I was not sure what your position was concerning tithing and the Church. You had mentioned "the principle of tithing" in your original post. Many ministers these days say this phrase as an excuse to teach tithing. However this phrase is non existent along with any implication of it taught in the New Testament Church. There is no "principle of tithing"(mandatory percentage giving) taught anywhere in the New Testament Church. Im fine with free will giving, but NEVER compulsory giving. Poor men of God that cannot give 10% are many times marginalized by ministers for carnal big givers. I have seen this consistently done at nearly every church I have seen in my 35 years of being Pentecostal. Our Lord Jesus is sick of this injustice and wants us to stop it. This heresy was introduced as doctrine in the 40s and 50s in California as the oneness movement began unifying. Old independent ministers I know of called these ministers in big cars the "10 percenters". They taught the ignorant and uninformed members of their churches this doctrine for decades until it became part of our "doctrine and creed". This doctrine has ran off millions of souls of all Christian faiths that began to research its origins or could not give anymore. I did it for the first 20 years of my walk with God, all of the time being erroneously quoted
Mal. 3 from the pulpit and threatened of either marginalization, excommunication or hell if not obeying its' tenets. I had no way of finding the truth of this heresy until I finally got the internet a few years ago. I was "terrified" to type...."is tithing a New Testament teaching"....Then when I got the nerve to read the endless posts of great teachers opposing it, I got the courage to take a stand against it. I realized the fear I had was from decades of "brainwashing" regarding this doctrine.