mature people of God, spiritually mature people, etc. Proved that they were not what I thought they were. It was an eye opening experience.
Since that time I've continued in contact and friendship with people on both sides of the issue, but in spiritual terms I have also been significantly distanced from people on both sides of the issue. I'm not on either side but I fellowship from time to time with both sides so I see both sides.
What I see is that very few if any of the people I once believed to be truly mature and close to God, really know God very well. I don't doubt their intentions for the most part, and I have no doubt that they are sincere believers. They are very sincere about their feelings in worship, and so on. I don't believe that any of that is made up, or put on.
But what I have learned, and I don't think most of them have, is that relationship isn't about feeling. We used to judge how much someone loved God by how they felt, how they responded emotionally to worship, to prayer etc. The reality is that has almost nothing to do with actual relationship.
When I say it has little to do with it.. I should clarify that I mean showing feeling, is not a reliable sign of depth of relationship. Even when the feeling is sincere.
Feeling and emotion are good, I'm not advocating that they should be shunned or avoided. Just that they are unreliable and they don't actually truly foster depth of relationship.
So when someone tells me that a person really loves God, and is spiritually mature etc... I don't put a lot of stock in it because most of the outward signs that people go by really often don't correlate to true depth of relationship.
I've known people who were tremendous students of scripture, people who throw themselves into worship etc, but don't really know God all that well.
Probably the best real measure of how much someone really loves God and knows God, is how much they love others and how much they sacrifice of themselves for others.
Sorry if that got long
The second point I wanted to make is that no one is perfect. Even people who really do love God a great deal and who really do know God well still have character flaws and are still human. In general they try to over come them, but thats an ongoing process.
Connected to this is simply the reality that a lot of sincere people are badly taught on various issues. The people you know may have been raised with that view point about raising money and had it engrained in them.
By far the majority of people do not seriously question the view points that have been really engrained in them. They look, uncounciously usually, to prove and uphold those view points and this basically makes them blind on those issues.
God works with people where they are at, and we are all in different places. Maybe they aren't to the point yet in God's working with them where that issue can be addressed.
That doesn't mean they are necessarily infants in the faith or anything like that. They may be way better off in other areas that you and I aren't ready to address yet in our own lives.
