Ironically, people who give to wealthy preachers so called ministries, to get out of poverty, are ensuring they will become poorer still by doing so.
PROVERBS 22 V 16
Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.
DO NOT GIVE TO WEALTHY "MINISTRIES" OR PEOPLE. IT IS TOTALLY UNBIBLICAL AND A SURE WAY TO BECOME POOR/POORER.
Tithing, unless you are a jew under the old covenant, is not a biblical command. Instead those who have excess should give to those who do not have basic needs met, that there be no lack in the body of Christ.
As many have pointed out, titheswas rarely a matter of money. It was usually a set percentage of the livestock and crops etc.
When Jesus spoke to a rich man, you will notice He did not say give all you have to the temple, or to the church, and
certainly not to give it to Him personally.
He said to
give to the poor. Not to take from them!
There is no evidence in scripture that the poor were to give from their poverty, especially not to get out of poverty.
God's clear instruction to help the poor out of poverty is simple.
1 Thessalonians 4
10 ... But we urge you, brothers...
11 to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,
12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
Ephesians 4
28
...let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
Those who cannot work say due to weakness in old age, ill health etc, should be cared for by the Christians around them if there is no benefit system to cover their basis needs.
The rich believers, that is those with more than enough to cover the bare necessities of their own life, should be generous, and give to the poor, without expecting anything in return, that there be no lack in the body of Christ.
Luke 18:22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast,
and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
Acts 4
32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and
no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common...
34
There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold
35 and ...
it was distributed to each as any had need.
2 Cor 8
1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia,
2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and
itheir extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
3
For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means,
of their own accord,
4 b
egging us earnestly for the favour of taking part in the relief of the saints—
...7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.
8
I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine...
... 12 For if the readiness is there,
it is acceptable according to what a person has,
not according to what he does not have.
13
For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness
14
your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that
their abundance may supply your need, that
there may be fairness.
15 As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”
God actually allows people to be rich so that there can be equality! Not inequality! It is only the greed and sin of mans heart, and their love of money, that creates inequality.
In other words, if a ministry or a preacher is richer than you, they are the ones that should be meeting your needs!
You should not be being burdened to enrich them.
Any wealthy person who is not distributing their wealth to the poor, or who asks for money from those who are poorer than them, is not acting in obedience to God.
Your generosity should be something that you are happy about giving, and not be a burden to you,
2 Cor 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.
The love of God, compassion and pity, as opposed to commands, a desire to get richer, guilt or compulsion, should motivate us to give when we have any abundance and see a need.
1 John 3
17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
2 Cor 9
8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
9 As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."
10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
It should be taught in every church, that wealth is a gift of God, and not all are blessed with it.
Like all the gifts of God, it is to be used for the building up of the Body of Christ, and not given to them to keep for themselves.
1 Peter 4:10
As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
Rom 12
6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation;
the one who contributes, in generosity...
Some countries have a benefits system that was set up on this principle when the country was majority Christian faith.
Those who work pay taxes to look after the country and the poor. The poor or ill get help, and hopefully can in turn start to work and then they put back into the system for others in need. This system is flawed as the countries that have benefits are no longer run on Christian principles, so the money goes to a lot of places it shouldn't and the rich often get richer and the poor get poorer these days.
Anyway, in short, the way to get out of poverty is not to tithe, it is to trust God first to provide your needs, and to seriously look for work, if there is no work due to an economic crisis, or if you are too ill to work and there are no benefits to help where you live, then you should let the church know you are in poverty and ask for help.
Common sense says that if a person can work but is struggling to get work, the church should do all it can to help get them employment as soon as possible, so that excess funds only go to the very poorest who cannot lift themselves out of poverty.
When
Ultimately, it is the Lord we look to, as but He has put in place principles that, if there are people in the church with excess, should be the natural solution. If there are none, or if they are not willing, then we have to continue to look to the Lord and He will provide through other means, like he has always done throughout scripture.
