Don't know where else to post this, but here goes. I bought an industrial printing press to do work for my SDA church. I make 40,000 post cards every few months and a church member gives me $900 to do it, which is what they paid an outside print shop to do it before I came along.

The paper costs about $300 and there is the cost of ink, running a big dehumidifyer and air conditioner especially for the machines.

I make less than 50% profit off of this and takes days each week in labor. Now I have been told this is "tithe money" and given the guilts for the profit part of the deal.

Some people at the church already think I'm a spineless wus because I do a lot of other work for the church free. I like donating my labor to the church but I feel this is going too far in expecting someone to donate. I think it's wrong to deny me any profit from making the postcards just because I'm a member of the church, and the funds are called "tithe".

I decided to give the whole card making job back to the church member who foots the bill. He can find someone else in town. Am I wrong here? I would appreciate comments on this by as many of you who will.

IMO, using tithe money for printing postcards is unacceptable, whether given to a church member or to a professional printer.


It is not sin to do church work for free; freely ye have received, freely give. However, neither is it a sin to be paid fairly for your work; the laborer is worthy of his wages. But the tithe a earmarked by God for a special purpose; postcards wasn't it.

If appropriate money is used, I don't see any problem with you doing it, and keeping the profit. I don't see any inherent problem with you doing it for free either, with the exception that such a set up might constitute poor stewardship of your time and resources.

Question, it seems you might have reason to believe that the money actually isn't tithe. Do you know wether it is tithe or not?

Comment, freely choosing to donate time and labour to the church does not make you a spineless wus, now letting someone shame you into doing something you would not freely do or into not doing something you want to freely do would be different.

If it turns out that the person who paid you to print the cards was paying from the wrong purse, giving up the job is maybe the right thing to do. But if you give up the job because of resentment, towards the gossipers at church or towards the person who let out the tithe rumor or maybe just generally being tired of the whole situation where you who do much for the church have to put up with *** from people who perhaps talk more than they walk... Somehow it seems to me that they would win if you give up. Don't let the talkers drag you down into the bog of mediocracy.

His telling you it is tithe money doesn't make it so. If he's using money to pay you to print cards for the church then it is not tithe money. He still owes that much in tithe to God.

I think you should keep up the printing, it is for the work of the lord. God will not give you more than you can handle, and clearly you CAN handle this amount of work, with the given amount of money. God works hard for you, can't you work hard for His mission?

Just my opinion, personally, there's nothing I wouldn't do for God, and any job in His name is worth doing for free.

Does God expect us to work free for the church or for His causes? Or, does He promise the laborer is worthy of his hire?

I agree that tithe money ( which this church member said it was last week) should be given to the ministry. So I refused to take it. When I started making the cards 2 years ago, this member did say the quote some of you mentioned: "The workman is worthy of his hire." So, I thought it was payment for a service. But suddenly now, he calls it tithe.

I have only my SS funds to live on, as I'm elderly and handicapped, so can forget about making them with my own money.

The church member can give his "tithe" to some worldly printer who might go spend whatever profit he makes on booze or girls. I guess I do feel more than a bit manipulated, judging by the sarcasm that just leaked out of my keyboard here.

If the church member is using tithe to fund this project, someone must tell him that he needs to stop, regardless of who does the printing. Since you are involved, perhaps you are the best one to do it.

Again, just because he calls it "tithe" doesn't make it so. He still owes tithe to the Lord because how he is using it doesn't qualify as tithe. Symantics? I doubt it!

I understand all this much better. He does need to know this not how to use tithe. I won't make the mistake of Ananias. Thanks all of you.