This is a guest post by Jesse S. Greever. He is a follower of Christ, scientist, business man, and author. He has written a number of works of fiction with digital publisher Untreed Reads and co-authored a book on stewardship with Marc Farnell, Senior Pastor of Cross Ridge Church in Little Elm, Texas. That book, Learning to Give in a Getting World,
aside from being an encouragement to Christ-followers who want to give to God, is also a memoir of what can happen when Christians answer the call to give. You can follow Jesse on Twitter and Facebook. If you would like to write a guest post for this blog, check out the guidelines here.Any time the topic of giving and stewardship arises, there is likely to be some variation of the following statement: “I don’t believe tithing is a New Testament concept.”
And while the comment is often bandied about in an off-hand way, it does bring up an important question: Is tithing a command for Christ-followers?
Tithing Foundations
It is true that tithing has its foundations in Old Testament Levitical Law, and even before the law was given to Moses, as in the story of Abraham bringing a tithe to Melchizedek. And it is true that Christ came to break the chains of legalism and offer salvation through grace. But does that necessarily negate the our obligation to tithe (and beyond)?
Jesus affirmed the tithe in Matthew 23, when he confronted the Pharisees in verse 23. He rebuked the Pharisees, saying
Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You gave a tenth of your spices–mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy and faithfulness. You have have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former” (NIV).
Notice the last sentence. Jesus said they should have shown justice, mercy and faithfulness WITHOUT neglecting the tithe.
Generous Giving
The argument about the relevance of the tithe to the modern Christ-followers really misses the point, though. Why do we squabble over percentages, when all throughout the New Testament, generous and sacrificial outpouring is modeled by Jesus and His followers?
Jesus poured out everything He had, gave up His throne in Heaven and emptied himself out for our salvation, even down to His last drop of blood.
In Acts 2:41-47, we are told of the early church and how they sold everything they had to make sure that none of their brothers and sisters were in need.
In 2 Corinthians 8, we are told of the churches of Macedonia, and of their pleading with Paul to give beyond their means in the face of extreme poverty to assist the believers in Jerusalem.
Balancing our Bank Statements
When we scan through our monthly bank statements, does our allocation of money really reveal a true desire to sacrifice for the will of God? Are we following the model of the early believers in Jerusalem and Macedonia, or have we allowed the American Dream to dilute our generosity?
We buy houses we can barely afford, pay exorbitant amounts of money to maintain 500 television channels of mostly garbage, have enormous flat-screen TVs, multiple gaming systems, expensive tablet computers, smartphones we don’t even know how to fully use, and all of these things suck our precious (and sometimes highly limited) financial resources away.
And then we feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit, convicting us to give to God the way He intended, and we find ourselves scratching our heads, wondering how on earth we could fin any money left over to give to accomplish God’s will in the world.
Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to wonder how we can afford such extravagant waste after we use our resources to further the Kingdom of God?
Even in the face of economic turmoil, we are still one of the most affluent societies on earth. Let’s face it, by the global standard we are rich, and that wealth has made us complacent in our dependence upon God for provision. The early church was made up of the poor and the destitute who had nothing but dependence on God to provide for their daily needs.
In our modern-day society, what needs do we really have that require us to look heavenward?
We have so much more than those early believers.
Giving Today
Why do we look around us, and see so much need when we venture outside of our cozy bubble of comfort, and balk at the idea of using just a small portion of our resources to minister to those in need? Why are we so reluctant to give? Why can’t we look to the models given to us in the New Testament, smack ourselves on the head and say “How could we be so foolish?”
When we compare ourselves and our current situation to the soul-crushing poverty of the first-century church, perhaps our question should not be “Do I have to give?”
Instead, shouldn’t we be asking: “Could I ever possibly give enough?”
Sam, I certainly sympathize with your statement, especially since I live in Texas where we have some of the biggest “megachurches” in America. I certainly find these ministries to be bloated and impersonal, and I think sometimes it is difficult to have any sort of transparency about where the tithe and offering money goes in these organizations.
That being said, to dismiss giving to a church altogether is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. For instance, the church that I attend, CrossRidge Church in Little Elm, TX, among many other outreach ministries, does a monthly “Dollar Day”. the first Sunday of every month, every person who is a regular attender or member brings a minimum of $1 to put in the basket at the front. That money is collected, and 100% of it goes to some ministry or group of people that is in need within our local community. In addition, it’s NOT just about “chucking the buck in the basket”, there are also opportunities for church members to participate in that particular outreach event, because we believe that it isn’t just enough to give money, but also time, effort and talents as well.
I, too, am saddened to see what many large churches have become, and, I think when someone enters a church with 25,000 members, I wonder how much of the collection actually goes towards ministry rather than the physical structure and upkeep itself.
I applaud you for giving to those who have need. That, indeed, does look a lot like Jesus.
The difficulty is that so many do want to squabble over how much we should give, and to whom we should give it. (In reality, they want to tell us how much to give and to whom, and somehow they are almost always on the list of approved recipients.)
Some of us do not choose to give to support the causes traditionally supported by many churches, such as properties, staff and programs, but rather choose to give to those who have not. For us, that looks like Jesus, whereas building multi-million dollar edifices does not.
In the Old Testament, tithing had nothing to do with giving. It was a payment, as Jesus confirmed in Matthew 23:23, where He told those who were under the law they ought to tithe ON THEIR HERBS. Jesus never mentioned about tithing on their income.
When God gave the Israelites the promised land, He RESERVED, for Himself, a tenth of the crops and every tenth animal. They NEVER did belong to the Israelites. In other words, the tithe was from God’s increase of FOOD, not from man’s income. It was a way to distribute FOOD to the Levites and priests who did NOT inherit any land.
No one, not even the farmers, tithed on their income.
The farmers made their income by SELLING and/or barter-exchanging their crops and animals but did NOT tithe on that income.
Today, ALL born-again believers are priests. ALL of us are called to be deciples of the Lord. No one of us is higher than another. Our bodies are the Temple where the Spirit dwells. According to the scriptures, priests do not tithe.
When you understand the Biblical tithe, it makes sense, and it is plain to see that it makes NO sense to try to tithe today.
The New Testament teaches generous, sacrificial giving, from the heart, according to our means. For some, $1 might be a sacrifice, while for others, even giving 50% of their income might not induce a sacrifice. In the Old Testament, ONLY the farmers tithed, and it was equal percentage (a tenth). The New Testament teaches the principle of equal sacrifice instead of equal percentage. Equal sacrifice is much harder to achieve, if not impossible, than giving ten percent.
Gary,
Thank you so much for reading and commenting. I always enjoy reading other people’s perspectives, even if I may not fully agree with them. You sound like someone who is very devoted to sacrificial giving, and I certainly have no issue personally with your reasoning. The problem I have is when people start to “hide behind” their opposition to the tithe, not because they have a Biblical reason to oppose it, but because they just don’t WANT to give. I have found in speaking to people that those who protest the loudest are the ones who aren’t giving and have no desire to.
The point of this article is not necessarily to espouse the TITHE so much as sacrificial giving. I think we, as Americans, are lying to ourselves if we say we cannot spare 10% of our income for giving towards. I think if we were to be completely honest with ourselves, we should be giving MUCH more than 10%, but the idea of a ten percent is a great round number to start with.
You are right, there are those who should be able to give 50 or 60 or 70 or 80 or 90 percent of their income (like Rick Warren does). And there are those for whom 10 percent is a struggle. I am not here to condemn those people. HOWEVER, I am here to challenge everyone to examine where they allocate their money. Are the allocations God-honoring?
May God bless!
-JSG
To be clear, my last comment was not in any way accusing you (Gary) of not giving sacrificially. As I said, it sounds like, from your post, that you are committed to sacrificial giving.
-JSG
I understood you perfectly, Jesse. And I can honestly say, being Spirit Led, I find myself giving far more than a mere tenth of my income.
Gary,
And THAT is the key, isn’t it? Being led by the Spirit. I think if more people allowed themselves to be led by the Spirit, we might see the end to a great deal of the needs around as us God’s children pour out their resources in love and compassion for those who have spiritual, physical and emotional needs.
For me, the issue is not whether we should give. It is the use of the ‘tithe’ as a controlling device, making a command where none exists, using fear and guilt to manipulate. This can (and does) cause a lot of damage within the church.
In my experience, those who follow Christ have a heart to give. Making a demanded rule actually can interfere with they way they may wish to give. If someone has purposed in their heart NOT to give, the answer is not to try and manipulate them into it.
By putting the concept of the tithe on people’s income, a burden is placed on the poorer believers who may not have enough resources to give their church 10%. This causes guilt, fear and anxiety – because a lot of churches in my experiences, tell their members that the tithe should come before taxes, their rent, bills, groceries – and if, after paying their 10%, they don’t have enough to pay their bills, they just need to trust God more. This is not right.
Hello, Jeanette. Pleased to make your e-acquaintance.
I think I would like to comment on one specific sentence in your comment, because I think we can all agree that Christ-followers who have a heart for God truly have a conviction to give sacrificially.
The sentence is as follows:
“If someone has purposed in their heart NOT to give, the answer is not to try and manipulate them into it.”
Assuming we are speaking of a believer, then the question is, why have they purposed in their heart to resist the clear mandate to sacrifice for those around us who are in need? Are they in need themselves? Well, then clearly common sense dictates that they need to be ministered TO, and they can certainly find other ways to give other than fiscally while they are in that position.
What is more insidious is when the resistance to give exists and the means to give is also there. Maybe the means to give is hidden within a litany of budget line items that don’t exactly qualify as “needs”, and they are unwilling to cut back on the lifestyle to which they’ve become accustomed. Whatever it is, the spirit of resistance is NOT Spirit-led, and one who finds themselves in this position needs to seriously examine who they are serving: God or money.
Hay Jesse. Thanks for the response.
I think I need to clarify my previous comment – the statement about those who purpose not to give was not meant to be connected the the next paragraph. I think that those who purpose not to give at all are in need of something more than a lecture… and is a separate issue from the paragraph about the poor.
My issue is not that we shouldn’t give. As Christ followers, it should come naturally. And like you said, there are more ways then financially to give.
My issue is when the church leadership puts a mandate (some churches will actually track your giving and you will get a visit if you aren’t giving the proper percentage) that all members must give a set percentage of their income or they are inviting God’s wrath and bad things will happen and they maybe aren’t even saved if they don’t tithe.
Maybe you have not been in places where this has been abused in this way, but it is a fairly prevalent teaching in a growing percentage of churches. Shame, guilt and fear should never be used to manipulate people for anything associated with the life of church.
Fortunately, I have not had the displeasure of being in such a repugnant environment. Ultimately, the decision is between the believer and God, and we can only encourage and challenge people to think about their behaviors. Anything beyond that is ungodly.
Great discussion here everyone. Very gracious, loving, and thought-provoking. Thank you!
We need to qualify “sacrificial giving”. The church in Jerusalem gave in a manner that impoverished many of them. This was not a command of Jesus or Paul to do so and were the only ones to do it. As a matter of fact, Paul travelled around collecting gifts from Gentile churches to aid the church in Jerusalem in their situation.
The church in Jerusalem got that way after thousands came as pilgrims for the feast, heard Christ preached and didn’t want to leave. The believers did what was instinctive and shared what they had. The burden was great. It was an unduplicated situation and was temporary.
A disciple’s life should be marked by giving but why so many “giving police” dictating what is right or what is enough? Paul said it right “each one should give as he has decided in his heart” and this is in the context of sowing and reaping. People, and specifically institutions, need to stop going outside the clear bounds of scripture and stop being the decider of what is or is not enough. There are more ways than cash to give to help and bless people yet people who are so set on getting a tithe given wont even speak of it. No one even brings up the fact that other segments of Jewish society besides priests weren’t required to tithe.
Using a few verses out of context from Malachi only proves another commenter’s idea on manipulation (read Malachi and hear God’s real dissapointment).
The truth really is that a tenth isn’t a command for NT believers. It’s not a guideline. It’s not a requirement. If anyone wants to insist it is then I want to ask where they sacrifice their offerings. Paul had strong words for those that wanted to encumber Christians with a law requirement.