[QUOTE=alanmolstad;116058]Im reminded of the story of the rich man who gave, and the poor widow,,,


The rich do get a lot of the headlines in this world when they give their millions to this or than cause.

But lets face the real facts as outlined by Jesus to us, and the FACT is = that the rich give out of their great abundance.... Yes, but what does it say about a person's heart if they have a lot of money and give very little---it is like the rich giving the widow's mite. And then that same person being willing to vote for a lot of your money being spent via the government as Rick did---that doesn't sit well with me.


Now as for a general rule about giving:
Giving is a personal decision that is between the person and their Lord.
It's none of my business that this or that forum member gives more that this or that other forum member....
Actually, the insistence of the need to see our possible president's tax returns said that this is an important issue to donors.


The best thing to do is not to tell anyone what you give, (Let it be always done in secret).....and to not be concerned with how your giving looks to others, nor how their giving looks to you.

Dont let your right hand know what your left hand is doing....
Yeah, yeah--and the person who donates to charity but does not take advantage of it on tax records so that he has less to give is just plain s.tupid.


Now this puts me at odds with many Christians and members of CULTS that seek to not just 'suggest" a target percent% is to be given, but they also belong to churches or CULTS that ask at times for proof.
My church does not ask for proof. Whenever you say the word "cult" I am reminded it is the evangelicals that seem to be more lead on "who to vote for" by their leaders, than any Mormon is. By this definition--it appears that the only cult here is the one you perscribe to.

To me there is no more clear sign that a person has joined a Christian church or non-Christian CULT that is far too preoccupied with money than when they ask you to bring in your income tax forms to check.
The moment you find yourself asked to bring in a tax form, or to automatically sign-over a percent of your income for the church in order to obtain some type of admission to higher church positions, or a secret church rite, or anything like that, you should pack up and get out of that church in a hurry.....
You have no idea what you are talking about.