Various tax reform proposals and concepts are under discussion on Capitol Hill that could impact the charitable deduction.  The charitable tax deduction could fall victim to the don't-raise-the-rates, lower-or-eliminate-the-deductions mantra. This is an excerpt from a church financial newsletter that we receive monthly that should be disturbing both to churches and Christians alike.

It led me to thinking about a question. Would I still give to the church if I could not get a tax deduction from the gift? If I have to ponder long about this question, I have a problem. And if Washington does away with charitable tax deductions altogether, how much would the church suffer? You have heard me say healthy giving is the sign of faithful people. It is my prayer that NOTHING would change and the health of our church would not be phased one bit.

One of our members recently visited an out-of-state church while visiting friends. They heard that church's stewardship sermon in which the pastor challenged those who are not tithers to give it a try. He asked people to tithe for three months and at the end of that time, if they had not been blessed, he would refund their money.  

Wow! At first, I was surprised to hear that. But the longer I thought about it, I felt that was this pastor's interpretation of the verse in Malachi where the Lord says, test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it (3:10).  

We preach specifically on stewardship once a year at TBC. Yes, we hit it in several other ways throughout the year, but once a year we focus on stewardship during our budget building season leading up to Commitment Sunday.  

As we all prepare to make our personal commitment this coming Sunday, I pray that we will truly search our hearts and determine to take God at his word. I hope we will step out on faith and truly understand that all we possess already belongs to God. We bring nothing into this world, will take nothing from it and everything in between is a gift from God. If I cannot live on the 90% that God expects me to keep, then I have a much bigger problem in life than tithing. Give it a try this year.