I was having a discussion with a friend today about giving/tithing. Part of the discussion was whether or not the tithe is still in effect. As I have asked questions about this before at The Highway, I don't desire that much to revisit that topic. However, it does somewhat relate to my current question.

Who (or what) should be the proper recipient of our giving. I think the church should be the primary recipient of our giving, but also other organizations/people (missionaries,poor,etc.) can be considered as a recipient. For those who don't believe the tithe is still in effect, I think this question is more easily answered since it is left more to each believer's conscience. At the same time, if someone were to say I can give all my offerings to recipents other than my church, I would have to disagree with this since our individual churches are worthy of our support and Paul admonishes those who do not support their own ministers. For those who maintain the tithe is still in effect, it becomes a more difficult question I think. In that case, some people say that the tithe (10%) should go the church itself and any thing to other recipients would be above the original 10%. Others say that as long as you give 10% (or more) it is the individual's decision how best to allocate their tithe. What are your thoughts?

Thanks,
John