The “tithe” has often been used in churches as a means to encourage people to give money to support the mission of the church. It has been interpreted to mean that a dedicated Christian should consider giving at least 10% (a tithe) of his income back to God out of a sense of thanksgiving and gratitude. Usually that has meant giving a tithe, 10%, of your income, to your local church or some charity.
I believe that talking about the “tithe” when it comes to the Christian stewardship of one’s money is fraught with problems and is very difficult to reconcile with an evangelical and Gospel grounded understanding of the Christian life.
In the ancient world of the Old Testament the tithe was frequently used by non-Israelite kings and rulers as a means to tax their subjects. It was not a practice unique to God’s people. It was often the tool of tyrants. In Israel the tithe was used to not only support the activities of the temple but also to care for the poor. It was a kind of welfare system. Despite its good intentions, the prophets were often critical of tithing because for many it had become a hypocritical excuse to avoid truly addressing the needs of the poor and the social injustices that we causing their poverty in the first place. It became merely a religious obligation and a way to avoid truly worshiping God. It became a “going through the motions,” a way to fulfill your religious and civic obligations.
When the tithe is spoken of positively, the concern is not so much for the size of the offering (10%), as it is for the quality and way the offering is given. A tithe should be from the first fruits, not the leftovers. The fact that a percentage is assigned to it is more a reminder that such gifts should be systematic and planned and not after thoughts. After all, if worshiping and thanking God is important in one’s life, it is going to be a priority.
Ideally, the Old Testament also assumes that the tithe will be voluntary and freely offered. No one should have to coerce a tithe from a faithful Israelite.
This was, of course, the ideal. In reality tithing was seldom practiced this way in ancient Israel. People gave it grudgingly. It often had to be prescribed and coerced by the power of the king. People argued about what really was eligible to be counted toward your 10% and what was not. For many the tithe was a self-righteous show of their goodness. For others it may have been an excuse to ignore other matters of Godly living like caring for the poor and widows. After all, they had paid their dues, their tithe. Therefore, don’t bother them about social injustice and other such matters.
It should come as no surprise that, because the tithe did not have a particularly good track record in Judaism, Jesus has nothing good to say about it. It is virtually ignored in the rest of the New Testament. In fact, when Paul writes most eloquently about Christian stewardship and giving money to support the work of the church (II Corinthians), he NEVER recommends the tithe!
Why this silence if not hostility toward the tithe on the part of Jesus and the New Testament? Because when Jesus and Paul and others speak of how and why the Christian gives money to those in need, their focus is not on “how much” one gives but on “how” one gives. When one is motivated by the love of Christ, giving is not done for credit or earning someone’s approval … even God’s! When one is giving, it should be done in secret. There is no need to be noticed. When one gives, your left hand shouldn’t know what the right hand is doing. We give of our money or time or talent because someone is in need, because someone needs our help, and not because we “have to” give. We give because in Jesus Christ we are free to give and we “get to” give of ourselves generously.
How much is generously? Whatever it takes to get the job hone. As soon as we start asking “How much do I have to give? 10%?” then it is clear that we are giving more out of a sense of obligation than because we simply see a need and want to help.
Christian giving both financially and otherwise is done with a sense of self-forgetfulness. We don’t have to worry about ourselves and who is watching us and who is counting and how well we are doing! In Christ we have been set free from all of that to just give .. freely, willingly, joyfully, … because it is needed.
If “Tithe Talk” is to have a place at all in Christian talk about giving, then it should be in terms of the best of Old Testament thinking on the matter. Whatever our “tithes” may be, if they are first fruits and not leftovers, if they are done in a planned and systematic way and are not simply after-thoughts when we see the offering plate coming down the row, if they are offered freely and joyfully, if such giving is something that we “get to” do and is not something we “have to” do, if the focus of such giving is on the needs that must be met and what is needed to get the job done rather than on how much I am supposed to give to show that I am a serious Christian, … then, perhaps, we can talk about tithing in the church.
But such talk is risky because that is not what most people think of when they hear “tithe talk.” The focus is usually on ME and what I AM DOING rather than on what God has done for me and what I can do for others.
Therefore, you will rarely, if ever, hear this pastor talk about “tithing.” There are much better ways to talk about how and why Christians give of themselves financially and otherwise to those in need. Such talk always begins and ends with Christ and the bountiful kingdom he has brought into this world, a kingdom filled with abundance and plenty, a kingdom where there is always enough to go around, a kingdom where we are free to give ourselves away to our neighbor, a kingdom where we GET TO love God by giving ourselves away to our neighbor. It seems to me that “tithe talk” undermines that glorious vision of the kingdom.
Christ Church, the Lutheran Church of Zionsville
Rev. Dr. Steven E. Albertin (Click to E-mail)
