Me and my husband believed in tithing until he came across an article a few months ago by Ray Smith. We believed Ray at first then got skeptical. We left our church because of what Ray Smith said; that tithing is a false doctrine. Still unsure of what he wrote, we started thinking of going back to our old church as well as missing the testimonies and such.
Right now we attend a church that doesn’t practice tithing. We have for a few months.
When at first I was sure that what Ray Smith said was so, I sent the website of Ray Smith to some pastors. One just simply said he doesn't believe it and another didn't respond and another was a back and forth scripture thing. He was using scripture to support tithing and I was taking or using things from Ray Smith’s article to show tithing was untrue or false. The conversation ended where I feel in his email response he was sneakily calling me a quote: “nitpicker.” He said something like “people can be nitpickers.” I responded back and said “it's not nice and unchristian and that if I am then you are too…”
I guess my anger took over then, but he apologized and he said “I wasn’t calling you a nitpicker”, but a part of me thinks, if he wasn’t then why did he write it? Well that was then and forgiveness plays a roll now for me of him.
It seems like common human behavior that when someone hears the truth they lash out at you or go into denial and when someone has an opinion they'll express their opinion or view of things. It seems all we can do is pray for them to know the truth. My talking to them didn't seem to get anywhere.
I remember one time the Holy Spirit spoke to my spirit a few weeks ago of my husband. Well first I heard on a television ministry that the reason why my husband didn't receive anything/blessings is because God wanted to see if he (my husband) is a true servant, something along that line. When my husband used to tithe for approximately a year we got low on money and a couple of times he had too borrow money from his ma for gasoline for his car. He dislikes borrowing because you have to pay it back. The Holy Spirit said "that Jesus loves you so much (my husband) that he cries for you." I’m not sure if this was Him or not but I came to this understanding that He used his mom to keep him above the water financially-as to her giving him money when he needed it.
A thought came into my mind this morning of typing in the address bar on our computer: "is tithing a false doctrine". I checked your website out and read the pastor/judge story and now I’m really sure that tithing is "false." I’m going to show my husband this website as well as copy the judge/pastor story.
Who knows maybe God led me to your article.