Comments on: Morality of Deducting Charitable Contributions

By: kendra

kendra — Fri, 04 May 2007 18:42:58 +0000

pastor have you considered this matter carefully? I go to a tithe believing church but waht you seem to be missing is the key point. She has returned her tihtes to God the deduction is on the rest of her money which th Lord allows us to keep.
At the very least she should claim the deduction in order to give even more after her tithes… the offering. The point when we give more than the bare minimum.

By: Pastor Clevance M. Weekes

Pastor Clevance M. Weekes — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 01:58:24 +0000

What’s morally wrong is the lie. Tithe never was, and never will be charity. That’s Scriptural fact. One can say I don’t care. One can say so what? But if Christians cannot be trust to be Biblically truthful,including with the money, we might as well close the Churches, and let it be known that our religion is a pretentious fraud.

It blows the mind, how money clouds good judgment, and compromises character.

And by the way, what does it matter to recognize the tithe as what it is: God’s portion, and not claim it? Why is the money important? Are we not planning to walk on transparent gold in the kingdom?

By: jared

jared — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 16:02:26 +0000

This is the legalistic view point of tithing. I mean really? why are we so worried about claiming 10% on our taxes. Go ahead be my guest, let the enemy keep your money. We forget that it's all about stewardship. if we can get that concept into our head, then we'll begin to realize that 10% should have no significance on the minds of NT christians anyways. We are called to be 100% stewards, and requiring a tithe is a great distraction that the enemy has put in the church. We become distracted by the questions, should i do this on net or gross, what about profits increase, first fruits, at the beginning at the end of the week, how should i, when should i, where should i . .. . in front of the church, behind the church, at the info desk, should i give cash, checks or credit cards, what about my retirement money, what about my pension, what about my disability, can i give to the church, can i give to my pastor, what about charities, what about my bills, what about my debt. . . . . and bla bla bla, and on and on and on it goes here. I hate to write all of that nonsense, but it helps people understand why God gave us the Holy Spirit. If we can't use the Holy Spirit to guide our giving, but instead ask all the questions in order to line up with Israel, Abraham, and Moses, then the Holy Spirit is given in vain. Did it ever come to question in your mind as to why the Spiritual gift of giving is the only gift with a minimum requirement?

By: rocketc

rocketc — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 02:59:34 +0000

Pastor Weekes,
I understand your feelings, but there is nothing morally wrong with taking a deduction for the tithe. You could also say that it is morally wrong for me to claim the child tax credit… I agree that all that we own belongs to the Lord and is a direct blessing from Him, if that is the case, why should we let the government take more of it? I can’t think of too many more wasteful uses for our money than to “donate” it to the government. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the need for taxes, but I don’t understand why the government needs 40% or more of what I earn.

By: Pastor Clevance M. Weekes

Pastor Clevance M. Weekes — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 02:22:30 +0000

The government may permit the deduction of tithe as a “charity,” but God does not. Friends, we do not pay tithe, we return tithe. This money was never ours in the first place. For those who do not hold the Scriptures as normative, this is not an issue. But for those who believe in the Word, Leviticus 27:30 tells us that “all” the tithes belong to the Lord. It is an impossibility to “give a charitable gift” to God which belonged to Him in the first place. What’s more, to claim tithes on our tax return as a “charitable deduction” under the current legal, and technical definition of such, is a moral fraud. Tithes does not, and never has fit the definition of a “charitable act.” On the contrary, to return tithe is a matter of faith, and obedience. Obedience to the plain written word of God, and faith, that God will honor His word, and bless the rest. Very high are the moral standards of Christian norm, but the love of money seduces many.

By: Savvy Steward

Savvy Steward — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 00:03:04 +0000

She should take the deduction and donate it back to church or to another organization.

I hate to see it become such a legalistic issue. The way I see it, for followers of Jesus, God is far more concerned about whether we trust him with 100% of our finances instead of whether we give exactly 10% or not.

I think the tithe is a good starting point, but once believers calculate what their living expenses are going to be, as income rises so should their level of giving instead of their standard of living.

By: zen

zen — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 14:10:52 +0000

In fitting with the “render unto caesar…”

The deductions are being rendered unto you – it’s your money. If anything, it gives you more money to pass to the church – so why not take it and use it? It’s not like it’s blood money or tainted money.

By: Ben

Ben — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 00:44:46 +0000

I agree with Rocketc, deducting your contributions shows good stewardship with your money.

By: Rocketc

Rocketc — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 19:00:55 +0000

Ahh, good old feelings, nothing but feelings… I wish I could just do what just feels right for me. It feels good to eat “moose tracks” every night at 10:30 pm, it feels good to sleep in late every morning, it feels good to ram my car into the guy who cuts me off, it feels good to make fun of Amanda…

By: Amanda

Amanda — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 17:09:51 +0000

I think that everyone is over-thinking this. Something tells me that God isn’t interested in nickel and diming everyone. Tithe or don’t tithe. Give or don’t give. Deduct or don’t. It doesn’t matter – just do what feels right for you.

By: plonkee

plonkee — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 17:02:07 +0000

If you are being rewarded for making a charitable contribution by having reduced taxes, then I can see why you might think that taking the deduction is unethical. Personally, I think that (any) government spends my tax money in ways that I don’t want it to, so its more ethical for me to take the donate the deduction.

Either I could work out the convergence of the geometric series to get it to work out right, or I could take the deduction in the next financial year (in addition to the standard tithe) and so on, making larger and larger charitable donations. The latter seems like easier maths and also more generous, so that (to me) would be the better of the two options.

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 14:18:10 +0000

if you want to tithe, then just tithe and forget about the deduction all together. then there won’t be any dilemma on your part.

By: nickel

nickel — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:10:35 +0000

Huh? As others have pointed out, if she doesn’t want to ‘profit’ from her contributions, then deduct the tithe and donate the tax savings (either to her church or to another charity). As it stands, that money is legally hers and she is effectively choosing to donate it to the government. So why not choose to donate it to something more worthy?

And MBH is right — 10% of gross is 10% of gross. Whether or not she takes the tax deduction, she is still doing her ‘duty.’

Sheesh. Some people really go out of their way to overthink things.

By: mbhunter

mbhunter — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 03:05:53 +0000

God is to receive the firstfruits of my labor (Proverbs 3:9-10), which means “off the gross” in my interpretation (and the interpretation of others that I respect.) So 10% off the gross is 10% off the gross, regardless of whether the government grants you a tax deduction based on that contribution.

The real question should be: “Will you continue to contribute the same amount even if the government doesn’t grant you a deduction?” If the answer is yes then your heart is probably in the right place. I consider the tax deduction a gift from the government that can be rescinded at any time, and not at all connected with what God commands, since the deduction applies categorically to all charitable contributions, not just church offerings.

By: Ben Zeen (a pseudonym)

Ben Zeen (a pseudonym) — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 15:09:19 +0000

The cycle is never-ending, but as a geometric series, it does converge. Donate $13.33 and take the deduction. $13.33 * 0.25 = $3.3325

No deduction: Earn $100, tithe $10, pay $25 in taxes. You net $65, church gets $10.
Deduction: Earn $100, tithe $13.33, pay $22.67 in taxes. You net $65, church gets $13.33.

Of course, heaven help you if you make $50,000…