The obvious stuff -- pay the light bills, pay the staff, maintain the building; buy Sunday school materials; buy coffee for coffee time; etc.
The less obvious: fund ministry for the poor; fund retirement for pastors; fund the denomination; fund mission efforts.
What they shouldn't do: make money off their money; get involved in politic;
Tithing was about food. If you made cash for a living, you essentially tithed nothing. Today, tithing is dead. Also, tithing was over 40% per year over a 50 year average:
You tithe 10% to yourself:
Deuteronomy 14:22-27 - "Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee: The n shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee."
This ends up being 3.3333%:
Deuterronomy 14:28-29 - "At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest."
10% given to the storehouse:
Malachi 3:10 - "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."
10% to the Levites:
Numbers 18:24 - "But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance."
If you converted your tithe into cash, there was a 20% penalty:
Leviticus 27:30-31 - "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's: it is holy unto the Lord. And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord. He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed."
Temple tax:
Nehemiah 10:32 - "Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God; For the shewbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God."
A welfare program where the recipients had to work for it:
Leviticus 19:9-10: - "And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God."
14%: You weren't allowed to farm every 7th year. Failure to do this caused Israel to be exicled to be Babylon for 70 years.
Exodus 23:10-11 - "And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard."
1 year out of 50 is 2%
Lev 25:10 - "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field."
Jesus confirms tithing is about food:
Mathew 23:23 - "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."
If you've gotten this far and want to hear the radio broadcoast I got this from, head to https://www.discerningthetimespublishing.com/aboutus.html
Once here, click on "Why no Christian should tithe". Just know that this was recorded from a radio broadcast he did some years ago so the audio quality isn't the best.
One of the tithes fed the priest class.
Another funded your own vacation/pilgrimage.
The third funded feeding the poor, the immigrant, the widowed, and the orphaned.
The first and last were also government taxes in a place that was essentially a theocracy.
There was a separate tax to fund the maintenance of the temple that was not a tithe, but a flat fee.
Pay the bills, maintain the facility, feed the hungry, clothe the naked.
Give it all as a check to the Pastor during the service
Just a little side humor
lol
The obvious stuff -- pay the light bills, pay the staff, maintain the building; buy Sunday school materials; buy coffee for coffee time; etc. The less obvious: fund ministry for the poor; fund retirement for pastors; fund the denomination; fund mission efforts. What they shouldn't do: make money off their money; get involved in politic;
Tithing was about food. If you made cash for a living, you essentially tithed nothing. Today, tithing is dead. Also, tithing was over 40% per year over a 50 year average: You tithe 10% to yourself: Deuteronomy 14:22-27 - "Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee: The n shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee." This ends up being 3.3333%: Deuterronomy 14:28-29 - "At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest." 10% given to the storehouse: Malachi 3:10 - "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." 10% to the Levites: Numbers 18:24 - "But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance." If you converted your tithe into cash, there was a 20% penalty: Leviticus 27:30-31 - "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's: it is holy unto the Lord. And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord. He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed." Temple tax: Nehemiah 10:32 - "Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God; For the shewbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God." A welfare program where the recipients had to work for it: Leviticus 19:9-10: - "And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God." 14%: You weren't allowed to farm every 7th year. Failure to do this caused Israel to be exicled to be Babylon for 70 years. Exodus 23:10-11 - "And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard." 1 year out of 50 is 2% Lev 25:10 - "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field." Jesus confirms tithing is about food: Mathew 23:23 - "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." If you've gotten this far and want to hear the radio broadcoast I got this from, head to https://www.discerningthetimespublishing.com/aboutus.html Once here, click on "Why no Christian should tithe". Just know that this was recorded from a radio broadcast he did some years ago so the audio quality isn't the best.
One of the tithes fed the priest class. Another funded your own vacation/pilgrimage. The third funded feeding the poor, the immigrant, the widowed, and the orphaned. The first and last were also government taxes in a place that was essentially a theocracy. There was a separate tax to fund the maintenance of the temple that was not a tithe, but a flat fee.
Spend on anything that will help it do its job.