Q: Is it fair to stop a church member from singing in the church choir because he or she doesn’t always return tithe? — Bernard
A: “The Church Manual” indicates that official offices or leadership positions of the local church should not be filled by members who are not faithful in returning tithe. (See p. 71 of “The Church Manual” at https://www.adventist.org/churchmanual).
However, I think the bigger question is — why isn’t the person returning a faithful tithe? Tithing is an important part of good stewardship. Returning tithe is a Biblical practice and is a way in which we acknowledge God as the rightful owner of all we have.
When we don’t return tithe, we are actually robbing God (see Malachi 3:8), and we are also missing out on receiving God’s promised abundant blessing.
He tells us, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in My house. And try Me now in this … If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it’” (Malachi 3:10, NKJV).
God’s promises are absolutely faithful and true, and I would urge this person to follow the Biblical directive in returning a faithful tithe and then seeing the blessings that God will bring.
For more information about good stewardship and tithing, visit the Stewardship Ministries website at https://www.adventiststewardship.com/ For an interesting article on tithing, click here: https://bit.ly/doyoutithe