By the way, the Tithing command is obsolete (it's okay if you decide to give ten percent personally). Tithing is not a christian doctrine. its only an excuse used by pastors to support church operations because most church goers will not give consistently without being cajoled or threatened. Always give cheerfully and willingly like a christian should.....It's a good thing you are concerned about how your church finances are spent, afterall God would require you to give account of how you spent your money. Its not enough to say; i gave my money, it's pastors business to spend it anyhow.
First of all, the book of malachi is in the old testatment and i'm usually cautious when accepting doctrines from old testament chapters. I do not believe that i am under a curse for not paying my tithes because Jesus became a curse for me(Gal 3)...so that the blessings of abraham may come to me. Most people would argue that Abraham paid tithe before the law was introduced..Yes he did and he was also circumcised before the law...i bet that many christians would have been advocating for circumcision today if it was not explicitly revoked in the new testatment.
Most people pay tithes because the are trying to atrract the blessings of God....nooooooooo! if u are a christian you are blessed already and "heirs according to the promise" (read the book of galatians). If you are trying to follow what Abraham did when he met melchisedek then you must follow it to the latter. You see, after Abram gave melchisedek the 10%, he also gave away the 90% to the people you may describe in todays context as unbelievers. So what happen in that portion of the bible is not a perfect example to adopt as doctrine.
Giving is a act that God values. Infact the first non-jew (gentile) that received the gospel was a renouned giver (not tither). The tithing concept is not a new testatment concept, its for those who are require supervision(i.e under the law). God's statandard for giving is 100%. For example, John 3:16...for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.....ie He gave his all. When he tested Abraham, he asked for his only son Issac (Heb 11). In otherwords, your money belongs to God, ask the Holy Spirit to give you direction on how best to spend it. If you heart belongs to God you will give more than 10% without hesistation.
Most importantly, leave the band wagon, search the scriptures for yourself...let all men be liars and let God's word alone be true
Dont have time to elaborate further on this, i'll continue another day.
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