A friend(Janice):
I know the Bible is full of verses about the widow and the
fatherless.
My Answer:
Oh yes indeed, that is so true. The word of the Lord, God
speaking, has a lot to say about the subject, and He does shout
out loud to our nations of Israel that we as nations HAVE NOT
done what we should to look after the widow and the fatherless.
We should do a whole lot more. Instead of spending billions, with
a "b," on space projects and other stuff not really needed, we
should put that money into helping the poor, the widow and the
fatherless. When I was pastoring (leading a congregation
during the 80s and first half of the 90s) I always brought two or
three sermons a year on prophecy, from the prophetic books of the
Bible, and I usually ended up reading those prophetic verses in
those books where God tells our people Israel that we are
not serving the poor and the widow and the fatherless as we
should be doing. It is one of our national sins that the Eternal
call us on the carpet for.
Friend:
If one would go to the state and ask for help, they (the state)
manage to keep you down. I know this for a fact. I tried myself
to get help when I was left with 5 children to feed and cloth and
a house payment. But where was I to go with the children, out in
the street and live off welfare? They said I made $300.00 too
much in one year to qualify for assistance.
My Answer:
Yes, I know they have their rules and regulations which as I've
stated above are not good enough in God's sight in helping those
who need help.
Friend:
You remember who's world we live in - Satan's. If I did not have
3rd tithe to help me in those days I would not be where I am
today, and my children would be of the world. Is that what God
wanted when he set up the rules?
My Answer:
No, God wants the 3rd tithe that our governments collect through
taxes to be used WAY WAY MORE than they are being used to help
those in need. Again, our nations are spending some of that
money where and in places it should not be spending it,
such as space projects, the military machine, government
over-spending that news programs like NBC and others bring out
each day, throwing our tax dollars down the drain.
Friend:
I am grateful for all the help and for all those individuals who
believed in the 3rd tithe.
I know that ALL the tithes are HOLY unto God. I believe that
Deut.26:12 talks about 3rd tithe.....God in many places talks
about more than one tithe......keeping in mind how important the
fatherless and widows are to God. When you pull the 3rd tithe
away from them then you are robbing God. You cannot depend on
this world's system.
My Answer:
True, we cannot depend ENTIRELY on this world's systems, and God
does have an answer to further helping the needy in His Church, I
will explain shortly. But the fact is the governments of the
nations of Israel are collecting a 3rd tithe. In fact some
ministers in the Church have actually sat down and figured out
the average persons payment through taxes to support the present
3rd tithe collecting by the civil governments we call welfare
today, and it amounts to way over a third tithe. For the
government collects it EACH and every YEAR. God only collect it
every third year in a cycle of 7 in ancient Israel. Part of the
problem as I've said, is that our governments do not use enough
of that 3rd tithe collecting in taxes, they collect from
us each year, and give IT BACK to the poor, the widow, and the
fatherless.. That is part or the biggest problem, not the amount
of money collect, for there is enough money collect for sure, to
give back to those in need, but it is being spent in other
silly areas. Hence God condemns us in His prophetic word for NOT
helping the needy as we should.
Friend:
Many places in the Bible it says not to afflict the widow or the
fatherless child. God is the one who executes judgement of the
fatherless and the widow not the state or the world s system
under Satan s influence. Deu 14: 28-29 tells more about the 3rd
tithe and many more places. But I do believe that God was very
aware of the future and where things were going especially with
the widow and the fatherless. You remember that God plays a part
in their lives as a father and a husband to furnish them with
help in 3rd tithe. That is God's way of giving to those He holds
precious to Himself. I could have given you more scriptures, but
what I say and believe means a lot to me.
My Answer:
The 3rd tithe in ancient Israel was God's way to provide a
welfare system to care for the poor and the needy, but Janice
even God knew that was not enough, for he probably knew it would
be abused also in ancient Israel just as it is abused in Israel
nations today. So He had also other laws to help and serve the
poor. There was the law of leaving the corners of the fields
UN-harvested so the poor and needy could have those areas of the
grain fields for themselves. The 3rd tithe in Israel was never
the COMPLETE answer to helping those in need. And so it is to
this day, as I will show shortly.
Friend:
And I know that my children have had the opportunity given to
them thru the 3rd tithe to help them overcome and make of
themselves decent people and I do believe that God is very aware
of their presence and still answers their prayers. I am a living
witness to that fact. Well there it is. I did look up scriptures,
but I felt what I had to say was important enough.
My Answer:
I am so glad there was money from the Church to help you and your
children, I am so glad indeed. And help from the Church in God's
word is a very important law to Him.
Now, let me try and get to the nitty-gritty of all this. I want
you to be willing to listen to me, to mediate on all that I will
say, to try to see it all from all the ways I shall present it.
As l ve already stated, the 3rd tithe was God's BASIC way in
ancient Israel to provide a welfare system in Israel to help
those in need.
Yet God had other laws as well to provide for the needy. The 3rd
tithe was not enough. The governments of Israel today DO collect
AT LEAST a 3rd tithe from all of its working people through the
taxes it collets.
Over a 7 years cycle that is WAY MORE third tithe from each tax
payer than was collected in ancient Israel. In the USA you have a
relatively LOW tax structure compared to most other western
nations. Most of you do not know that, for you live there, and as
they say, you cannot see the forest because of the trees. Here is
the classic example using US your Canadian neighbors. We in
Canada, taking into account all of our taxes (hidden and
otherwise) is about 30% of our monthly wages.
We are the SECOND highest paying tax people in ALL the western
world... .way more taxes paid by Canadians than you USA folks.
You were blessed with money and help from the Church when you
needed it, and that was great, as God would have it. Now, I want
you to see the other side of the picture, well at least here in
Canada, where our people pay 30% in taxes to our civil
government. The Church taught at one time, that if you were a
working person, bringing in a pay check, then come 3rd tithe year
you were to pay a 3rd tithe... .that was it, cut and dry. If you
had a pay check you paid 3rd tithe in 3rd tithe year...period.
Well, let me tell you I was witness to many in the Church in
Canada, average Canadian people, men with children, one, two,
three, or more, average working pay check people, GOING INTO
POVERTY during a third tithe year, where the church said, well
that s the law, and you obey it. I saw young families starting
out in life, having to MOVE from say a two bedroom house they
were renting, down into a one bedroom basement apartment, when
they were on a 3rd tithe year. I was witness to the hardship many
went through when on a 3rd tithe year. Many of them Janice
should have been RECEIVING help themselves, not giving it out,
but no, if you had a pay check coming in, then the Church taught,
well that is the law... .period.
What MOST church organizations from the WCG have come to see,
correctly I will say, is that the nations of Israel DO COLLECT a
3rd tithe to help the needy in our lands today. In fact they
collect WAY MORE than a 3rd tithe. The problem is largely
that our nations should be using it to help the needy not be
spending a lot of it on space projects and other none essentials.
The Church, they have come to see should not be collecting a
specific 3rd tithe from its members, for the governments of our
lands are already doing that for a 3rd tithe welfare system for
our Israel nations, but not in the same manner as was done in
ancient Israel. But the principle is the same.
Now Janice, that does NOT mean ones like yourself cannot be
helped by the Church as you were helped, for surely our nations
do not help you as you need to be helped(and God surely condemns
us for not using the collected 3rd tithe from our taxes in
the way we should and the amount we should). But first let me try
to show you that a 3rd tithe WAS NOT collected in the NT Church
from its people.
Turn to Galatians and read chapter 2, verses one to ten. Paul was
admonished that he should not forget the poor. Now if a 3rd tithe
was automatically being collected for the poor in all the
churches of God everywhere, then the poor would have
automatically been taken care of, and there would be no need to
tell any minister to remember the poor, for the NT church would
have had a 3rd tithe account to automatically look after the
poor. Turn to I Cor.16 and read verses one to four. And also
Romans 15:25-28. There was a collection being taken up from some
churches to give to the poor and needy in Jerusalem, for some
hard times had fallen upon them.
If the NT Church was collecting an automatic 3rd tithe, such
collections would never have needed to have been collect, for
money from the 3rd tithe account being sent in from all the NT
Churches of God, would have been used to help the poor in
Jerusalem. We have other verses in the NT that admonish us as
Christians not to neglect helping the needy when they need help.
Look at James 2:14-1 7. This is for each individual to help and
serve on a personal basis. If the NT Church had been collecting a
3rd tithe for the poor, then when some who needed that physical
help were in the Church, all the other individuals would have
only needed to have directed them to the minister and the 3rd
tithe account.
The fact is that 3rd tithe was not collected from the Church
members and sent to Jerusalem or even to the local church, so it
could them be administered to the needy in the NT Church of God.
BUT, what do we see taught VERY CLEARLY in these and other
verses? We see that the NT Church DOES HAVE, all of its members
have, each individual person(when they possibly can) has the
responsibility to give of their physical substance, to the poor
and to the needy of the church. We see that ministers have the
responsibility to remember the poor. It is part of doing their
work in the ministry.
They should be teaching and preaching on this subject. I'm sorry
to say but I have not heard much if anything taught or preached
on this topic from the ministry of the UCG here in Calgary in the
two years I've been here(I wrote this in January 2000). I
always taught and preached on it at least twice a year when I was
pastoring in the 80s and first half of the 90s. A local Church
should have a poor fund to serve and help the poor and needy.
People in a congregation should be taught to physically help the
needy with money and food and clothes etc.
In so doing, those like yourself, when in your situation raising
your children, or ones who were or are today on the civil
government's welfare system (which I ve said is not good enough
in helping) would get MORE, and have the where-with-all to live
and raise their children (if in that situation as you were) in
comfort.
I guarantee you Janice, under what I ve stated above, done the
way I've stated, as was the way the NT apostolic Church was doing
it, together with the civil government welfare or the money
brought in from working (as I gather from you that you were
doing), all the poor and needy and widows and fatherless in the
Church would still be looked after and served and protected from
poverty and near to street living. People would be giving money,
clothing, food. The ministry would be knowing the exact needs of
the widow and the fatherless, and would be making sure through
the rest of us, that those needs were being met.
We all, all working people in the Church would be giving our 3rd
tithes (and a whole lot more in fact) through our taxes to
Israel's fund for the poor, needy, widow, fatherless, of all in
Israel, and we would also be making sure that all in the Church
who needed MORE than what the civil government/child support from
husbands/working money being brought in if working, was also
given from the local church members to help such as you were when
raising your children.
I hope this has helped you to see what most of the church
organizations from the WCG are now teaching. Sometimes I fear it
is not being taught and expounded by the ministry as it should
be. I hope that will change in time, so everyone knows as the
apostles in Jerusalem admonished Paul, "that we should remember
the poor."
Until next time, take care and all the best.
Keith
..........................................
Written January 2000
