Reverend Lovejoy (Simpsons): "...and once again, we'd like to remind all of you that tithing means 10% off the top, gross...not net. And so we're going to pass the baskets around again!
Don't make us audit you!"
Do you guys think that instead of sending your money to a preacher on TV, it would be just as beneficial to send it to a local church?
I just find it very difficult to believe in a ministry that I see on TV where the stage is flawlessly decorated and the evangelist is wearing tailored suits and all; where they ask you for your money every five minutes. It reminds me of that movie, Leap of Faith.
...or like the doggy commercials on prime-time. "We're going to have to put these dogs to sleep if you don't send us your money so we can try to help them." Ummm...okay, you just wasted a bunch of money putting your commercial on prime-time when you could have saved some of those poor little puppies.
They could have established a web site, and then if I ever felt the hankering to save some puppies on death row, I could have searched for them.
Anyway...give! From your heart, joyfully and without expecting repayment. Give in God's name, for Christ! Don't announce it, do it in secret. Don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Don't regret it later, and never give if you think you're going to feel grudgy about it later on. God loves a cheerful giver!
