60 – 5-Minute Mentoring: Tithing vs Giving - As an artist what do I do?

In this episode, I answer a question from one of my listeners, Monique, on how she should tithe on the income she gets from creating and selling art.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Have you ever wondered about the whole issue of tithing and how you should approach that as an artist and a business person who's a believer in Jesus? Well, I'm going to be answering that question today here on 5-Minute Mentoring. Have you ever wanted to have someone in your life who you could ask real questions about your art, your business, and even your walk with the Lord? Well, that's exactly what we do every Friday here on 5-Minute Mentoring, where I answer one question from one of my awesome podcast listeners in order to help you start really thriving as the artist you know God created you to be. Well, hey there. Thanks so much for being with me on the podcast today. Happy Friday. It's a great day to... Be answering some questions. And one of the questions I get a pretty good bit from folks is, you know, about finances and about money and how we should be stewarding the things that, you know, God gives us, God blesses us with. And as artists who are not just artists, but also business owners, there can be questions about, well, should I be giving? And how should I be giving? And should I be tithing? Is that for now? Is it not? And And all that's a big, big question. And then if I do, should I be doing that off my business earnings or my gross business receipts or from what I take home? I mean, how do you approach that? I got a great question the other day from one of my listeners, Monique. And here's what she had to say about that.

SPEAKER_00: 1:20

Hey, Matt. This is Monique Sarkeesian. I'm a painter and sculptor. And I have a question about tithing, which is a biblical mandate and very important. So I have a question about tithing. Do you calculate your 10% and above tithe off of your gross or off of your net? And what about do you deduct the price of your materials? Say I sell a painting for$800. What do I do then? How do I figure my tithe if I'm not paying myself for my labor or my expenses? How do you figure that? Thanks.

SPEAKER_01: 2:04

Well, Monique, thanks so much for that question. I really do appreciate all the questions from my listeners. And by the way, if you've got a question for me that you've not asked yet, you can always go to my website at matttommymentoring.com forward slash podcast and record a message just like Monique did. And I'll feature it here on the podcast. So tithing, what's the deal? Well, tithing in a traditional sense is a biblical teaching. It's a biblical principle that really predates the practice of Mosaic law. It actually goes back all the way to Abraham's the first time that we see it in God's word. And then it was also traditionally taught under Mosaic law as a way to not only support the work of God, but also declare God as our provider. And traditionally, people would give 10% of the first fruits of their income into the work of the Lord so that they could support the Levites and all the priests and all the stuff that was going on. at that time under Mosaic Law. You know, tithing is one of those issues, and I don't want to even try to get into all the nuances of what people believe about it, because it's one of those issues that there are wonderful people on every side of this. Many Christians believe that it's absolutely for today. Many Christians believe that it's not for today. And so, like I said, I'm not here to debate that issue. I really want to bring your focus to what I believe the New Testament teaches about giving in general, because I think that's what we always need to look at as believers. What did Jesus say about it? What did the New Testament say about it? What does giving look like under the new covenant? So there are four things that I really want to bring your attention to that I think really outline a biblical model and also a New Testament model of giving. The first is this idea that not just 10% belongs to the Lord, but everything that we have belongs to the Lord. Everything that God puts into our life is a part of the blessing of God to be used, not only so that we can live the abundant life, but primarily that we could be agents, ambassadors, if you will, of the kingdom in the earth. All right. So again, we're not just squeezing out 10% and saying, oh, I just, well, I'll just give a little bit, you know, and, you know, I'll keep the 90 for myself. No, in the New Testament, it's all the Lord's. All right. It's all for his glory. It's all. And number two, we're stewards of those resources. Again, we're not blessed just to become blown up, bloated, if you will, with blessing. We're blessed in order to be a blessing. We're stewards of the resources that God puts into our life. And so, again, it's a whole different model. Instead of just saying, well, I'm just going to give 10% because that belongs to God and everything else belongs to me. No. Everything belongs to the Lord. Everything that's in your possession, all your material goods, all your money, all the ideas, all the resources, it all belongs to the Lord. And then number three, I think it's really important that whatever you give, if you decide to give 10%, 15%, 20%, whatever it is that you decide to give, whether it's one time or on a regular basis, I do encourage you you to give on a regular basis. I think it's just a good habit. It declares God as your provider in whatever you're giving and however you're giving. But when you give, I think the Bible is really clear that you've got to give in faith and you've also got to give generously and freely. That's really, really, really important. Listen, just because you squeeze out a 10% check once a month and you're not doing it in faith, that doesn't That is not like some magic recipe for God to bless you. God looks, Jesus was so clear, the Father looks at the intent of the heart. What's the heart behind your giving? And see, the question is never, you know, how can I give less? The question is always, how can I give more? How can I be more of a blessing? How can I give more generously, more freely? How can I support the work of God in my church, in my area, with other things that are going on? How can I support that more? How can I use the things that God's put inside of my hands to encourage others as they pursue the calling of God and the kingdom of God in their life? That's really, really at the heart of giving. So you've got to give generously and freely and in faith. And then the fourth thing I would say is that the Bible is really clear that we should be supporting, number one, the work of the ministry, your local church, local ministries in your area. It's really important that you're sowing into those things so that they can do the work of the kingdom. And then number two, that you're supporting those in need, that you're giving to the widows and to the orphans and to people around you that are in need. So I think as you look at all of that, that to me is the heart behind any kind of giving that you're going to be doing as an artist or as a person who loves Jesus and who wants to be faithful to regular, systematized giving. Now, to Monique's question in particular about, you know, well, should I be giving a percentage of my income off the business receipts, you know, gross receipts, or off what I take personally? For our family, what I would encourage you to do is that we do our giving based off of what we receive personally. See, when you have a business, rarely is 100% of the money that comes in in a business, rarely is all of that profit. Usually, you're going to be bringing in money, like when you sell a piece, then you've got to do what? You've got to pay your bills. You've got to pay your rent. If you have employees, all that kind of stuff. You have to pay shipping. All of those sort of things have to be paid out of the business proceeds. And then you're going to keep some money in the business for that to run, and then you're going to receive money as a profit, all right? And so as you receive money, that profit that comes into your bank account, that's now your money, all right? You and your business are not the same thing, all right? And so when you receive that money personally, then I think that's a wonderful opportunity for you and your spouse to sit down if you're married or you as a single person sit down and decide, okay, of the money that I've received as profit, what do I now want to give? What do I want to sow? What am I in faith to sow into the kingdom of God? And that's a really, really great thing to be able to do on a regular basis. So that again, on a monthly basis, if you want to do that on a percentage basis, maybe you have a fund. Like we have a bank account, for example, that's set up specifically for giving money. We take a certain percentage every month, put it into a certain bank account, and that's where that money lives. And when we get ready to give money, we give out of that fund. And that's a wonderful, wonderful bucket system, if you will, that allows us to keep up with all the money that we want to give. See, at the end of the day, whether you're practicing traditional tithing, that is, you know, 10% of your income to your local church or not, as believers, again, you've always got to be looking for ways to honor the Lord with all of your resources, to be sowing into the kingdom, to be generous with the resources that God's given you. in order to be a blessing, in order to be a part of extending the work of the kingdom in the earth. That's why God put resources and opportunities and ideas and finances into your hand in the first place, is yes, for you to enjoy, but also for you to use to further his kingdom. All right. Well, I hope that's helped to clear up some questions just about that whole giving thing and how to really approach that. Listen, if this podcast and the other episodes has been a blessing to you, I want to encourage you, go right now and review the podcast in iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, wherever you are. Click the review button and let people know that you love this podcast. Even write a little note to let us know that you're listening. Also, share it with a friend. You can hit the share button right there on whatever app you're listening to or even on the website. And also, if you've not already, please hit the subscribe button. That way, every time We put out a new episode. You'll be sure to get a notification. Hey, I love you very much. And remember, until we meet again, you were created to thrive. All right, bye.