Article: Pimping God and Beating the Sheep - Kris Vallotton on Tithing

2) How do I tithe when I have debt? Should I pay off my debt and then begin tithing?

Kris' Answer - The quick answer is that if I was in debt I would still tithe, but I would not go into debt for an offering. There are a lot of ways to look at this, so I'll share how I look at it--God says that you tithe 10% off of your increase. So, if I'm in debt, I tithe because I believe that when I give, I'll receive. When you tithe you're creating a partnership with the Guy who rules the world. So then, you're resourcing but God is also resourcing your 10%. He doesn't need money so He's asking you to trust Him with that 10% and watch what He can do with it. I believe that if you tithe by faith and not through compulsion, you're going to pay off your debts quicker. I want to make a distinction here between tithe and offering. The offering is above and beyond the tithe. I don't give offerings from what should be my landlord's rent (more on that below). In other words, I don't go into debt for an offering.

God's Answer -- But you are willing to go into debt for the tithe? Ridiculous. The Bible says that he who does not take care of his own family is no better than an unbeliever. Once again it is his unbiblical sense that God must always repay the tithe, and apparently with interest, that is at the core of his deception. Read the Book of Acts and see if you can find a single example of tithing to be blessed. Instead they gave all they had to each other.

3) If I tithe I won't be able to afford rent. So what do I do?

Kris' Answer - Some may ask if tithing could be seen as taking the rent from your landlord. Of course, this is only true if you can't actually afford to live there. If you use money that should go to your tithe to pay your rent then you'll be owing to God. If you use the money to tithe instead of paying your rent then you'll be owing to your landlord. The truth is you were never supposed to take God's money (the tithe) and make it your landlord's (your rent). When you rented that house you couldn't afford, that was not a good plan and actually steals your engine of reciprocity. I'm not at all suggesting that you shouldn't pay rent! I'm saying it's wiser to live in a place that you can afford to pay tithe first and still make rent. I'm using this illustration to show you that if you're going to owe anybody money, then I wouldn't suggest owing it to God. And I'll say it again: if you choose to still tithe by faith and trust God, I believe it sows into a cycle of reciprocity. Remember that prosperity begins with giving.

God's Answer -- How utterly reprehensible and disgusting. When you say that you would not choose to owe God then you are in fact saying to not pay your rent! Then you make assumptions that they must have chosen to live above their means and essentially tell them to undertake another financial burden of moving? Are you serious? The engine of your reciprocity? I must have missed that Bible verse. Was it in 2prevarications? Beloved, this is nothing short of vicious sheep beating that Vallotton will answer for one day when he stands before the King of Kings.

4) How do I tithe when I don't have a single cent that isn't accounted for each month? What if 10% is out of reach?

Kris's Answer - I'm a guy who preaches grace, but this is one of the only places where you would find me on the black and white side of things. Why? Because the only place where God says "test Me" is in Malachi 3:10--"'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,' says the LORD of hosts, 'if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.'" Many many years ago Bill shared this verse with me and asked me to tithe for a period of time, and if God didn't at least return the tithe, Bill would give it all back to me. It was an opportunity for me to learn without risk, but the truth is God did return it back to us and we started to live at another level financially. So I'd say, try and figure out a way to squeeze out 10%, do it for six months, and see what happens. And if nothing happens you can say to God that you tested Him"but I'm sure that He's going to be faithful to you.

God's Answer -- Wow. The tithe was supposed to be holy unto the Lord and here Kris is treating it like a whimsical party trick. On top of that grievance, he actually sets you up to be able to say to God like a spoiled brat that "hey I tested You." What's the inference in that statement to God? That God somehow failed. What Kris is either not telling you or is too biblically ignorant to say is that Malachi 3:10 is not God speaking to you. He is speaking to the priests who were robbing the tithes from the store house. How does Kris Vallotton explain the impoverished church in the underground of China? Or in the Muslim dominated Middle East? I guess they are just not tithing right? Or maybe the engine of their reciprocity must be low on oil. What utter garbage.

5) Can I count hours of work as a part of my tithe?

Kris' Answer - I think that you can count this as an offering but a tithe is always mentioned as an increase. In my personal life, I would say that hours of work are not a tithe, but it could be a great offering. When God talks about giving to Him, He always calls it a tithe. When He talks about giving to anyone else He calls it an offering.

God's Answer -- The purpose driven church model requires free labor (ministry) and cash (tithing). You cannot have one counted as the other so you lie and create this system where people feel compelled to serve in ministry or even work because it is their "dream destiny thingy" while at the same time contribute financially in order to be "blessed." This is a clever answer by Kris to split off the working as an "offering" but to keep the fake tithe intact.

6) If I don't have a home Church, where do I tithe to?

Tithe always goes to the storehouse, so whoever is feeding you spiritually is who you should tithe to. -- Kris Vallotton

Another popular lie is that the storehouse referenced in Malachi is now the church today. Again, in the days of Malachi there was an actual storehouse which held the grain and food for the Levites. While there is nothing unbiblical from making one's living from preaching the Gospel, Paul went out of his way to not take any money from the people he preached to and often worked as tentmaker to make his own money.

Kris Vallotton will never preach on that because he can't make any money from it. His entire theology on tithing is taken from the false foundation that God will always give you back more than you give Him. he has to scam you into believing that though. So he offers the silly challenge you saw knowing that one of two outcomes will arise. Those that see no increase will stop tithing but they were not tithers anyway so it is no loss. The other group of folks however will attribute anything positive in their lives to their new found tithing obedience and voila! You have a new batch of suckers to bleed dry, selling your god out like the prostitute you have made him to be. If the well runs dry one day they will stop tithing and probably shipwreck their faith but hey, you got yours right Kris? Beloved, give cheerfully what you and God have decided is right and leave the hucksters like Kris Vallotton on the street corner hustling tricks.

Reverend Anthony Wade - June 1, 2018

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