Why Tithe?
Tithing, which is giving a tenth of your income to God, is a controversial practice among believers. Some are very strict and meticulous with it, while others say that this practice was intended only for those living under the Law of Moses. That is, they argue that it should have stopped just as animal sacrifice stopped when Jesus sacrificed Himself once and for all.
It is interesting that there is no account in the New Testament books strictly mentioning any obligation to tithe, but neither is there any specific statement indicating that Jewish believers should stop tithing. Historically, it seems difficult to prove that the early church fixed an expected giving percentage on anyone. This all explains why this is such a controversy to this day.
What most would agree on is that giving is good, and that Jesus encouraged it. We can see that both He and His followers were very generous throughout their lifetimes. In fact, it seems unlikely that their giving was ever actually limited to a fixed percentage.
Buckle your seatbelt — What if we allowed the Bible to change our entire viewpoint on this issue? Consider this: Jesus said very plainly that if we give generously, it would be given back to us generously and openly. The Apostle Paul explained this further saying that generous giving was like a farmer planting seed in the ground. The farmer does this not only to get his seed back — or to get back just enough to feed his family — but he does it to get much more than what he planted. So what kind of thinking goes into planting seed in a field? The farmer wants to know that his seed is good, that he doesn’t need what he plants right away (he can wait until harvest), and that the soil and conditions are right for a good harvest. After planting, does the farmer moan about all the seed he planted? No! He expects a return, and if he is good at it, he seeks to plant as much seed in as much good soil as possible. You might say that he is “generous” with his seed on every occasion to plant responsibly.
Remember the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25? Jesus believes in tangible profit in the here-and-now, and does not look favorably on those stewards who squander what they are entrusted with. It is wrong to leave ministers and churches destitute and at bare minimum provision. Why not set your church giving at 10% and exercise your faith, believing for the abundant provision of God in your life? Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to guide our giving, and look for every opportunity to be a blessing. He promises that we can expect so much blessing that we can be “generous on every occasion!”
(Genesis 4:3-7, Luke 6:38, 2 Corinthians 9:5-11 NIV, Matthew 6:1-4, Mark 10:28-30, 1 John 3:16-23, Proverbs 3:9-10, Malachi 3:13-15 NIV, Hebrews 11:6, 1 Corinthians 9:13-14)