—By Father DavidDO84331 October 1979

(It's Halloween—And I'm the Spook! Boo!!)

1. TO BELONG TO OUR FAMILY & GET OUR INSIDE NEWS SHOULD BE THE MOST EXCLUSIVE CLUB IN THE WORLD!—And what you get is priceless! You're not just paying for Magazines, believe me! We're just willing to send you the Family News if you're willing to help us get out the Word!

2. THERE'S NO AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT COULD PAY FOR IT! So you have no subscription rights of any kind, nor can you make demands on us for anything! This is why we stay away from the expressions "pay" or "buy" or "subscribe" or such. But if you donate to us & the Lord's work, we're willing to send you the information & news.

3. IF YOU'RE WILLING TO REALLY TITHE & SHOW YOU'RE ONE OF US, we're willing to send you all the News, the inside information, inside‚ outside & everything! But you are not paying for it! Your gifts are helping partly to get it created & printed & published, but you are not just paying for a Magazine!

4. YOU ARE SUPPORTING GOD'S WORLDWIDE WORK OF REACHING THE WORLD WITH THE GOSPEL! So you'd better not start complaining & comparing some of your little rinky-dink gifts with the value of the Magazine!—You're not buying so much paper!

5. SO I'M PRETTY DISGUSTED AT HOW EASY SOME OF YOU'VE BEEN GETTING DOs FOR ONLY $20 THAT YOU CLAIM IS YOUR TITHE! A whole bunch of you've recently changed over to the old $20 minimum that went out with the 1st TRF–IRF plan! So we'd better make it very clear that claiming your tithe is only $20 is not going to work anymore! On these new TRF Reports there is a place for you to put the amount of your total monthly income if you are a tither getting DOs, & 10% of that is your tithe!—Not just $20!

6. WE'RE PHONING WWIMM TODAY TO TELL'M THERE'S NO MORE DOs GOING OUT FOR ANY $20 SUPPOSED TITHE! Period!—Nobody in N. America or Europe nowadays only makes $200 a month or you'd starve!—So you're lying! I'm just furious at some of you office people who are too eeeeaaaasssy going & too soft hearted & too merciful & just want to give everything away! Now I'm pretty soft & pretty tender when it's necessary, but I have no patience for people who have no mercy on God or His Children or our poor missionaries! Neither does God!

7. THE IDEA OF TRYING TO GET BY GIVING ONLY $20 A MONTH supposed tithe for something that others are giving $50 & $100 for! It's ridiculous!—When you're probably earning just as much, if not more‚ than they are! When I told our WWIMM they could make a few exceptions, I expected there might be a handful, maybe a dozen or two out of you all—not hundreds!!!

8. OVER 300 HOMES WERE NOT EVEN REPORTING & WIM WAS STILL SENDING YOU MAGAZINES! Some they were sending Magazines to for three & four & five months, according to our own records, & without a word in reply! Now who the hell gave anybody the authority to do that?

9. I'M SORRY, BUT I'M GOING TO HAVE TO START GETTING TOUGH WITH YOU! If you don't get busy & give what is God's due, I'm going to require it of you!—Or cut off your DOs entirely! That Report just made me furious, to see how long we've been carrying hundreds of Homes for months with very little or even nothing!

10. I DON'T LIKE STATS THAT MUCH! That sounds like some of the old Chain! They used to pad the Stats just to make me happy! That doesn't mean a God-damned thing when you just pad Stats with dead-wood non–tithing Homes just to keep the line up there near the top of the graph!

11. I WANT THOSE STATS TO MEAN SOMETHING! Good, solid followers & supporters, & workers—not a bunch of riff-raff & chaff who are just chiselling in on the inside DO juice for almost nothing! Why should you enjoy the full benefits of Family News & fellowship & inside DO info without the sacrifices that others are making?—While others are having to pay your way!—That's what it amounts to!

12. ON A PRO-RATED WORLDWIDE BASIS OUR FN MAGAZINE COSTS US NOW NEARLY $50 A MONTH!—$25 AN ISSUE just to produce & get it to you! So what the hell are you doing giving us less than 10 bucks or nothing?—Much less claiming only $20 is your tithe!—You're lairs! I don't believe it!

13. I DON'T WANT A BUNCH OF LIARS ON OUR MAILING LIST! There's apt to be too many enemies, critics, grumblers‚ recalcitrants & all the rest of that riff-raff! I'd just as soon get you off the mailing list & cut it down! We'd have a lot less work to do & need less money!

14. THESE AREN'T SUBSCRIPTIONS! We don't owe chisellers anything! These are gifts you're sending us! We just send you the Magazines as a thank you & acknowledgement of your gift & to include you in our Fellowship as a fellow-worker for the Lord! You're not paying for it!—And we can raise the ante any minute we want if it is costing us that, & I think it's about time!

15. WE'VE REAPED ENOUGH OF THESE $10 BARGAINS, & it's about time to raise the DFOs for IRFs to at least $20! You'd still be getting a bargain & for less than what it costs us! We're getting out two great big fat Magazines every month with most of the material DFO! Why shouldn't you give your share?

16. "MANY TRFers ARE NOW SENDING IN ONLY $20 RATHER THAN THE FULL 10% TITHE!"—says the latest report! It didn't used to be that way at first. The word must have spread! "Oh, we only pay 20 bucks for ours, why are you tithing?" I'd rather have a Gideon's Band that means business, than 33,000 just in the Stats! That kind of Stats are just a bunch of rubbish!—And I mean it! Whhheeww!

17. WELL, I HEAR WWIMM'S FINALLY SENDING OUT FINAL NOTICES TO NON-REPORTERS & NON–GIVERS AT LAST! From now on I'm going to be looking over their shoulders & keeping an accurate check on just exactly who is sending in how little & how long & making sure they don't let you get away with it!

18. THERE MAY BE A FEW GENUINE POOR who can't possibly do anything better, some poor little brow-beaten wife who's on a kitchen budget, & her tyrannical bestial husband hates us & wouldn't let her have anything to do with us, send us even $10 or anything, much less their tithe! I can see where she may want & need the Letters & Magazines desperately for fellowship & communication, & that she might be able to chisel $10 out of the budget. The way the budgets are in the States, she should be able to even save about $10 a week out of her budget!

19. BUT MOST OF YOU PEOPLE BACK IN THE STATES NOW ARE EARNING PLENTY!—Even welfare or social security don't pay you that little! You couldn't live on it! So I'm just fed up with people who try to get something for nothing! God doesn't give us something for nothing, I'll tell you! Somebody had to pay for it, even Salvation!—JESUS!

20. I AM FURIOUS ABOUT HOW MANY OF YOU PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GETTING AWAY WITH SUCH LOW GIFTS, particularly you people who claim to be tithers at only $20 a month! There isn't anybody in the United States that I know of who could possibly even be living on only $200 a month or getting only a $200–a-month salary!—That's a lie!

21. THEY'VE GOT A MINIMUM WAGE LAW THERE THAT PREVENTS THAT!—At even only about $3 an hour, that's about $25 a day!—And even if you only work five days a week, that's $125 a week or $500 a month!—Minimum wages!—And your tithe would be $50 a month! Nobody is getting only $200 a month wages! Most are making that much a week, or $2000 a month, & ought to be tithing $200—And if you are‚ you're liars & cheaters trying to get by for only a supposed "$20 tithe!"

22. WE ARE NOT JUST SELLING MAGAZINES! WE ARE SERVING GOD! Our Family is serving God! We are investing in God's service, in His Kingdom & giving to the Lord! We're not just paying for so many pages of a Magazine! I tell you right now, even the Magazine costs more than that!—And if it weren't for people who are giving more, even $50 & $100 a month, we'd never make it!

23. SO I'M SORRY—THAT SO-CALLED $20 MINIMUM TITHE IS OUT! Nobody's making that little!—And we're going to raise the $10 DFOs for IRFers to $20!—And if you're not willing to give that little, then you don't deserve it! Period! It's no contract, it's no binding subscription, we're not promising anything for anything! We are just offering to try to send you the Magazine if you give what you should to God's work!—And $20 is certainly hardly anybody's tithe!—And $10 doesn't even pay the costs of DFOs!

24. SO I'M FED UP WITH THE PIKERS, LOAFERS, CHISELLERS, CHEATERS‚ LIARS & HYPOCRITES! That's what you are if you've got a job in N. America or Europe & claim you make less than $200 a month!—You can't live on that much a week! Don't tell me anybody in the United States is only making $200 a month! At least the IRFers who are sending their 10 bucks are not lying!—Unless they are claiming they can't even afford to send $10!

25. OUR DEAR KIND FRIENDS AT WWIMM HAVE BEEN SENDING OUT OODLES OF MAGAZINES EVEN IF YOU SAID YOU COULDN'T SEND $10!—BUT NO MORE! I tell you‚ if you don't value the Magazine enough to not even give what it's worth—or at least try to give toward the costs—forget it! What good would it do to send it to you?—And if you are just cheaters & liars claiming to be tithers at only $20 a month‚ it's not going to do you any good anyhow!

26. YOU'RE LIKE THE HYPOCRITES IN THE BIBLE! What good does it do to read the Letters if you're lying to us & cheating us? What good does it do? We need a few less soft hearts at LLIMMs & WWIMMs, & a few more tough officers who know how to crack down & enforce the rules!

27. LET ME TELL YOU, THE FAMILY DIDN'T GET WHERE IT IS BY MY BEING A PUSH-OVER with a string for a backbone & milk & water in my veins! I have been a tough military commander even since we started, from the very beginning—first with my own kids! I didn't let them get away with anything!—And I passed it right on & treated the rest of you the same!

28.—AND THAT'S WHY WE'VE LASTED LONGER THAN THE JESUS PEOPLE OR ANY OF THE OTHER JESUS FREAKS THAT WERE PUSSY-FOOTING AROUND TEN YEARS AGO!—That's why we're still here, thank God! The Lord is a tough Commander! He's very kind-hearted & loving with the weak & helpless‚ but He's a firm parent with those old enough to know better, & He expects us to toe the line or get whacked with the rod if we don't do what we're supposed to do!

29. PEOPLE WHO ROCK ALONG & TAKE IT SO EASY ON OTHERS, I think it's because they probably are so damn guilty themselves, they want to make sure that people are easy on them when they get caught!—Like the unjust steward finally did! (Lk.16:1-8).

30. ANYBODY CAN GO AROUND BEING POPULAR, LIKE A LOT OF THESE PREACHERS & PASTORS & POLITICIANS, slapping everybody on the back & grinning in their faces & shaking hands, "Hail, brother well met!—blah blah blah blah!"—And never rebuke'm & never scold'm & never chastise'm or punish'm or crack'm with the rod like a prophet when they need it!

31. YOU CAN HAVE ALL KINDS OF FAIR-WEATHER FRIENDS, BUT WHAT DO THEY AMOUNT TO?—You won't have any real followers or soldiers who amount to anything! I'll tell you‚ anybody who has got any kind of an organisation that amounts to anything has got to have tough rules, tough officers & tough enforcement, or you're just a sickening mushy mess!—Icky-sticky!—And that's not how we got where we've got! I can't stand people who are divided, who are not single-hearted or single-eyed! (Lk.11:34; Ac.2:46.) People get away with too much too!—It's disloyalty!

32. WHEN THE UNJUST STEWARD WENT AROUND CANCELLING ALL THEIR BILLS, all his Lord's bills—not his bills—he was cancelling all their debts to his Master & getting'm to write'm off in very small amounts‚ but to pay him, he then took off with it all!—This is loyalty?

33. HE WAS BEING VERY KIND, THOUGH—very tender-hearted, very merciful‚ very loving, very good to all these dear poor people, wasn't he?—Like we've been to some of you—too kind!—But how good was he being to his Master & to his job, huh? He was only being good to them because he wanted to be good to himself! He was cutting down on their obligations to make sure he padded his own pocket!

34. YOU MAY THINK I'M TOO TOUGH‚ but I'll tell you, I did some screaming in those early days! I haven't screamed much lately, but it was those last couple of reports that made me scream, to see how many have been getting by too long with too little! That's it!—I've had it! No more of you cheaters & chisellers & liars!—Hypocrites!

35. GOD STRUCK PEOPLE DEAD FOR THAT IN THE EARLY CHURCH!—People who claimed they were giving something they weren't giving!—Like you people who are giving only $20 & claiming it's your tithe when it's not! That is a lie! That's what Ananias & Sapphira dropped dead for!! (Ac.5:1-11.)—They claimed they were giving their all & they weren't! That's just the same as you people who are claiming you are giving your tithe but you're not!

36. YOU'RE JUST AS GOD-DAMNED GUILTY AS ANANIAS & SAPPHIRA!—And if you don't watch out, you are apt to drop dead!—I'm telling you so!—Don't try to pretend you're tithing when you're not! Don't send us $20 for DOs & claim it's your tithe! What liars! Cheaters! Hypocrites!

37. AND IF PETER WOULD HAVE LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN JUST AS GOD-DAMNED GUILTY AS THEY WERE!!—Right? (Yes!) So if I let you get away with it, I'm guilty!—So I'm telling you off!—And if WWIMM or LLIMMs lets you get away with it, they're guilty!

38. I'M FURIOUS ABOUT HOW MANY OF YOU PEOPLE THEY HAVE BEEN LETTING GET AWAY WITH GIVING LITTLE OR EVEN NOTHING! Some of you they've been carrying you free, riding you along for months on end!!—I'm fed up with this all-too-generous attitude!

39. GOD IS GOOD TO US. He gives us exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think—providing we give Him all!—And providing we are not lying to Him & cheating Him & chiselling Him out of what's His due! But if He catches you at that, let me tell you, He'll jerk the whole rug out from under you & take the whole thing away!—That's what He'll do!

40. THAT'S ONE REASON WE HAVE SO MUCH CRIME TODAY!—THERE ARE TOO MANY CRIMINALS! Modern psychiatry & the courts soft-soap them & namby-pampy them & give them a nice‚ general‚ sweet, forgiving treatment‚ so they go right back out again & do it again!—Again & again & again!

41. YOU KNOW HOW THEY GOT RID OF CRIME UNDER THE MOSAIC LAW?—THEY GOT RID OF THE CRIMINALS! They had nearly 30 capital crimes!—At least 26 by my own actual count!—26 capital crimes & no imprisonment! Nobody had to go to jail, isn't that nice?—Didn't have to give them top security & free room & board for years & years & years, & be a tremendous expense on the State, & then just as soon as they let them out again, they do it again!

42. UNDER THE MOSAIC LAW, THEY CAUGHT THEM ONCE & THAT WAS IT! ZONK! THEY GOT IT! They put them out of their misery, & they could settle up in the next world!—For 26 capital crimes! You could be stoned to death just for cursing your mother or father, especially smiting them! Now they've got laws where the kids can hit the mothers & fathers, but the mothers & fathers don't dare hit back!

43. THE WHOLE WORLD IS GOING TO RACK & RUIN & LAWLESS CHAOS THROUGH ALL THIS BEING SO GOD-DAMNED TOO GENTLE & EASY ON PEOPLE!—Mostly because the parents & authorities haven't got the guts to crack the whip on sins that they themselves are too guilty of themselves! So they haven't got the righteousness to judge somebody else! They want to be forgiven, so they forgive everybody else!

44. WELL‚ THAT'S ONE WAY TO GET FORGIVEN.—The Lord said so. But I'm not so sure He's going to forgive you for forgiving people for cheating Him out of His due! If you wanta forgive them for what they have cheated you out of, why that's your business.

45. BUT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO QUIT FORGIVING PEOPLE WHO ARE CHEATING US & GOD! You can be too sweet, you can be too kind, too forgiving, too loving.

46. MY MOTHER USED TO HAVE A POEM ABOUT THE FATHER WHO SPARED HIS LITTLE BOY FROM EVERYTHING, saved him from everything—every hurt‚ every trial, every job, all the work & everything he could spare him from. He tried to shield & protect him so he never had to suffer & never had to hurt, he never had to work & he never had to do anything, his father did it all for him!—And the boy turned out to be nothing but a spoiled, rotten little brat!

47. SO I'M NOT GOING TO SPOIL YOU! You do your job & I'll be very good to you, & the Lord will be very good to you too. But woe unto you if you make too many mistakes too often! When people keep on doing it, & keep on doing it, after I've warned them several times, then I crack'm with the rod, like I'm doing some of you right now!

48. I'VE TRIED TO GIVE YOU THE HINT SEVERAL TIMES, until finally I'm having to crack down & make it specific & spell it out.—Period!—No more $20 tithes!—And you miss one Report & we stop the Letters!—And we wait until you send it & we get it before we send any more! If we send you a warning & you send your Report & tithe or gift & we get it‚ fine! Then we resume the mailings.

49. BUT IF WE DON'T HEAR FROM YOU, WE DON'T MAIL'M! How do we know you are even still there? We get back scores of dead-letter pieces of mail every month! Why should we keep on sending valuable expensive mail to some address you've moved from, so we don't know if you got it?—Let's now hear from you & get that Report & gift or tithe, & you'll hear from us!—But "No tickee, no laundee!"—Sorry!

50. SO THY WILL BE DONE, HAVE THY WAY, LORD! WE ASK THEE TO BLESS THE FAMILY, LORD, & continue to keep them & make them a blessing & solve all these problems. Give them wisdom, Lord, in the working out of all the details. We cannot understand it all, much less do it all. That's their job, Lord‚ to tend the tables & take care of these material things.

51. HELP THEM DO IT RIGHT & thoroughly, efficiently, justly, & sometimes mercifully, Lord. But help them, Lord, to do it rightly, & not be too merciful to too many people, & so deprive Thee & us of what is fair. Thank You for keeping us, Lord‚ & we ask that You continue to do so.

52. THANK YOU FOR BLESSING US WITH ALL THESE BLESSINGS, LORD—MOSTLY THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE YOU & HELP OTHERS. Thank You for how You have helped us get out so much work lately in a good situation conducive to good production of a beautiful new Magazine, Lord! So we ask You, Lord, to continue to help the folks & protect them & help them with their tasks everywhere.

53. THANK YOU FOR WHAT A MARVELLOUS JOB OUR STAFF & THE LLIMMs HAVE DONE to get the Magazine rolling so quickly in such a new form with so many changes! We're so thrilled, Lord, to see it come out & know that it's doing our job around the World! Help them all & keep them & have Thy way about the situation, in Jesus' Name, Thy will be done‚ Lord.

54. HALLELUJAH! THANK YOU, LORD! AMEN, LORD! You've always worked everything out for our good, because we love You & you love us‚ & You've promised to Lord, so we thank You for it. Now do the same with this.

55. WE'RE TRYING TO DO SOMETHING FOR THE LLIMMs‚ LORD, to really help them, to give them a real push & really get them out on a Limb for You, Lord, where they've just got to do it & gotta offer the service, & they've gotta offer the help that they need to offer to the local people.

56. SO HAVE YOUR WAY, LORD, with the literature, mail ministry & supervision—everything‚ Lord.—We believe it is going to work out to a closer pastoring of the local areas. Help the KQLs & the LLIMMs & the people, Lord, to find real leaders who will be able to lead them well & succeed in the job we are doing, trying to reach the whole World with Thy Gospel, in Jesus' Name! Thank You, Lord! Praise You, Lord!

57. BLESS & CONTINUE TO KEEP US, LORD, LEAD & GUIDE US & have these things work out according to what You know is best. If anything we have suggested or decided, Lord, is not best & You know it wouldn't work, You stop it & block it & keep us from it or show us. But if these are Thy leadings & Thy will, Lord, & good for us, then we know You'll open the doors & make the way & make it work out. Have Thy way‚ Lord, in Jesus' Name, we ask it all for Thy glory, amen!

58. WELL PTL & GBY!—And so long to those of you who don't think God's Work, our Family Fellowship & News is worth only $20 a month for most of it in DFOs, DOs & all!—We're sorry for you!—BEGINNING JAN.1, 1980!

59. HOPE YOU CAN FIND SOMETHING BETTER CHEAPER!—But I doubt it! Bargains are hard to find.—You usually get what you pay for!—And we're the only one of our kind! "To whom will ye go?—We alone have Words like this!"—John 6:68.

60. FROM NOW ON, ITS A GIFT OF AT LEAST $20 a month if you want all the DFOs, most of the news for IRFers.—Or all the big news—DOs, DFOs & all!—for at least all you Tithe! A full 10% of all your monthly income!—Don't rob God!—Or you'll be sorry!!

61. "BRING YE ALL THE TITHES INTO THE STOREHOUSE, that there may be meat in Mine house, & prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of Heaven, & pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it!" (Malachi 3:10.)

QUOTES ON TITHING:

(From "Seek First!"‚ 697:55-57:)

"AND OF COURSE YOU'RE FAILING GOD FINANCIALLY TOO: He said, 'Will a man rob God?’ But ye say, 'Wherein have we robbed Thee?'—In tithes & offerings!' (Mal.3:8.) If you are not faithful to God in tithing your total income, God will not bless you financially no matter how hard you try in every one of the '7 Supporters'!

"YOU ARE GOD'S CHILDREN IN THIS FAMILY OF LOVE, & IT IS YOUR OBLIGATION TO SUPPORT GOD'S WORK, as they did the temple with 10% of their total income under the Old Testament system, which is somewhat our form of government."

(From "The Tithe", 702:146-148:)

"IF YOU WOULD ONLY TITHE YOUR TOTAL INCOME‚ we would be able to support these needy missionaries better, & better serve your WS needs as well.

"SO PLEASE TRY TO TITHE 10% OF YOUR TOTAL INCOME to meet all these needs, both WS services to you & the needs of your missionaries in hard fields.

"YOU'LL NEVER BE SORRY! GOD WILL REPAY! Read the verse again! (Mal.3:10) He'll pour you out such blessings there won't be room enough to hold'm! Amen? PTL!"

(From "Pickin' Up the Pieces!", 336A:52-56:)

"WE DO NOT THINK THIS IS ASKING TOO MUCH. God's 10% tithe rule of the Bible made no exceptions, & even though the widow cast in only a mite, it was actually all of her living!

"I'LL NEVER FORGET WHEN I WAS A POOR STUDENT in Bible College trying pitifully to exist on only $25 a month in a little 14-foot trailer with a wife & two small children, when my wife suggested that God would bless us if we would tithe of even what little we had.

"I OBJECTED THAT WE COULDN'T POSSIBLY SPARE EVEN A PENNY of it, as it wasn't enough for our living! But when we prayed & asked the Lord about it, we opened the Bible to this very Scripture about the Widow's mite, in which she cast it into the Lord's treasury, even though it was all of her living, all she had!

"WE IMMEDIATELY STARTED GIVING AT LEAST OUR 10% to others of God's poor whom we knew needed it, such as missionaries, students & other worthy works, & God immediately began to bless us financially."

(From "Excommunication", 683:1–19:)

"GOD WILL NOT ALLOW HIMSELF TO BE ROBBED! 'Will a man rob God? … Ye have robbed Me in tithes & offerings!’ (Mal.3:8.) The minute you start borrowing God's share, His 10%, when He's already let you keep 90%, He will not tolerate it! That is probably one reason some areas are sinking. I've heard of that happening so many times.

"PEOPLE BORROW GOD'S MONEY, THEN BAM, GOD TAKES A COLLECTION! All kinds of things go wrong that God could have kept from happening if they'd been faithful, but they literally stole God's little 10%, His share‚ & God just didn't bless it!

"I DON'T AGREE WITH ALLOWING THEM TO KEEP A PART OF THAT 10%, THAT IS GOD'S! That is inviolable! It was absolutely forbidden under the Old Testament system, & they still had it even into the New Testament, if you'll notice what Paul says about tithes & offerings. (1Cor.16:2.)

"GOD WILL NOT TOLERATE YOU TOUCHING HIS SHARE! He's giving you 90%, why should you rob Him of His 10%? He just will not bless it! People will tell you,

"WE JUST CAN'T AFFORD TO GIVE 10% THIS MONTH because we're so low financially.' You tell them‚ 'You can't afford not to pay the 10%! God won't bless your work & He won't bless you financially!'—That's probably what's wrong!

"IF YOU'VE BEEN LETTING THEM GET BY WITHOUT PAYING THEIR 10%, that's probably what happened. God just isn't blessing it. He won't tolerate it! I've seen that happen time & again.

"HE EXPECTS YOU TO GIVE YOUR WHOLE LIFE & EVERYTHING YOU OWN for the Lord, in full-time service, as much as you can. But He certainly does not expect you to give less than 10%!

"THESE PEOPLE COULD SAY, 'WE ARE GIVING OUR FULL TIME FOR THE LORD & God's service! It's all going into the Lord's work. Well, the priests & the Levites of the Temple could have said the same thing, but the 10% was required of all of them just to teach them to give.

"THAT'S GOD'S SHARE & YOU'RE NOT TO TOUCH IT!—That's for Him! It actually went into the Temple, & you know what it was mainly used for?—To feed the poor!—(We're feeding millions!)

"DID YOU KNOW THAT THEY HAD A PERPETUAL ALL-DAY BARBECUE going on in front of the temple on the temple altar? The priests & the Levites of the temple had first divvies on the choice cuts of meat. Then they shared whatever was left, which was most of it‚ with the people who had donated it, & then the rest was given to the poor!

"THE SACRIFICE WAS LIKE THEIR 10% TO GIVE TO THE LORD FOR THE OPERATION OF THE TEMPLE, its personnel, the priests & the Levites. The priests were the spiritual administrators, having to do all the ceremonies. And the Levites were the deacons who took care of all of the business of the Temple & took turns at the altar & helped with the slaughter & sacrifices.

"GOD'S SHARE CAME FIRST & NOBODY DARED TOUCH IT! That was number one & was given to the priests for their services, like World Services, so to speak, which they also shared with the Levites or the deacons who carried out the business of the temple‚ which was a pretty big operation, & then finally thousands of the poor.

"THEY WERE NEVER ALLOWED TO TOUCH GOD'S 10%. If they did, God judged them for it & they lost a lot more than the 10%! There's case after case in the Bible, & I've heard of case after case all my life, about how you are going to lose if you steal God's share!

"SO GOD WILL JUST NOT TOLERATE YOU TAKING HIS SHARE! You've got to give Him His share!—And allowing you to keep that is teaching you bad habits! God won't bless it!—And neither will we!"

So come on folks, cough up God's full 10% share! You'll have a hard time trying to convince us it's only $20!—Not even a fulltime single litnesser could live on only $200 a month in the rich Western World! Be honest!

Sorry, but unless you've got a mighty persuasive story that your full income's only $200 a month and your full tithe is really only $20, you're only gonna get DFOs from now on!—Especially if you live in North America, Europe, Japan & a few other rich places!—We may make a few exceptions for a few in poorer places. We'll see!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family