Book Review: Tithing

I will be giving a talk at church about tithing soon, so I was excited to get a free copy from Book Sneeze of Tithing to review.

The author shares his experience going around the country to interview different people (most are leaders of congregations) who are tithe payers.  He shares their experience and thoughts about tithing.

He never says if tithing should be required, rather shares their experiences and lets you come to your own conclusions.

Some interesting insights I came away with that I will incorporate in my talk:

• In Malachi 3:6-12 it is the only place in the Bible where God says “Test me in this”
• I love the story where a preacher was looking for some land to establish his church.  A family sells him their farm land very inexpensively.  The family let him know that their father had always paid tithes and felt that it was honoring their father to give their lands to a church.
• I like the idea of tithing being like a stewardship.
  

  “It is a deeper level of stewardship.  It means asking, “What is my money doing to the planet and to the people.”

• A lot of the people spoke of the idea of how they are spending their money in general can demonstrate their values and beliefs.
  

  “His father said that your checkbook tells the story of your priorities.”

• By donating money to local and world wide organizations we are linking ourselves together with humanity.

I enjoyed reading this book and it gave me a lot of good insights and ideas to add into my talk.  It also made me think more about tithing and how I apply that in my life.