"And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 10: 9, 10)

So, this is an allotment for the poor: from Ezekiel Chapter 16

Many people like to quote only verse 49: “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant,overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.

But, let's read also, verse 16: "You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places, where you carried on your prostitution."

And verse 20-21: "And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough? You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols."

Now, verses 24-26: " ...that thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street. Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms. Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger."

It seems like a selfish lust, that didn't even allow them to respect others ...whether it was their need to eat and be clothed, or to be protected not just from the weather but from the violently intrusive nature to which their lust drove them.  

A tithe ...does God need it?  ....No.

Does the organization need it? ...Well, they do need to pay for the building and utilities.

And usually it's not just the needs, but the needy that are considered.

There must be a healthy understanding between identifying the needy and the greedy.

Look at what things we could do extra in our own homes if we kept the 10% that we give to the church, and put it towards needs we find around the house.  It would amount to quite a bit more available for our needs.  

But, are they really needs ...and at times doesn't the 10% make for an unnecessary struggle at times?  But, instead of asking this ...it may be more beneficial to make a list of all the things we get that are not really necessary.  By struggling, it may mean having to reassess our priorities ...which is often a good thing.

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