The Widow's Two Mites
Consider the story of The widow's two mites. Jesus approved of her contribution to support the temple. Many times this story is used to say we should pay tithe even if there is corruption in the church. People may say Jesus knew the hidden sins of the priests and rulers yet He still commended the widow for paying tithe to an organization that He knew would soon crucify Him.
But, let’s take a look from the widow’s perspective. She knew Christ had just cleansed the temple a few days earlier. He still claimed the temple as His own and was still physically in the temple (Mat 21:13). This was probably the reformation the widow had been hoping for. Like the disciples and the rest of the people she did not expect Jesus to be crucified soon. She believed she was supporting a good cause and she was (though briefly). Jesus was commending the generous, self sacrificing, spirit of the widow. It has nothing to do with excusing sins in the church.
If we see a church today where the Spirit of Christ is, where there is reformation, where sins are recognized and dealt with, where unholy traffic is cleansed, the word of God is preached, the sick are cared for, and the poor are ministered to, then we can support that church in good conscience. There is no perfect church, but there should be no excusing or redefining of sin, no open rebellion.
Soon after the widow's contribution, the leaders made their final decision to reject Christ. Then Jesus said, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate” (Mat 23:38). If we see a church that is rejecting the word of God or questioning plain principles in God’s word we should not support it.
Oppression and Rebellion not Supported
When Jesus cleansed the temple the people knew they were being exploited. They knew they were paying too high a price for the sacrificial animals. That’s why it looked and sounded like a den of thieves. Christ did not rebuke the people for complaining about their unfair treatment. He did not tell them to quietly just pay the exorbitant fees. He did not advise the people to submit to a system that claimed to and should have represented God but was actually oppressive. Instead, He drove out the oppressors.
Consider also the story of Eli. His sons were committing open sin and taking more than their share by force (1 Sam 2:12-17, 22-25). The people knew this and decreased their support of the worship services that God had ordained but were being abused. 1 Sam 2:17 “... men abhorred the offering of the LORD”. See also PP 576.4. God did not rebuke the people for not supporting the abuses of Hophni and Phinehas. Instead, Jehovah warned Eli through His prophets. When the warnings were unheaded, calamity followed and the house of Eli was rejected.
The story of Nehemiah is another good example. “Nehemiah was not a priest; he was not a prophet; he made no pretension to high title. He was a reformer raised up for an important time….” PK 675.3. He rebuked priests and leaders and foreigners. He fought extortion, he was generous (Neh 5), and he restored the Sabbath (Neh 13:15-21). When there was corruption and the people stopped paying tithe (Neh 13:10), he didn’t tell them to “sit down, shut up, and pay up.” He rebuked the high priest's family (and many others) unholy alliance with the enemies of God. He expelled the idolaters and those who clung to their “strange wives” (PK 674.1). He cleansed the temple and restored the true worship of God ( Neh 13:4-13, 23-31). Only after reforms were begun, did he exhort the people to bring the tithes (Neh 13:11-12).
Sometimes reformation is rejected and people will persist in rebellion. Consider the story of Paul in Ephesus. He preached in the synagogue for three months. Then the truth was rejected by many of the Jews and for the sake of the believers “Paul separated from them and gathered the disciples into a distinct body, continuing his public instructions in the school of Tyrannus, a teacher of some note” (AA 285.3). You might even say Paul set up a “parachurch.”
A Bag With Holes
If, however, we withhold our support for His cause, then God can not bless us. In the days of Haggai the people had stopped building the Lord’s house and were working on their own houses. But they did not prosper until they began to work on God’s temple again. In Malachi 3 God promises a blessing for those who give tithes and offerings to God’s house. We must always find the cause of God somewhere to support. But we cannot support a church or ministry based on name and/ or church affiliation only. God commands us not to support those in rebellion. See Deut 13:12-18. 18LtMs, Ms 128, 1903, par. 2. If we do join our resources with those who do not abide by the word of God, the results will be a disaster (1Ki 22:1-37).
But what if the church secretly mishandles the money? This happened with Christ’s ministry on earth. Of all ministries through all time surely it would be safe to be generous with Jesus (and it was and is and always will be). But Judas was the treasurer and he was a thief (John 12:8). At the time, though, no one knew he was a thief except Jesus. In His mercy, the Savior bore long with Judas. Judas could have repented and, like Zacchaeus, repaid everything he had taken by fraud.
Thus, when we do our due diligence, when we find a ministry that, based on our evaluation of the known facts, we believe is doing God’s work, we should generously support it. If the funds are secretly misused, God will not hold us accountable but the abuse of God’s resources will eventually be revealed and corrected.
Tithe Eligibility
From the time of Moses to the death of Christ the priests and Levites were to receive 10% of the people's increase (Num 18:21-32, Nehemiah 10:35-39).
John the Baptist was the son of a priest but he did not attend the schools of the rabbis nor minister in the Temple. He “was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel” (Luke 1:80). He had a very independent ministry. Was his ministry eligible for tithe? The Prophet (John 6:14) was the Head of a non-profit organization that was exempt from certain taxes (Mat 17:24-27). Was His ministry eligible for tithe money?
Before Moses time, Abraham paid tithe to Melchizedek. After Christ’s death, Paul, who was a Benjamite and a minister of the gospel, claimed the right to receive support just like the priests and Levites who ministered in the temple (1 Cor 9:1-14). Elders were also eligible for support “especially they who labour in the word and doctrine” (1 Tim 5:17-18). Would this not include tithe money? How about those who are independent ministers of the gospel today who may not have gone through the schools of our day? How about those who are in mission fields where there is no church? How about pastors who have been fired for standing up for liberty of conscience? Are any or all of these eligible for tithe?
The church is seeking to control the minds and means of men but the tables of the money changers are tilting. Already some of the coins have fallen off and pastors are being laid off. Consider Hag 1:5,6. If there is no reformation then the cash flow will be forced to go under or around the table. Often God’s independent ministries, some on the front lines, are forced to survive on the bread crumbs that fall from the Master’s table while those who sit at the table take more than they need (Mark 7:27-28, Luke 16:21).
If the church would focus less on the flow of cash and more on the cause of Christ, if we would rebuild the foundation (Hag 2:18) on the Word instead of worrying so much about the bottom line on paper, if we would focus more on restoring the spiritual temple (1Pe 2:1-8) instead of remodeling our own houses and institutions, if we would repair the breach (Isa 58:12) instead of breaching the repair, if we would restore the paths to dwell in (Isa 58:12) instead of wandering in the wilderness where the water of life has been drowned in the sands of time and infidelity, then the LORD of hosts will open the windows of heaven, and pour out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it (Mal 3:10).
If we don’t, our houses and institutions will be built on sand and the coming storm will sweep them away. Then WHO will help us? We will be found UNdone, UNcovered, UNconverted (Rev 3:17).
Jael Heber
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References:
These unfaithful priests also transgressed God's law and dishonored their sacred office by their vile and degrading practices; yet they continued to pollute by their presence the tabernacle of God. Many of the people, filled with indignation at the corrupt course of Hophni and Phinehas, ceased to come up to the appointed place of worship. Thus the service which God had ordained was despised and neglected because associated with the sins of wicked men, while those whose hearts were inclined to evil were emboldened in sin. Ungodliness, profligacy, and even idolatry prevailed to a fearful extent (PP 576.4).
Those who walk with God are prepared to call wrongdoing by its right name. Sin is sin, whether practiced by ministers, teachers, medical missionaries, or other workers in the Lord’s service. Those who discern unchristlike traits in professed Christians occupying positions of responsibility must use great plainness of speech in pointing out these evils, instead of apparently continuing in fellowship with erring men because they are standing in high places. It is on account of the positions of trust that these unchristlike workers occupy, that I am instructed to say to our physicians, Great plainness of speech is required. Those who, though occupying positions of grave responsibility, are Christians only in name are not to be sustained and upheld and strengthened by their brethren; for Satan works through the sinners in Zion to bring in strife and contention and difficulties which make God’s people a reproach and a shame to Christ Jesus. 18LtMs, Ms 128, 1903, par. 2.
There were some in sacred office who pleaded for their heathen wives, declaring that they could not bring themselves to separate from them. But no distinction was made; no respect was shown for rank or position. Whoever among the priests or rulers refused to sever his connection with idolaters was immediately separated from the service of the Lord. A grandson of the high priest, having married a daughter of the notorious Sanballat, was not only removed from office, but promptly banished from Israel. “Remember them, O my God,” Nehemiah prayed, “because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites.” PK 674.1
The success attending Nehemiah’s efforts shows what prayer, faith, and wise, energetic action will accomplish. Nehemiah was not a priest; he was not a prophet; he made no pretension to high title. He was a reformer raised up for an important time. It was his aim to set his people right with God. Inspired with a great purpose, he bent every energy of his being to its accomplishment. High, unbending integrity marked his efforts. As he came into contact with evil and opposition to right he took so determined a stand that the people were roused to labor with fresh zeal and courage. They could not but recognize his loyalty, his patriotism, and his deep love for God; and, seeing this, they were willing to follow where he led. PK 675.3