In Regards to Tithing: A Soliloquy

I read the thesis on tithing and this is not as much of a response as it is more to ponder on. And not just tithing, but any act of worship or service we as 'Christians' do...

Romans 14:23 says:

23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

Obviously, the context here has Paul dealing with eating things that are clean or unclean and the context is also instructing us to not be a stumbling block for our brother. But the final phrase caught my eye, and I believe I'm within the bounds of this teaching to apply it to tithing.

Look at Hosea 6:6

6 For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

So what would God desire from our giving? Not my check! I'm pretty sure He's not waiting on my tithe to pay on a construction loan for Heaven. He's got that! I believe He would like for me to realize that 1) I have a job because He arranged it for me. 2)I have food and shelter because He provides. 3) As my homey has stated, there is kingdom work to do and He wants me to be a part of it, not only by writing a check every two weeks, but rolling up my sleeves and doing the work; to take up my cross daily, not on Sundays! Guess what. I don't take up my cross daily. A lot of days, it doesn't even make it out of the closet!

So let me try to get back to my initial point. Tithing can become a sin. If we tithe as the Pharisees, to be seen, we sin. How about this...If we tithe and give secretly so that we can be proud of our secret giving and feel worthy in some way of God's favor, we sin! If we are not giving out of faith, knowing first of all that God does not really need it, but we need to give it, then it is in vain and it is sinful because it's of the flesh. God desires our obedience, our hearts. Not the thumpy organ thing, but our inner desires, our passions. Know that I write this as a hypocrite, because I fall so short.

I don't know if I made my point or not, but I'm going to quit writing because I'm starting to ramble and I need to talk to God. It's cool how we can do that. You know, when your spouse, the love of your life, your prize is on the phone and you try to tell her/him something, you get the finger, not the middle one - the index. It means 'Hang on, I can't listen to you right now'. But here is God, sovereignly ordaining and organizing not only the present, but the future (and for that matter the past, because He is infinite and He is right now a million years from now and a million years ago, at this moment! At one time!!!), holding the earth in place, sustaining life in everything! And you come to Him and He turns His ear to listen. Praise God.