Almsgiving - Tithing!
by Charles Hatchko
In 2 Cor. 9:6-7, St. Paul exhorts, "he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
Tithing was an Old Testament mandate of donating a portion of one's wealth to the temple and the priests.
Almsgiving can be described as mercy in action!
Almsgiving is a biblical absolute and central part of the gospel message of Jesus Christ (Cf. Matt. 6:2-4 and Luke 12:32-34)
Almsgiving is material or financial assistance given to a needy person or a cause prompted by Christian charity. The Greek word for Alms in sacred Scripture is eleemosyne. As a noun the word eleemosyne truly means any act of mercy, it is derived from eleeo, a verb which means to show mercy.
The theological virtue to love is linked close to mercy in the Biblical sense. The two great commandments mandated by Jesus Christ the Lord in sacred Scripture can be found in the following Biblical texts: Matt. 22:37-40, Mark 12:28-30, Luke 10:27.
The first is: Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength!
The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandments than these saith the Lord Jesus Christ!
Love of neighbor is fulfillment of the Divine commands of God!
In Galatians 5:14 St. Paul exhorts, "for the whole law is fulfilled in a single command, you shall love your neighbor as yourself."
In Rom. 13:8-10 St. Paul states, "Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law."
The analogy of the teachings of Jesus Christ the Lord in his teachings in the sermon on the mount and the sermon on the plain is love of neighbor.
The Golden Rule in Matt. 7:12 and Luke 6:31 truly constitute love of neighbor. Do to others as you would have them do to you. The mercy and love of God is to see Jesus Christ in others. Let us look at true discipleship!
In Mark 10:42-45, the Lord Jesus Christ exhorts the disciples to humility and servanthood. Sacred Scriptures gives affirmative evidence that true discipleship is the imitation of the life of Christ by openness to the will of God in the serving of others.
The Old TestamentBiblical texts gives evidence regarding tithing or almsgiving.
Leviticus 27:28-33 states, "But no devoted thing that a man devotes to the Lord, of anything that he has, whether of man or beast, or his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord. No one devoted, who is to be utterly destroyed from among men, shall be ransomed, he shall be put to death. All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or the fruit of the trees, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord. If a man wishes to redeem any of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. And all the tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman's staff, shall be holy to the Lord."
Tobit 4:5-10 states," remember the Lord our God all your days, my son, and refuse to sin or transgress his commandments. Live uprightly all the days of your life, and do not walk in the ways of wrongdoing. For if you do what is true, your ways will prosper through your deeds. Give alms from your possessions to all who live uprightly and do not let your eye begrudge the gift when you make it. Do not turn your face from any poor man, and the face of God will not be turned away from you. If you have many possessions, make your gift from them in proportion; if few, do not be afraid to give according to the little you have. So you will be laying up a good treasure for yourself against the day of necessity. For charity delivers from death and keeps you from entering the darkness; and for all who practice it, charity is an excellent offering in the presence of the Most High."
Deut. 14:22-29 and Leviticus 18:8-32 gives evidence of tithing.
Exodus 36:2-7 gives affirmative evidence of the immense generosity of the people of Israel towards the building of the sanctuary.
In the Old Covenant tithing was a mandate. One gave under compulsion of the law. In the New Covenant one must give from the heart, and give joyfully to the Lord. God loves a cheerful giver.
In Matt. 19:16-22, Jesus tells the rich man, he must be obedient to the commandments of God to gain eternal life! The rich man answered, "I have been obedient to the commands of God". Jesus goes on to say, "if you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." Scripture states, "the young rich man went away sad because he had great wealth."
Read the magnificent words of the apostle Paul to Timothy. In 1 Tim. 6:7 St. Paul exhorts, "For we brought nothing into the world we cannot take anything out of the world." In 1 Tim. 6:10, St. Paul says, "for the love of money is the root of all evil!"
In 1 Cor. 16:1-2, St. Paul gives evidence towards the contributions of the saints.
Tithing is an Old Testament concept!
In Genesis 14:17-24, Abraham offers a tenth or tithe to Melchizadek, king of Salem, Priest of the most High God.
Deut. 12:6-7 speaks of tithing. Deut. 14:22-29 gives mankind information regarding tithing.
Deut. 15:7-11 talks mercy towards the poor and afflicted.
Scripture talks in regards to true fasting. True fasting that pleases the Most High God is to loosen the bonds of oppression. To loose the bonds of wickedness and undo the yoke of the poor. To let the oppressed go free.
Isaiah 58:7-11 states, "True fasting is to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless and poor into your house; to cover or clothe the naked." This is God's mandate toward the poor.
In Tobit 12:6-12 Scriptures states, "Prayer is good when accompanied by fasting, almsgiving and righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than much with wrongdoing. It is better to give alms than to treasure up gold. For almsgiving delivers from death, and it will purge away every sin. Those who perform deeds of charity and of righteousness will have fullness of life." In 1 Peter 4:8-9, St. Peter exhorts mankind to love! St. Peter exhorts, "Love covers a multitude of sins!" He goes on to recommend practicing hospitality ungrudgingly to one another.
In Matt. 25:31-46, in the parable of the last judgment, the Lord Jesus Christ talks about separating the sheep from the goats. Jesus will say to those on his right hand, the sheep, "Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righeousness will ask, 'Lord when did we do those things for thee?'"
Jesus then states, "Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me. The parable goes on to say about the goats, the individuals who showed no mercy or love. They will go away into eternal punishment, but the righeous will go into eternal life."
Six of the seven corporal works of mercy are mentioned in this parable.
In Matt 6:19-33, Jesus exhorts the disciples to truly follow him. Jesus states, "Do no lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and all of his righteousness."
Please read the following Biblical texts. Luke 12:33-34, Mark 10:21, 1 Tim. 5:4-8, 1 Tim. 6:17-19, James 5:1-3, Gal 6:7-10. Sacred Scripture exhorts mankind to be merciful towards the poor.
In Rom. 12:9-17 St. Paul states, "our love must be sincere, hate what is evil and hold fast to what is good. Practice hospitality, live in harmony, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
In Acts. 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-37, Scripture shows how the Apostolic Church lived in the mercy and love of God towards others.
Please read biblical texts just presented in Acts showing Apostolic living in the love mandated by the Savior Jesus Christ.
In Luke 21:2, a poor widow gave two copper coins. Jesus described this as the greatest offering! In the generosity of giving alms, God does not look at the amount given, but the affection, mercy and love of the giver.
In Luke 20:20-26, Jesus states, regarding Roman authority giving alms, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" The recognition of God's wisdom and sovereignty are evident in this parable. It teaches that both the political community and the Church are autonomous and independent of each other, but both have an obligation to serve the vocation of man under different titles.
In Luke 10:29-37, the good Samaritan showed the mercy and love of God mandated by Christ and his mighty word. True almsgiving is showing the mercy of and actions of Christ!
In James 2:13, St. James states, "Mercy triumps over Judgment!"
May God richly Bless you! Amen! Hallelujah!
Charles Hatchko
The Catholic Legate
December 12, 2006
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Originally published in the Area Bargain Buyer, June, 2002.