I just paid tithes to a man standing on the corner the other day. He was very humble, soft spoken... Did I expect anything just because I handed him a meal for several days? No. God sees are acts of kindness and He rewards us.
From the heart, we give, and expect nothing in return.
Giving money to any one randomly cannot be defined as tithing.
That was a donation. You cant take God's money for Him and
decide what to do with it. He can let you off, I don't think its a
big deal personally what you did to God - I just don't think you
can call it a tithe.
The bible says to give cheerfully and expect nothing in return.
When you gave to this man you gave without expecting. That
was good.
Tithes on the other hand have nothing to do with if you feel
good or bad - its a command for consistently tithing to a church
that takes care of you or were you find your home in Christ in.
The Bible says bring the whole tithe into the house of God
so there may be enough to take care of the house. Levites
were meant to eat from this source as its their only source
of income.
However, I am not far from believing that if a church is
receiving monies consistently, that they cant consider giving
it or helping a woman who might be fleeing for her life for
instance.
If the world can have a higher moral obligation to their own,
why cant the church.
Thankfully, the church I now go to (not the one I used to when
I opened this thread) - in my new church I can see where my
money is going. And that pleases me deeply.
In fact my church will only spend 25% on admin. The rest
goes straight into missions and out there to help the needy.
Now that's what our tithes are for.