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John Hagee --Where's My Money! Don't Make me Send God After You! -- A Tithing Tale

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When Nehemiah leaves for Babylon, Eliashib the Priest, who was in charge of all of the chambers of the house of the Lord, turned over the room previously used to hold the grain for Levites to Tobiah. Who was Tobiah? He was an Ammonite who had staunchly opposed the rebuilding efforts of Nehemiah, and thus God. The fact that he was an Ammonite alone violated the law. When Nehemiah returned he cast Tobiah out, cleansed the temple and restored the courts to order. Then we come to the third set of key verses where Nehemiah discovers that the portions that belonged to the Levites were not given to them and they had fled the temple back to their fields. Nehemiah brings them back to their stations and all of Judah brought the tithe of grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses once again. So now that we have a better understanding of the entire context, let us return to the threats from John Hagee.

Did God say that you live under a financial curse today if you do not tithe? Absolutely not. He did however say that the people in the day of Nehemiah and Malachi were already under a curse because of the actions of the priests, namely Eliashib. This cursed money threat is the same despicable teaching from Robert Morris and Brian Houston, as well as many other prosperity and tithing pimps. It turns God into some eternal gangster who demands His tribute before you even pay your electric bill. Before you think I am exaggerating what they teach, here is a direct quote from Morris:

"Don't give the first portion [of your income] to the mortgage company because the mortgage company does not have the power to bless your finances. Only God does. Don't give the first portion to the electric company, the electric company cannot bless your finances, only God can. Would you rather live with 100% of your income and all of it cursed, or 90% of your income and all of it blessed. That's what the Bible says." -- Robert Morris

Except that is not what the bible says at all. If you choose to tithe will God rebuke the devourer for your sake? Maybe but even if He does it is not because of an ancient agricultural system that Jesus nailed to the cross. Read Galatians 5 and replace the word circumcision with tithing and you will see how serious this is. Whenever we seek to go back to the law we sever Christ from us. Watch how demented Hagee gets here. Rebuking the devourer now means God will put Satan on a leash when it comes to you. God will prevent the enemy from touching what belongs to you. He will not allow him to touch your children. He will not allow him to touch your business. He will not allow him to control your health. He will not allow him to torment your mind or rule you with depression. All this and you get to keep 90% of your money? That sounds like a sweet deal! Except it is not. It is asinine. First of all the notion that God will curse all of your money if you do not tithe is patently silly when you look at all of the billionaires and millionaires in this world, nearly all of which have never given a penny to God.

What is Hagee saying about God in the rest of these promises? I know plenty of people who tithe and get sick. Plenty of people who tithe and their children go astray. Plenty of people who tithe and still get depressed. Plenty of people who tithe and still have to go through life like everyone else. The difference is that everything positive in the life of a tither is attributed to the tithe and the negative is considered an attack. It is only when things are the bleakest do people realize there was no inherent quid-pro-quo from God regarding tithing. What Hagee is teaching here about God is disgusting. That if He doesn't get His money He is going to spiritually kneecap you. This also destroys their insistence that you "can't buy God." Oh yes we can according to John Hagee. This is not obedience based on faith. Instead it is a transactional Christianity. John Hagee is selling protection just like the mafia would. Who is he protecting you from? God.

We should give with a grateful heart for all He has already done for us. If God never gives me one more tangible blessing in this life, He has already given me everything through His Son's sacrifice on Calvary. Please beloved, do not get me wrong. I am not anti-giving. I am anti-beating the sheep into submission using a millennia old system that Jesus has rendered obsolete. As for those who "swear by tithing":

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. - Proverbs 11:24 (ESV)

This is the principle of sowing and reaping and it is reinforced later in the New Testament. Scripture always interprets scripture. The object is not to be cheap but to be cheerful in all we have and all we give. We do not give reluctantly. We do not give expecting something in return. More importantly, we do not assign blame to God if something is negative in our lives. I read about a woman diagnosed with cancer in Kenneth Copeland's church and she refused to seek medical treatment because she was taught it would be showing a lack of faith in God to heal her. Instead, she just kept raising her tithes and offerings until cancer killed her a year later. It is time to stop calling evil good, or even lukewarm. What John Hagee and Robert Morris preach is evil, period, full stop. People need to break off those shackles the charlatans of God have imprisoned them with. Give because of all God has done for you beloved. For that He is already worthy.

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Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to (more...)
 
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