Stop Tithing and Start Giving

All things belong to God. If we are intentionally giving 10%, we are effectively paying membership dues. Call it what you want, church tax, enrollment fees, registration, premium… none of those sound holy, do they? If we are setting aside for God, we aren’t being holy either. We aren’t called to give God what is left, or even to portion out a little bit. We are called to leave it all behind.

A simple Google search will compare the world we have become comfortable in against the word of God. “How much should I tithe” yielded for me today “10%” in many of the top searches. But, “How much should I tip” came back “15 – 20%”.

The problem is, while tithe typically means one tenth, the folks in the Old Testament did this more than once. It’s estimated that after their initial tithe of crops, the tithe to the Levites and all of the festivals, it was common that 20 – 30% was actually given.

Since tithing typically means 10%, I decided it was self defeating to look up “tithing” and expect another number. So I then did a search on “how much should I give God?”. Thankfully, there is a more diverse response, but it’s still haunting how many questions there are about giving.

Do I have to tithe? Do I have to tithe on inheritance? Do I have to tithe on gross or net? Is this still a command of the New Testament?

There are 2 verses in the New Testament that answer all of those questions and many more not listed. The first is how to give. And the second is how much to give and how often.

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9: 6-7

Let’s be blunt. Some of us are trying to figure out if we can get out of tithing. Some of us want to give the bare minimum. We have lots of reasons and justifications that make it so it doesn’t sound so bad. And if we pick the right scriptures and ignore others, we can rest safely on 10% or even less. That just doesn’t sound cheerful.

Giving cheerfully isn’t an expression that we say, it’s something that we feel. Deep down in our hearts we rejoice as we sacrifice. Sacrifice means we do without so that others can do with. Your child hitting a home run. Your spouse getting that new job. Your crush says, ‘yes!’. You hand over the money you needed. Do any of those seem out of place? Jesus says, they shouldn’t. All of them are meant to be expressions of joy and worship.

As Michael Scott proved, you can’t declare bankruptcy by just shouting it out. You Can’t be a cheerful giver by just claiming that you are. It’s a matter of the heart. You can fake out the church, you can fool the receiver of the gift, but God knows the heart. If you are not excited about giving. If, in private, you aren’t happy about the loss, something is wrong. This isn’t a shame-on-you judgement, it’s a red flag that needs to be addressed.

Mark 12 tells us how much we actually give.

And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Mark 12: 41 – 44

How much did she give? “all that she had”. It was so moving that Jesus called over the disciples. It was a teaching moment. The disciples, who were learning to be like Jesus needed to see this. She could have put in 1 small coin. She could have put in less. But her heart was affected. It wasn’t about the money. It wasn’t about what others thought. It wasn’t about legalistic doctrine from the past. It was about putting her money where her heart was. How do we know for sure? Jesus said so. She gave more than anyone else who gave abundantly.

When we tithe 10% we are doing a good thing. When we give all that we have (be it flocks, produce, time, facilities, food, money, help, etc) we are being disciples. We are observing and learning from the example that Jesus pointed us to. We have to stop following a book of rules and start living like we have a Savior that loves us and wants the best for us. What is absolutely best for us, is to build up treasure in heaven.

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Photo by Michael Longmire on Unsplash

What Giving Costs Us

When you give to someone that is not in need, There is usually an agenda. It might be small or innocent like making yourself feel good, getting on their good side, or getting the attention of others. Of course it could also be more malevolent. It could be to sway decisions, get something in return, or to prop yourself up in more sinister ways.

When you do not give to someone in need, a basic humanitarian transaction is denied. The Bible outlines this in Matthew 25:

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’”

Matthew 25: 35-36

• Hungry.
• Thirsty.
• Lonely.
• Naked.
• Sick.
• Imprisoned.

While it may not be an exhaustive list, it was important enough to spell out 4 times in that chapter. Those that Jesus would vouch for honored others as He defined, and those who Jesus claimed He did not know ignored the needs of others. He didn’t say, I wanted to play Nintendo and you didn’t share. I wanted to supersize and you gave me the small. I wanted to travel and you stayed home. I asked for paper and you gave me plastic. Those aren’t really needs.

He talked about things that make us people. The basic physical necessities and a few things that might not seem to fit. “Visited in prison”. “Welcomed as a stranger”. When all of the rest of those can be life or death, how do these two fit in?

First, I think it gives insight into how much God cares for and loves us. He came into this world as a human and allowed himself to be sacrificed for us. He isn’t going to ask us to do something He isn’t willing to do Himself. He was tempted, hungry, alone, sad, neglected, and homeless. He asks us to care about people because He cares about people.

He isn’t trying to be a government over us. He isn’t limited to absolutes. He isn’t content to measure out specific portions to meet our bodily needs, He tends to our soul. Loneliness can be devastating. Solitude, desperation and imprisonment can be epically harsh. Jesus is saying, if you care about me… you care about the people that I love. Guess who that is? Us!!! You and me!

He cares about us. His commands are to take care of each other because He loves us and wants to see our needs met… all of our needs. And make sure you understand that visitation… is a NEED. Compassion is a need. It’s even a need for the criminals. If we aren’t in there meeting the needs of the convict, are we responding to Jesus favorably?

If we give to no one, we are giving to ourselves. It may mask itself in different ways. Wasting money, greed, hoarding. Ultimately, we give to who we care about. Notice this passage doesn’t mention money? It’s about time, commitment, integrity.

If your grandmother called and asked you for help in using the new TV remote, would you get out your checkbook? It’s amazing how many needs we try to cure with money. Over time it has created the adverse effect of not wanting to help because we don’t feel we can financially support new ministries. Is this how we think of grandma? A burden not worth our time because it will eventually cost us?

I hope we all would be excited at the opportunity to help her get her stories working on the picture box (that is old people talk for watching TV). Often, the call to missionary work isn’t an attempt at your bank account. It’s an invitation to live out, first hand, seeing Jesus, embodied in humanity, and needing food, water, shelter, and love.

Visitation isn’t about upgrading the church van, having to buy extra meals, or budgeting for expense reports… it’s about tending to the souls in this world. And, in many cases, the only cost is our time managed by our hearts.

When we make time for God on Sundays and neglect everyone else throughout the week, Matthew 25 claims Jesus will not know us in the end. Some people have the opposite problem. They are honestly good people who love others and cherish the ideology of helping each other out. They are found in soup kitchens, housing projects, and clothing drives.

They visit hospitals and bring gifts to assisted living homes. But they don’t know God. They never step foot in a church and wouldn’t know what to do with a Bible. This group has solved the equation without knowing the question. Christians tend to struggle to answer while knowing the question. So which is it? When do we give? What do we give? To whom do we give?

Jesus answered this in a very unique way. He endured. Nails, thorns, blasphemy, insults, spit in the face, beatings, lies, corruption, agendas, thirst, hunger, greed… He endured. When it came to what He wanted to accomplish, it seemed, to Him at least, to be simple. “forgive them”. All of them.

I’m going to climb on this cross and give up everything I have. I will die… for them. All of them. I will give up everything for everyone. I will take on their sins and pay for them with the ultimate cost. I will give freely of all my blood to cover all their sins.

And when they see me embodied by a poor and lonely soul, what will be a fair response? 10%? A private prayer later? Maybe a few moments just to say Hi? Nothing? “Whatever you did to the least of these, you did it to me” (Matthew 25: 40 and again 46). What would you like to do for Jesus today? How can you say thank you? What percentage will you muster for the Man that gave you 100?

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Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

The Lottery Wont Help

It’s fun to dream about winning the lottery.  Many of us already have our answers ready.  Some have even practiced the interview and mastered that impending question… “What will you do with the money?”.

I remember one such interview where the bewildered winner couldn’t decide between fixing his house or his truck.  He simply couldn’t comprehend what millions meant.  That isn’t a number we tread often in.  And that is exactly why it won’t help us.

In order to GIVE, we have to give of something.  We take something of ours and it becomes someone else’s.  At that point, we no longer have it anymore.  Consider how the library works.  If I go and check out a book, they no longer have it… I do!  So if you go searching for that same book, their answer is, “Sorry, someone else has it”.

With the lottery, We can give and still have.  While we may choose to do good things with the money, a key part of giving is absent… sacrifice.  We could discuss earning versus winning as well, but I’ll leave that for now.

Let’s compare this to something more important than money.  What if I see someone on the street and I wave at them and give a nice big smile?  What have I done?  I could argue I put on my Jesus face.  I was friendly, inviting, polite, and I even felt a little awkward waving at a stranger.

But what have I actually given?  Did it take any time?  ah, time!  something extremely valuable, and in limited resource.  And just like the library, if I’m giving my time to someone, I can’t be giving it to something else.  But the answer is, no, it took as much time to wave as it did effort.

I also didn’t speak.  I didn’t share my story.  I didn’t share God’s story.  I didn’t offer the truth of Jesus Christ, crucified and resurrected.  I didn’t show love or compassion.  I didn’t offer any fruits of the Spirit.  I waved.  Nothing more, no matter how we dress it up.  I gave pennies and kept millions for myself.

We know from the widow that gave two mites (Luke 21) that it isn’t about how much we give, but instead what percentage.  The woman who gave so little, gave more than the richest of men, because she gave all she had, where they gave small portions.  And thus the problem with so much money.  Much is expected of those that have much.

Consider your time.  We can’t win the ‘time’ lottery.  24 hours fill up a day no matter how lucky you are.  Time puts us all in the same category.  How much are you giving?  Truly giving?  Sacrificing?  Investing in God’s will for you and others?  God calls us to help each other out.  We tithe because He asks us to.  But money does not solve everything.  And that is why He also calls us to go into the world and disciple others.  How much time are we giving?