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PAGE 2B PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. DECEMBER 29. 2016
Pickens County
Churches
Minister’s Corner
What’s the “REAL”
Religious tithing
is a charitable option
reason?
By Mark Porado
Lead Pastor
Living Word Church
There are times when we
are forced to make a decision
that we don’t want to make.
Typically, it’s at the worst
time, when we don’t have all
the information we need, or
more time to think it over
and we know the decision
will likely effect our future.
Often these life decisions
have huge ramifications that
we can’t know. This is espe
cially true when you are
young; we simply don’t have
the knowledge or experience
to realize how long a bad de
cision will follow us. It’s true
that we hear people say
things like “I’m still paying
for that decision from 20,30,
40 years ago”.
So, what do we do when
faced with big decisions with
little time or information to
make them, or for that mat
ter, any decision at all? I be
lieve there are 3 questions to
ask before making decisions
that could help avoid those
long-lasting regrets.
First, “Am I being com
pletely honest with myself?”.
No matter what you tell oth
ers, you owe it to yourself to
be honest with you. What’s
the REAL reason you are
doing this? We don’t like to
admit it, but there is some
thing wrong with all of us.
We have a messed-up heart,
and it can’t be fixed. The
prophet Jeremiah wrote
about it back about 590 BC.
“The heart is deceitful above
all things and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?”
Now I know many don’t
agree with this, but isn’t it
true that you can talk your
self into just about anything?
We are experts at selling our
selves at something we don’t
need. Like dessert (“I’ll just
eat one piece, I don’t want to
hurt her feelings”), not exer
cising (I’m too busy, missing
one day won’t hurt any
thing”) or worse, big ticket
items like cars or houses.
We all fall to it. Many
years ago, I talked myself
into buying a motorcycle, I
even got my wife to believe
it. Then a few years later
after back surgery forced me
into selling the motorcycle I
convinced myself, and my
wife that I “needed” a Jeep.
And guess what? I got it, in
fact, I have since sold that
one and bought a better one!
The second question we
should ask is: “Why am
doing this, REALLY?”. If we
just asked these 2 questions,
most of us would be healthier
and wealthier. We would be
skinnier and have more
money, we’d be.. .you get the
point.
The third question is:
“What story do I want to
tell?” All of us have a story,
and when we tell our story,
there are parts we leave out
because it’s embarrassing or
just too painful to include. If
we could get in the habit of
asking these questions, we
could tell our story without
leaving any part of it out.
Proverbs 4:23 says
“Above all else, guard your
heart, for everything you do
flows from it.” We know
that’s true. It’s like our heart
wants something and says to
our brain, “go find us some
reasons!”
Ephesians 5:15-16 says
“Be very careful, then, how
you live—not as unwise but
as wise, making the most of
every opportunity, because
the days are evil”.
If we could apply these 3
questions before every deci
sion, instead of just making a
“resolution”, I think many of
us could find this next year
being our best year!
Happy New Year!
People all over the
world donate to charity. The
National Center for Chari
table Statistics indicates
that individual giving in the
United States amounted to
$258.51 billion in 2014, an
increase of 7.1 percent from
the previous year. In fact,
donations by individuals
comprises the vast majority
of donations received by
nonprofit organizations —
making up a whopping 72
percent.
Individuals give to many
worthy causes, but religious
groups and charities are
among the organizations
that benefit the most from
donors’ generosity. Accord
ing to data from the Philan
thropy Roundtable, an
organization that aims to
foster excellence in philan
thropy, protect philan
thropic freedom and assist
donors in achieving their
philanthropic intent, 39 per
cent of individual giving
goes to religious needs.
Religious causes are,
and long have been, fa
vorite charitable targets.
Religious giving, or tithing,
was once a compulsory ef
fort. The word “tithe” is de
rivative of an Olde English
word meaning “tenth.”
Tithes are one-tenth of
something made payable to
a religious organization or a
tax to a government.
Tithing has long been
connected to religions such
as Judaism and Christianity.
Traditional Jewish law and
practice has incorporated
forms of tithing since an
cient times. The tithing sys
tem was designed to meet
the needs of the economic
and political system of an
cient Israel. Ten percent of
a person’s income was
given to a religious organi
zation.
The Old Testament
states that each of the
twelve tribes of Israel, ex
cluding the tribe of Levi,
initially received an allot
ment of land in the prom
ised land of Canaan. The
Levites were assistants to
Israel’s priests and were
supported by tithing from
the other eleven tribes. All
families were expected to
give one-tenth of all pro
duce, flocks and cattle to
the Levites. In turn, the
Levites gave one-tenth of
that to support the priests.
According to Leviticus
Tithing has long been
connected to religions
such as Judaism and
Christianity.
27:30-33,
A tithe of everything
from the land, whether
grain from the soil or fruit
from the trees, belongs to
the Lord; it is holy to the
Lord. Whoever would re
deem any of their tithe must
add a fifth of the value to it.
Every tithe of the herd and
flock — every tenth animal
that passes under the shep
herd’s rod — will be holy to
the Lord. No one may pick
out the good from the bad
or make any substitution. If
anyone does make a substi
tution, both the animal and
its substitute become holy
and cannot be redeemed.
The concept of tithing is
largely an Old Testament
system, though it is men
tioned in the New Testa
ment in Luke 18:22, when
Jesus Christ says, “I fast
twice a week; I give a tenth
of all my income.”
Members of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints also participate
in tithing. Gordon B.
Hinckley, a former presi
dent of the church, said,
“Our major source of rev
enue is the ancient law of
the tithe. Our people are ex
pected to pay 10 percent of
their income to move for
ward the work of the
Church.”
Tithing continues in
modem times, but many re
ligious followers do not
offer 10 percent of their in
comes to their respective
religious organizations.
Counseling
Individual, Couples and Family Therapy
with Adults, Teens and Children
Robin W. Dunn M.S.
Licensed Professional Counselor
Over 25 years experience helping people live better
770-548-1966 • 505 Cove Rd. • Suite 3 • Jasper
www.robinwdunnlpc.com
Humbug and Brother Boy
By Rev. David Sieg
Associate Pastor
King of Kings Lutheran
Church (LCMS)
When I was about six
years old, our family lived
at the bottom of a hill at the
end of a dead-end street.
No matter where in the
world I wanted to go, it
was uphill. The nearest
children I could play with
were a girl called "Hum
bug," and her little brother,
"Brother Boy." Don't ask
me. I would have called
him “Bubba.”
Everything was rocking
along just fine until one
day when I heard that they
went to some church called
"Lutheran." Imagine my
surprise! I thought they
were Baptists, just like
everybody else. They
seemed like relatively nor
mal kids, except for those
goofy names. (I must
admit, though, that Brother
Boy always seemed to
have a runny nose in
search of a sleeve.) I had
no clue what Lutherans be
lieved and did. What in the
world might a "Lutheran"
be?
My parents said that
Lutherans are Christians,
but nobody could tell me
the difference, if any, be
tween what they believed
and what other Christians
believe. So, I kept my eyes
open for anything weird.
What if I caught something
from a Lutheran with a
runny nose?
Do you know what a
"Lutheran" is? A few years
ago, someone asked, “Why
do you worship Martin
Luther King?” To put it
concisely, we don’t.
Dr. Martin Luther was a
German monk who, 500
years ago, wanted the
church to return to the be
lief, teaching and doctrine
of salvation by God’s grace
alone, through faith alone,
in Jesus Christ alone. He
didn’t want to leave the
church, but reform it by re
turning it to its first century
roots. He taught that the
only sure norm for doctrine
and teaching is the Holy
Bible.
But we don’t worship
him, either. We only wor
ship the One True God: Fa
ther, Son - Jesus Christ,
and the Holy Spirit. One
God in three persons - the
Holy Trinity.
With the cultural de
cline from faith in God to
faith in feelings, many
today don’t know what a
Christian is, let alone a
specific denomination.
Someone once told my
wife that you can’t say
someone isn’t a Christian
just because they don’t be
lieve in Jesus Christ. Some
will tell you that a Chris
tian is some kind of reli
gious fanatic who tries to
force his beliefs on others.
Like it or not, you and I
are the closest thing to
Jesus some people will
ever see. What kind of
Jesus do they see in us? An
angry tyrant who wants to
force everyone into sub
mission, or a Savior who
loves us so much that He
died for us on a cross in our
place for the forgiveness of
our sins?
“God so loved the
world, that he gave his
only Son, that whoever be
lieves in him should not
perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his
Son into the world to con
demn the world, but in
order that the world might
be saved through him.”
(John3:16,17)
Mountain Light
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WALK WITH GOD
A nother New Year, another list of resolutions - exercise more,
eat less, save money. Why not consider your spiritual fitness
and walk with God? Worship regularly, spend time in prayer and
fellowship - it’s the best resolution. Spending time with God will fill
your life with the peace and serenity that brings joy and prosperity.
Have a healthy and faithful new year!
Daily Devotional Reading
John Luke Titus Titus Titus Revelation Revelation
1:1-18 2:21-52 1:1-16 2:1-15 3:1-15 21:1-17 22:1-21
Scriptures Selected by the American Bible Society
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