Should I give my tithe if I have credible evidence it isn’t being used honestly?
4 March 2o24
Dear Aunt Sevvy:
Should I continue giving my tithe even when I know it is being used for selfish purposes?
Signed, Suspicious
Dear Suspicious:
There seem to be two ways people look at their charitable giving, including tithe.
Some believe that you should contribute with no thought to how your money is used. Aunty has heard church leaders express the view that “giving is its own spiritual reward,” because God will bless you just for being generous. While there is truth here, she suspects that those who say this have a motive: they want people to feel obligated to give, but don’t want givers asking too many questions about how money is spent.
On the other hand, Aunty has met givers who want to micromanage their contributions. They want not just to target giving, but they question the use of every penny that they contribute.
Wise giving, Aunty believes, lies somewhere between these two extremes. Aunty counsels you to give to trustworthy organizations, for projects you believe in. But if once you’ve contributed you continue to fret about how your money is used, you’ll diminish the blessing of giving—and probably make yourself unnecessarily miserable.
You didn’t say why you think your tithe is being used selfishly. In North America, where Aunty lives, tithe use is carefully audited. But Aunty has heard stories of misuse of church monies in some world fields, and she believes them to be true. If Aunty lived where corruption in church offices is rampant, she wouldn’t give her tithe to the local conference. While Scripture makes it clear that every Christian should be generous with their means, there is no special blessing in giving where you know money isn’t being used faithfully.
If you have credible evidence that there is theft or gross misuse in any organization, even in the church, Aunty believes you can give your money elsewhere. Aunty has known people to give their contributions to their local congregation, or to ADRA, or to some other organization. Even Ellen White gave her tithe to chosen projects when it wasn’t being used as she wanted it to be!
Aunt Sevvy
Aunt Sevvy has collected her answers into a book! You can get it from Amazon by clicking here.
You can write to Aunt Sevvy at DearAuntSevvy@gmail.com. Your real identity will never be revealed.
