When it comes to financial giving, there are many Christians today who claim that it is God’s will for us to tithe our money.
For anyone who
doesn’t know, to tithe means to give a tenth of something. So someone who
tithes their money gives away a tenth of it.
Some of those who say
that Christians should tithe believe that we should give a tenth of our income
to our local church. Others believe that we should give away a tenth of our
income but don’t specify that this should all be to our local church.
Tithing and the
New Testament
So what should we
make of this? Are Christians today supposed to follow a principle of tithing
when giving away money? Does the Bible point us in this direction?
The answer to this question
seems to be a clear ‘No’. There is no good, biblically-based reason for
thinking that Christians are under an obligation to tithe.
It is true that twice in the Gospels we find Jesus
accepting the validity of tithing herbs (Matthew 23:23; Luke 11:42). However, firstly,
the topic here is herbs, not money. And secondly, in the context of each of
these passages He is speaking to Jews who lived in Old Covenant times and who
were under obligation to obey the rules of tithing found in the Law of Moses,
something that is not the case for Christians today.
More importantly, it
is striking that although the New Testament is full of instructions for
Christians to be generous in giving away money, this is never connected to any
principle of tithing.
For example, in the
Gospels we frequently find teaching on the importance of giving money to people
in need (e.g., Matthew 5:42; 6:1-4; 19:16-22; 25:31-46; Mark 12:41-44;
Luke 3:10-11; 12:33; 19:8-9).
However, no Gospel passage connects financial giving to tithing.
Similarly, in 2 Corinthians
8-9 the apostle Paul talks at some length about the importance of giving
generously. If he had wanted to tie this to a principle of tithing, he could
have said that God expects Christians to give a tenth of what they earn. Or he
could have said that giving a tenth is the first step in giving and that it is also
good to give over and above that. But he doesn’t mention a tenth at all.
In short, there are
many places in the New Testament where it might make sense for a principle of
tithing to be mentioned if Christians were expected to tithe. The fact that
such a principle is never mentioned suggests that we aren’t under obligation to
do this. The New Testament contains many instructions to be generous in giving
money, but this is never connected with a principle of giving a tenth of what
we have.
Problems caused
by insisting on tithing
Insisting on tithing
can cause various problems.
First, wealthy
Christians can sometimes be led to believe that God doesn’t usually expect them
to give away more than a tenth of their income, and that He is content for them
to spend the rest on themselves.
However, this idea
sharply contradicts the whole tenor of New Testament teaching on giving, where
extreme generosity is encouraged.
See, for example, how
in Luke 12:33 the Lord Jesus tells His followers, ‘Sell your possessions and
give to charity’. Or see in 2 Corinthians 8:3 how Paul commends the churches of
Macedonia for giving ‘beyond their ability’. Neither of these verses fits with
the idea that rich Christians are supposed to keep hold of 90 per cent of their
wealth or even close to 90 per cent.
Second, insisting on
tithing can cause Christians in dire poverty to be led to believe that they
must always give away 10 per cent of what little they have.
This is not a simple
issue, because it is true that there is often a place in Christian living for
poor believers giving away money and God giving back to them in return. God
does work in this way at times.
But on the other
hand, I would suggest that there are also times when it is better for
Christians in serious poverty to use what little they have for themselves and
their families, so that there is no danger they might become a burden on others,
and so that they don’t put themselves under even more pressure.
Third, setting a rule
that Christians should tithe could in some cases help to foster a legalistic frame
of mind.
Christian living is
not about following lots of rules and regulations. The Bible doesn’t encourage
us to think in this sort of way.
It is true that it
can occasionally be helpful for us to make a rule or two to live by on some
issue or other, but this is not something that we should be doing much of. Lots
of rules will become a burden weighing us down.
Focusing on
generosity in giving
When thinking about financial
giving, instead of focusing on a principle of giving a tenth, we do much better
to focus on a principle of being generous without counting the cost. This
really is something that the Bible supports in spades.
See also:
Christians Must be Generous in Giving to the Poor
In What Order Should Christians Choose to Help People?
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