Southern Baptists every year give a total of about 11 billion dollars. This includes tithes, offerings, and benevolent gifts. Sounds like a lot, right? Well let’s do the math. There are reportedly 16 million Southern Baptist members. Let’s cut that number in half, adjusting for teenagers and seniors not working, and non-active members; leaves us 8 million members. That means the working active member is giving an average of $1375 a year. The median income in the United States is $45,000 a year. Based on these numbers, the average Southern Baptist member is giving 3% of their income, at the very best. This includes all tithes, offerings, and benevolent gifts. God certainly doesn’t need our 3%, nor our 10%. He commands 100%. I pray that our church would be the exception to this 3% statistic. That will only happen if we first are filled with love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and love for our neighbor.
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