So, you think that all God wants from you is your tithe of 10%? You probably are not aware that tithing 10% is not biblical. More than likely, you derive this concept from Genesis 14:20c: "[Abraham] gave [Melchizedek] a tenth of all."
The nation of Israel was required to pay tithes in order to run the country. These were basically taxes. They were mandatory and commanded. There was the tithe for their festivals (of which there were 7), there was the tithe for the poor, and there was the Levitical tithe. These tithes equate to 30-33%. On top of that 30-33% tithing, they also had sacrificial giving, as Exodus 25:1-2 states. This sacrificial giving is the same as that which 2 Corinthians 8-9 talks about. We are told to give what we want—what our heart desires—out of what God prospers us with, and to give it sincerely from the heart.
A lot of ministries, especially prosperity ministries, will say that we have to give to God even if we have no money or we are steeply in debt. 2 Corinthians 8-9 informs us not to give what we do not have. If we are just scraping by or we are in debt where we cannot afford anything (this is not speaking of manageable debt wherein you are able to tithe), we cannot give to God because we do not have it.
God will not bless our bad stewardship. If we keep giving 10% while our children are starving and our bills are in need of being paid, God is not going to reward us. God knows exactly what we are capable of giving and He examines the motives of our heart. If we are able to give more and we do not, we have sinned against Him grievously. We cannot fool God. God loves a cheerful giver. We are to give what we want from what we have, according to what God has prospered us with. If God has prospered us greatly, we can tithe more. If God has prospered us little, our tithe may well be less than 10%.
Because we tend to be legalistic in our religion, 10% has become a good standard of measure. However, tithing is not merely about our money. Tithing also includes our time and our skill. How are these given to or used for God? Furthermore, Christians are free from the legalistic command to tithe. This freedom is not a license to overlook the command to obey the Holy Spirit by doing what we please. Instead, we are commanded by the Holy Spirit in regard to giving. The responsibility to sacrificially give cannot be overlooked. The Holy Spirit will lead us to give what we can afford to give. However, one cannot be Spirit-lead unless one knows God (more specifically, that He knows them).
Why Should We Give?
In Acts 20, Paul admonished the Ephesian elders to follow his tent-making example and Jesus' words "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Tithing was always intended to be directed downward (to the needy) and outward (in spreading the gospel); never was it intended inward (for my building, my programs, my "worship"). If all our tithes are going directly into our buildings, then perhaps we need to re-think what it means to be a church and to get rid of the building so that our tithes might go where they are intended to go in the first place: missions and the poor (orphans, widows, homeless, aliens, etc., and especially poverty stricken believers).
Sadly, despite Jesus' words, most people tithe only to receive. They tithe solely for the purpose of the tax benefits they will receive at the end of the year. Biblical tithing is about giving without expecting, or receiving, anything in return. Giving is not about "What can I get out of it?" Such an attitude is saturated with selfishness and sin. Give because Christ constrains you. Give because you want to. Give freely without looking for a return.
The nation of Israel was required to pay tithes in order to run the country. These were basically taxes. They were mandatory and commanded. There was the tithe for their festivals (of which there were 7), there was the tithe for the poor, and there was the Levitical tithe. These tithes equate to 30-33%. On top of that 30-33% tithing, they also had sacrificial giving, as Exodus 25:1-2 states. This sacrificial giving is the same as that which 2 Corinthians 8-9 talks about. We are told to give what we want—what our heart desires—out of what God prospers us with, and to give it sincerely from the heart.
A lot of ministries, especially prosperity ministries, will say that we have to give to God even if we have no money or we are steeply in debt. 2 Corinthians 8-9 informs us not to give what we do not have. If we are just scraping by or we are in debt where we cannot afford anything (this is not speaking of manageable debt wherein you are able to tithe), we cannot give to God because we do not have it.
God will not bless our bad stewardship. If we keep giving 10% while our children are starving and our bills are in need of being paid, God is not going to reward us. God knows exactly what we are capable of giving and He examines the motives of our heart. If we are able to give more and we do not, we have sinned against Him grievously. We cannot fool God. God loves a cheerful giver. We are to give what we want from what we have, according to what God has prospered us with. If God has prospered us greatly, we can tithe more. If God has prospered us little, our tithe may well be less than 10%.
Because we tend to be legalistic in our religion, 10% has become a good standard of measure. However, tithing is not merely about our money. Tithing also includes our time and our skill. How are these given to or used for God? Furthermore, Christians are free from the legalistic command to tithe. This freedom is not a license to overlook the command to obey the Holy Spirit by doing what we please. Instead, we are commanded by the Holy Spirit in regard to giving. The responsibility to sacrificially give cannot be overlooked. The Holy Spirit will lead us to give what we can afford to give. However, one cannot be Spirit-lead unless one knows God (more specifically, that He knows them).
Why Should We Give?
- To meet the needs of the saints: Acts 2:44-45; 1 John 3:17; Galatians 6:9-10; Matthew 25:31-40; 12:50; 1 Timothy 5:16
- To meet the needs of Christian workers: 1 Timothy 5:17-18; 1 Corinthians 9:6-14; Philippians 4:15-18
- To meet the needs of the poor: Luke 12:33-34; Ephesians 4:28; James 1:27; Matthew 6:1-4
- Give proportionate to your prosperity: 1 Corinthians 16:1-2
- Give according to your ability: Acts 11:27-39
- Give what you have purposed in your heart: 2 Corinthians 9:7
- We should give anonymously: Matthew 6:1-4
- We should give voluntarily: 2 Corinthians 8:3-4
- We should give expectantly: 2 Corinthians 9:6; Proverbs 19:17; 11:24-25; Matthew 6:19-21; 19:21; Luke 12:33; 1 Timothy 6:18-19
- We should give cheerfully: 2 Corinthians 9:7
- We should give sacrificially: 2 Corinthians 8:1-5; Mark 12:41-44
- The example of Christ: 2 Corinthians 8-9
- The command of Christ: John 15:12-13
In Acts 20, Paul admonished the Ephesian elders to follow his tent-making example and Jesus' words "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Tithing was always intended to be directed downward (to the needy) and outward (in spreading the gospel); never was it intended inward (for my building, my programs, my "worship"). If all our tithes are going directly into our buildings, then perhaps we need to re-think what it means to be a church and to get rid of the building so that our tithes might go where they are intended to go in the first place: missions and the poor (orphans, widows, homeless, aliens, etc., and especially poverty stricken believers).
Sadly, despite Jesus' words, most people tithe only to receive. They tithe solely for the purpose of the tax benefits they will receive at the end of the year. Biblical tithing is about giving without expecting, or receiving, anything in return. Giving is not about "What can I get out of it?" Such an attitude is saturated with selfishness and sin. Give because Christ constrains you. Give because you want to. Give freely without looking for a return.