"Thou Hast Made an End of Tithing": Part 9

A Spooky Quote

Caution: Do not read the following before going to bed, as it may induce frightful nightmares in your sleep and haunt your waking dreams.

President J. Reuben Clark said:

   Tithing never sleeps nor sickens nor dies;
   it never goes to the hospital;
   it works on Sundays and holidays;
   it never takes a vacation;
   it takes no pleasure;
   it is never laid off work
   nor discharged from employment;
   it never works on reduced hours;
   it never pays taxes;
   it buys no food;
   it wears no clothes;
   it has no expense of living;
   it has neither weddings
   nor births nor deaths;
   it has no love,
   no sympathy;
   it is as hard and soulless
   as a granite cliff.

   Tithing is your companion
   every minute of the day and night;
   you cannot shun it or slip away from it;
   you cannot dismiss it;
   it yields neither to entreaties,
   demands, or orders;
   and whenever you get in its way
   or cross its course
   or fail to meet its demands,
   it crushes you.

   So much for the tithing we pay.

(President J. Reuben Clark, Conference Report, April 1938, pp. 102-103)

Interest in Tithing

Yes, I know.  I replaced the original word "interest" in that quote with "tithing." 

Same difference.  After all, isn't tithing ten percent of a person's interest, annually?

Speaking of Interest . . .

​​Paul said the Law of Moses was "added because of transgressions" (Galatians 3:19).  We've seen the same thing with Tithing, where the Lord gave a lesser law because of the hardness of our hearts.  

Once we are alive in Christ, though, we no longer need the lesser law.  

   The law was our schoolmaster
   to bring us unto Christ.

   But after that faith is come,
   we are no longer under
   a schoolmaster.

(Galatians 3:24-25)

Fun Fact:  Under the Law of Moses, Jews were forbidden from charging interest to each other ("usury"). 

Since they couldn't earn interest from other Jews, they became money lenders to Gentiles.  Nice loophole.

But wait a minute.  Let this sink in: according to the lesser law, charging interest was wrong.  And yet we do it all the time today.  So . . . we're not even meeting the standard of the lesser law?

    If you lend money
    to my people,
    to the poor among you,
    you are not to act
    as a creditor to him;
    you shall not charge him interest.

(Exodus 22:25, NASB)

I know people who charge interest to their own family.  Their own flesh and blood!  How did we get to this point?

If we're not even keeping the lesser law, how far have we fallen short of the gospel law? 

Flour and Sugar

Jesus showed us the way to give, using an example right out of the kitchen:

Jesus:

    Give, and it shall be given 
    unto you; good measure, 
    pressed down, and shaken 
    together, and running over, 
    shall men give into your bosom. 

    For with the same measure 
    that ye mete withal it shall 
    be measured to you again.

(Luke 6:38)

​Pretend your neighbor stops by and asks if they can borrow some flour.  It must be Sunday and they can't go to the store.  But they want to take brownies to a new family that just moved into the ward.  

Us:  Really?  Couldn't you be prepared?  You're always expecting me to bail you out, aren't you?  You are something else, you know that?  

Them:  I'm sorry.  I just thought, if you could spare a cup of flour . . . 

Us:  Fine!  [we stomp into the kitchen and measure out about 2/3 cup of flour from a full 10 lbs. bag of Pillsbury Best.]  Here you go.  It's all I can give you.  And be grateful I gave you this much!  I hope you learn your lesson.  [We toss the flour to them].

Them:  Thank you.

Us:  But I want to be paid back tomorrow!  By 9:00 a.m. sharp, not a minute later.  I want you to return my flour with interest.  I want 2 full cups as repayment.  It's the least you could do after interrupting my peace and quiet on the Sabbath.

[We shut the door, feeling satisfied that we've done them a favor.]  

Flour Scene: Take Two

Now picture this exchange:

Us:  Why come in, come in!  Have a seat while I get you some flour.  Would you like anything to drink?  Do you need any help baking those brownies?

Them:  That's too kind.  I don't want to trouble you.

Us:  No trouble at all.  [Getting out our bucket of wheat, we grind the wheat freshly into fine flour using a hand mill.]  How much would you like?

Them:  Oh, a cup would be plenty.

Us:  Nonsense!  Have two or three. [We pack the flour, pressed down to make sure there are no air bubbles so they get as much as possible.  The flour cascades down the sides as we keep pouring more and more on top.]  Here you go.

Them:  Thank you.  I'll be sure to repay you as soon as I can get to the store . . .

Us:  No, don't worry about that.  You've helped me so many times, I've lost count.  Oh, and I recall your little Jimmy loves my candied apples [wrapping a candy apple].  Take this and send him my best.  What a dear boy he is.  

Now let's re-read the Savior's words:

    Give, and it shall be given 
    unto you; good measure, 
    pressed down, and shaken 
    together, and running over, 
    shall men give into your bosom. 

    For with the same measure 
    that ye mete withal it shall 
    be measured to you again.

(Luke 6:38)

There's a poem by Marguerite Stewart that I like, which captures the heart of the Savior's message:

Forgiveness Flour

When I went to the door, at the whisper of knocking,
I saw Simeon Gantner’s daughter, Kathleen, standing
There, in her shawl and her shame, sent to ask
“Forgiveness Flour” for her bread. “Forgiveness Flour,”
We call it in our corner. If one has erred, one
Is sent to ask for flour of his neighbors. If they loan it
To him, that means he can stay, but if they refuse, he had
Best take himself off. I looked at Kathleen . . .
What a jewel of a daughter, though not much like her
Father, more’s the pity. “I’ll give you flour,” I
Said, and went to measure it. Measuring was the rub.
If I gave too much, neighbors would think I made sin
Easy, but if I gave too little, they would label me
“Close.” While I stood measuring, Joel, my husband
Came in from the mill, a great bag of flour on his
Shoulder, and seeing her there, shrinking in the
Doorway, he tossed the bag at her feet. “Here, take
All of it.” And so she had flour for many loaves,
While I stood measuring.

(Marguerite Stewart, “Forgiveness Flour,” Religious Studies Center Newsletter 7, no. 3 (May 1993): 1)

Putting Usury on Trial

Opening Statement:  Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, it is up to you to decide whether Tithing, as practiced and preached today as a percentage of one's income, is akin to usury.  You must decide whether this practice violates the gospel law.

I call to the stand Mssr. Joseph Smith, Jr.
​
Me:  Gen. Smith, isn't it true that you are well acquainted with the Lord's promise to provide for his saints?

J.S.:  Eminently.  

Me:  And isn't it true that you, as Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave a public discourse on October 15, 1843 on the Constitution and Temporal Economies?

J.S.  Indeed, I did.  

Me:  And was it your opinion, sir, that this people should not "take usury for their money" as part of a righteous temporal economy?  (History of the Church 6:58)

J.S.  That is correct.

​Me:  And yet, didn't you also say that when we borrow something, we should return it with interest? (Hyrum Andrus, They Knew the Prophet, p. 145).

J.S.  That is correct.

Me:  Isn't that a contradiction?  Saying we should not charge interest, yet we should pay it?

J.S.  There's no contradiction.  That's the way the lender and the borrower can both show love to each other. 

Me:  Explain, please.

J.S.  You see, because the lender loves the borrower, they give the money freely without asking for any interest.  But the borrower is grateful to the lender, and as a token of his love, he will want to repay it with interest, if he is able.  

Me:  I had never thought of that.

J.S.  That way the exchange stems from the goodwill of the parties, and not from a contractual obligation.  

Me:  But isn't it possible that the borrower will default, or repay the loan without interest?

J.S.  Absolutely.   

Me:  Then shouldn't the lender make it obligatory that the borrower repay with interest to ensure he is justly compensated?

J.S.  Absolutely not.  If you require the borrower to repay with interest, then how will the borrower be able to show his generosity and appreciation?

Me:  So if I understand how this works, you believe that if I gave my neighbor $100.00, I should expect only $100.00 back?

J.S.  No, that is not what the Lord taught.  He said:

   If ye lend to them
   of whom ye hope
   to receive, what
   thank have ye?
   for sinners also lend
   to sinners, to receive
   as much again.

   But lend, hoping 
   for nothing again;
   and your reward
   shall be great,
   and ye shall be
   the children 
   of the Highest.

(Luke 6:34-35)

Me:  So you are saying if I lend my neighbor $100.00, I should not expect them to repay me at all?!

J.S.  No, that is not what I am saying; that is what the Lord is saying.

Me:  Then I should never lend to anyone, if I cannot expect to be repaid.

J.S.  That is your right, as is your right to go to hell, if you choose.  But if you want to become a child of the Highest, you should not hold back. 

Me:  But this wouldn't work!  Unless the borrower were honest, and returned what he had borrowed with interest.  

J.S.  If the borrower was able, yes.

Me:  We do not live in a world of honest borrowers, sir.

J.S.  Indeed.  Nor honest lenders.  Hence many are called, but few are chosen.

Approaching Zion

Brother Hugh Nibley said:  

"The most common way of taking advantage of another’s need is loaning money at interest, and this is strictly forbidden, though it is the cornerstone of our present-day economy (Deuteronomy 23:19). 

"But even more effective is the iron law of wages, which forces a worker to accept the lowest possible pay form you because he is desperate for work—as long as his labor brings you a profit, you will continue to hire him; when it doesn’t, you let him go.  And in all this, you pose as his benefactor.  In a word, the right to life always supersedes the right to profit."

(Hugh Nibley, Approaching Zion, Deseret Book: 1989, p. 194).    

Tithing as Interest

Obviously we're the borrower and God is the lender.  And we can never pay him back (thanks for reminding us of that, King Benjamin). 

So why would God, who tells us to not charge interest, or expect anything in return, command us to pay an obligatory percentage of our income in order to remain in full fellowship and good standing with the church in a pseudo-contractual relationship that implicates our temple privileges and ability to hold certain callings?

Well, he wouldn't.  

God would only want us to give to Him out of pure love, with real intent; out of the gratitude and generosity of our hearts, if we're able.  If we make something mandatory, we risk people giving out of duty rather than love.

And God wouldn't want the money for himself, would He?  He would ask us to give it away to those who need it the most: the poor, needy, sick and naked; the widow and fatherless.  Not to bureaucracy and bigger barns; not to stipends and slush funds; not to real estate investment trusts and revitalization efforts of commercial properties; not to corporate bailouts and whited sepulchers hewn from granite.

When did we lose our way?

Jumping the Shark

This is a time of refreshing, so let's refresh our knowledge of Common Consent (which may be the only thing that we haven't tried yet).  Let's flee from the legalism of a lesser law and embrace the pure love of Christ as we become precious to each other.

Where, O Where has Common Consent gone?