Campaigns target charitable offering and church tithing

Political spin has done more than enter the realm of defining terms such as charity, church, offering and tithing. It has skewed, sullied and merged the whole concept of each one of these. How? Government intervention for the purpose of raising revenue to sponsor itself and those who leach off of it, from elected officials to bureaucrats and welfare junkies. Picking up the ball, campaign groupies continue to muddle meanings for their own ends. Pretty harsh rendering of the subject, I’ll grant you, but far more factual than even churches realize because the pastors, elders and administrators had no idea they were being herded into the one big “charitable organization” corral. The irresponsible combining of all these terms has also led to attacks on individuals seeking public office.

What it comes down to, is everything one gives being tagged a charitable donation for tax purposes. Anyone caring to argue the point should note that their church is probably a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation for, as stated, tax purposes. Unfortunately, back in the 1960s, when this was being touted as the best thing a church could and should do, church administrators had no idea they were signing up as businesses for charity, even though they were houses of worship. It turned the focus from spiritually feeding the flock and giving to share the Word, to supplying the services of building construction, administration and overhead, and, oh yes, charity. Tithes have always been collected to support the priestly class, having given their lives to ministering to the spiritual growth of the people, but they were never lumped in with taxes paid to a government, nor were people given tax dispensation for supporting ministry. Taxes and tithes did not mix. Temples and churches were always exempt from taxation – even Joseph, when he supervised all of Egypt’s wealth and property, did not take anything from the temples and the priests. They were an exception because they fed the spiritual needs of the people. Some may say that this is how the Roman Catholic Church came to hold such vast wealth, and, in some ways, that is true, it being outside the purview of civil government. However the Church properly collects and uses its assets, it’s mission has been to provide spiritual direction and nourishment, which is yet the purpose of religious organizations today… unless, of course, they inadvertently turned over their operations to oversight and scrutiny by government (see the link above). And that is where we currently stand. Individuals are now compelled to drop any and all giving into the same government designated bucket, be it in the form of a tithe to support their place of worship or a charitable donation to the ASPCA. Government sees no difference and we have fallen into the same trap – but there is a difference. Tithes are not offerings and a church is not a charitable organization though it has charitable endeavors.

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An offering is something also called a love gift; it is a gift of the heart to help someone in need, or to support their work in ministry. We won’t go into the Old Testament purpose of offerings for thanksgiving, forgiveness of sins, etc. as outside the current discussion. Many, and probably most, just give when the opportunity arises, and they don’t wait around for a receipt in order to verify the deduction for their taxes. Some people give hundreds or thousands in such a manner each year and these are not tithes to their home church, which are a separate gift. Then there are those who tally every penny that is distributed among local food banks, animal shelters, political or cultural causes, hospital auxiliaries or other non-profits. This is the number that, filed away on someone’s tax form, is dredged up to show whether or not they have a care for their fellow man. But it is misleading as is the jumbled together definitions of tithing and offerings. More than five years ago I wrote three columns on homelessness and need, and the duty of the church to care for individuals in dire straits as opposed to government. (Published in Scripture Led Politics pp. 27-38.) Due to the fact that most churches unwittingly signed on as government-regulated corporations, they have now officially undertaken that role along with the state and federal welfare agencies. As such, they are now required to file tax forms verifying that they operate under federal regulations as a non-profit, deducting salaries (which a pastor, priest or minister was never called to receive, but a living allowance, not a taxable income), benefits and their own charitable giving, i.e. mission support, including soup kitchens to digging wells. It’s no wonder that the smear campaigns for candidates scour every detail of another candidate’s life, even going so far as trying to equate tithing with charitable giving and offerings, much of which is never even reported. Consider whether you jot down all the dollars you use to buy meals for the hungry, stuff into a supermarket jar for someone whose house burned, place on a collection plate, or drop into a red pail at Christmas. Those folks probably don’t either, and for those with the ability to give much? They don’t count that cost… or report it.