The "Do Not Read" List, for Those Who Don't Want To Change

By Randy Baskin, Chair, SOTH Finance Team

I try to read the Bible every night and/or morning.

If I were a baseball player, I'd probably be sent back to the minor leagues because my average moves around so much and hardly ever stays over .500.

Needless to say, I want to improve in that area.

One thing that contributes to my low "BR" (Bible Reading) average is that I'll be moving along really good and hit on a verse that I should have skipped.

For this reason, I'm starting a "Do Not Read" list, so I'll know which verses to skip (the ones out of my comfort/strike zone). I think this will increase my average and get me in good with the "Big Guy."

I hear he's always out there scouting, so I think my own little playbook will increase my odds.

Since January, I've been involved with the SOTH Finance Team, actually as its Chair, and I've struggled with my own giving and tried to justify what my wife and I see as "tithing."

Not only do we see it differently between the two of us, but I think the Bible must be mistaken in some of the verses that I have read, and I should have skipped them.

So...here for "thou," my "Do Not Read" list, with the verses that make me uncomfortable with what the Bible says about tithing.

As Christians, we're all on the same team, so I feel comfortable sharing my secret to success in the game of salvation with each of you.

My Do Not Read List from the Holy Bible:

1. Do Not Read  Malachi 3:6-10

"I am God—yes, I Am. I haven't changed. And because I haven't changed, you, the descendants of Jacob, haven't been destroyed. You have a long history of ignoring my commands. You haven't done a thing I've told you. Return to me so I can return to you," says God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

"You ask, 'But how do we return?'

"Begin by being honest. Do honest people rob God? But you rob me day after day.

"You ask, 'How have we robbed you?'

"The tithe and the offering—that's how! And now you're under a curse —the whole lot of you—because you're robbing me. Bring your full tithe to the Temple treasury so there will be ample provisions in my Temple. Test me in this and see if I don't open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams.

2. Do Not Read Leviticus 27:30-34

"A tenth of the land's produce, whether grain from the ground or fruit from the trees, is God's. It is holy to God. If a man buys back any of the tenth he has given, he must add twenty percent to it. A tenth of the entire herd and flock, every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod, is holy to God. He is not permitted to pick out the good from the bad or make a substitution. If he dishonestly makes a substitution, both animals, the original and the substitute, become the possession of the Sanctuary and cannot be redeemed."

3. Do Not Read  Deuteronomy 12:17

Nor may you eat there the tithe of your grain, new wine, or olive oil; nor the firstborn of your herds and flocks; nor any of the Vow-Offerings that you vow; nor your Freewill-Offerings and Tribute-Offerings. All these you must eat in the Presence of God, your God, in the placeGod, your God, chooses—you, your son and daughter, your servant and maid, and the Levite who lives in your neighborhood. 

4. Do Not Read  Malachi 3:10 (worth a second reminder not to read)

And now you're under a curse —the whole lot of you—because you're robbing me. Bring your full tithe to the Temple treasury so there will be ample provisions in my Temple. Test me in this and see if I don't open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams. 

5. Do Not Read  Ecclesiastes 5:10

  The one who loves money is never satisfied with money, 
   Nor the one who loves wealth with big profits. It's just more smoke.

6. Matthew 6:24

 ²⁴"You can't worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you'll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can't worship God and Money both.

7. Do Not Read  I Timothy 6:10

Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.

This is just the start, and I know that there's much more dealing with the subjects of money and tithing that we should not read, not to mention all the other subjects that also have verses that land outside of our comfort zone.

As a team of Christians, don't we owe it to each other to warn of possible verses that could set us back on points scored?

I mean, if we don't know what they say, then it can't be sin, right? I mean, St. Peter will have to open those pearly gates for sure!

By the way, who decided that we should have an updated version of the Holy Bible? I mean, I liked the King James Version just fine.

I could read it, still not have a clue what it said and interpret it in a way that fits my lifestyle. I probably wouldn't need a "Do Not Read" list if we could just go back to the good ol' King James!

Randy Baskin
SOTH Finance Team