History is filled of people and their preachers that read from the same Bible, but sometimes come to diametrically different conclusions. In point of reference, whether one actually goes to church or watches such on television or through other modern streaming means, invariably, there will be sermons promulgated about the importance and therefore the blessing to come for those that appropriately tithe one's wages to the church. In fact, the details of these sermons can seem rather foreboding, because some preachers even get down to the minutiae of what represents ten percent (which is what a tithe stands for) and as to whether ten percent should represent the gross labor pay or whether ten percent should more appropriately be based on one's net pay. All of this serves to point out the rather obvious, that those that preach and pontificate about the value of freely giving tithes, almost always have skin in the game of such a sermon.
On the other hand, for every ten sermons about tithing, not many sermons are heard about the money changers in regards to the Jewish temple during Passover; which certainly was one of the seminal events in Jesus' ministry, of which, Jesus "… poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew their tables." (John 2: 15). This appears to make it quite clear that Jesus believed strongly that the house of our Lord should not be the place in which things of this world, corrupt the message of God's love, mercy, and compassion. Additionally, Jesus makes the seminal point that what is right and true trumps over what mankind allows or permits, especially when what is happening is inimical to one's eternal soul. That is to say, should any religious organization make it their point, to make a little profit here and little profit there, or be aiders and abettors of such; or should the message of any legitimate religious organization actually be about the saving and redemption of souls?
When it comes to tithes, we read in Holy Scripture, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith…" (Matthew 23: 23). This makes it very clear that Jesus was quite aware as well as quite cognizant of the concept of tithing, but that those so-called righteous practitioners of tithing had made it their point to meet and adhere to just the letter of the law, but to their utter disgrace, they fully missed the spirit of the law. Yet, how many of today's religious institutions do the very same thing, and even worse, for they seem to preach the message of tithing as being something akin to a quid pro quo, in which, credulous believers, give their money to their church, in return for blessings and benefits in the here and now, of which, true monetary giving of any amount to the church, is never about the actual amount of the money so given, but always about the heart of the giver.
While it is true that religious institutions, as in any institution, have a need and a place for monetary things; so it is also true that God is the Great Provider, and those that preach the True Word, and are faithful and diligent to their faith, should not be the same ones that unnecessarily pressure others to give monetarily, but rather should be the enlightened ones that will concern themselves exclusively upon the only thing that matters, which is bringing Light to the darkness, and thereby souls to salvation.