To Tithe or not to Tithe… that is the question

Well, things have been crazy for the past couple weeks and things will continue to be so for the next couple weeks. So I figured I might as well make this post count and what is a more sensitive subject in Church today than tithing. A lot of this is courtesy of a friend who I had the pleasure of hearing a presentation he made several weeks back.

If Jesus says something, do you think it matters? (It is a rhetorical question, and I hope you didn’t say no!) If Jesus says something a lot, do you think it really matters? For a little perspective on money in general, in the New Testament, there are 215 verses pertaining to faith, 218 verses pertaining to salvation, and 2,084 verses dealing with the stewardship of and accountability for money and finance. Sixteen of Jesus’ thirty-eight parables deal with money. (“Wealth Riches and Money” And tithing specifically is the second most talked about concept in the Bible after love. Let me repeat that, after love, the second most discussed thing is tithing. Of all the things that number two could have been, repentance, sin, forgiveness, marriage, etc, the Bible, the Inspired Word of God, choose to talk about tithing. Maybe we need to listen.

Now I might have a little more credence because I’m not a Church giving this message. In other words, many people in the pews on Sundays simply tune out any message that has to do with tithing. They simply write it off as a Church being greedy. That is why you don’t hear that message in Church. People don’t want to. Money makes them feel uncomfortable. It makes them feel guilty. It literally makes people leave the Church. And sadly, that often dictates that it isn’t preached about. Or if it is, the preacher will so water it down to try not to offend that it really isn’t scriptural. But, since I clearly have no vested interest in taking your money (there are no paypal links for you to donate to me in this post), let’s just examine what the Bible says. Clearly, that has more authority than my opinion anyway.

Old Testament:

“Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.” – Deuteronomy 14:22

” ‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD…. The entire tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod—will be holy to the LORD.” – Leviticus 27:30-32

New Testament:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

In the Old Testament, the tithe was an offering of the first and best of one’s income to the Lord as an expression of thanks and dedication. And in the New Testament, basic tithing was the bare minimum. And the Bible endorses going beyond the bare minimum.

6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work….11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 12This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.” – 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, 11-13

Excess money is given to us so we can show where our treasure is by giving it away. And if you tithe, God will provide.

“10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” – Malachi 3:10

In other words, if you think you can’t afford to tithe, test God. He’ll prove Himself. You can’t afford not too.

Just a few more verses:

“5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” – Hebrews 13:5

10And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. 11Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. 13Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, 15as it is written: “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.”[a]” – 2 Corinthians 8:10-15

“1As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.[a] 3″I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” – Luke 21:1-4

“9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops;” – Proverbs 3:9

Or if you are a numbers person, look at it this way. According to the Barna Group, “In 2004 only 7% gave 10% of their income or what we call the biblical tithe. The average donation to churches in 2004 was $895″ For a little perspective on that amount, look at what the average American does spend their money on.

Last year we spent $1,674 a year on fast food or food away from home. Recent figures also indicate we spend $165 per year on coffee and $10 billion a year in total on cokes and movies. The average annual expenditure for housing is over $12,000, for clothes and services $1,743, and transportation runs each of us about $7,011. Healthcare adds up to $1,959 for the average American. Entertainment costs $1,891; personal insurance and pensions are about $3,436.

Think about that. The Church is the Bride of Christ. And we are saying that our fun is more than twice as important as her needs. So why is giving so low? According to the Barna Group, these are the reasons.

Related studies by The Barna Group offer additional insights into why Americans do not give more money to churches. “There are five significant barriers to more generous giving,” according to the study’s director, George Barna. “Some people lack the motivation to give away their hard-earned money because the church has failed to provide a compelling vision for how the money will make a difference in the world. These are donors who can find other uses for their money and are not excited about simply handing money over to a church. The second group,” he continued, “are those who see their giving as leverage on the future. They withhold money from the church because they do not see a sufficient return on their investment. The third segment is comprised of people who do not realize the church needs their money to be effective. Their church has done an inadequate job of asking for money, so people remain oblivious to the church’s expectations and potential. The fourth group is composed of those who are ignorant of what the Bible teaches about our responsibility to apply God’s resources in ways that affect lives. The final category contains those who are just selfish. They figure they worked hard for their money and it’s theirs to use as they please. Their priorities revolve around their personal needs and desires.”

Sure, the New Testament doesn’t give a percent like the Old Testament. But if you think about the New Testament, it doesn’t do away with the Old Testament laws, rather, it generally adds on them. Rather than “Don’t murder,” it becomes “Don’t hate.” Rather than “Don’t commit adultery,” it becomes, “Don’t lust.” We don’t live under the law, praise God, but under Grace, we probably ought to give more, not because we have to, but because we want to. According to the International Journal of Not-For-Profit Law, “If the affluent contributed as much to nonprofits as the authors believe they can, charitable giving in the United States would increase by $100 billion a year – enough to solve many of the world’s most pressing problems.”

Think of what could be done with that money. According to the Borgen Project, “annual expenditures of $19 billion between now and 2015 could eliminate global starvation and malnutrition. Another $12 billion per year over that same period could educate every child on earth. And an additional $15 billion each year could provide universal access to clean water and sanitation.” And that is less than half of the $100 billion.

To close, read just a few examples of people who did decide to tithe, and how the Lord blessed them for it.

Choosing to Give the Rest to the Lord: My Journey of Faith

By Scott Lewis

Scott Lewis is president and CEO of Scott Machinery in Rancho Cordova, Calif. He delivered this testimony at the annual Generous Giving Conference in Atlanta, Ga., January 14-15, 1999.

In 1984, I met my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and at that point my life did a complete 180, and I began to walk in the joy and the fullness of a relationship with God. I immediately got involved in whatever the church was doing. In other words, when I came to Christ, I hit the ground running and was immediately zealous for God.

In 1991, I was at a wedding with my wife, and on the way out of this wedding there was a man behind me talking about Russia, about a lot of people coming to know the Lord, and about something called the Jesus Film. I was interested, and so I asked him about it, and he said, “In a few weeks we are going down to Mexico to show the film out in the streets. Would you like to come along?” That sounded like fun to me, so I said, “Sure, I would like to come be a part of that.” What I saw in Mexico had a phenomenal impact on my life. Through the weekend, I met Paul Eshleman, the director of the Jesus Film Project, and Dave Hannah, the head of History’s Handful, and these gentlemen were sharing some things that had an impact on me.

I had never heard before that 80 percent of the world’s Christian wealth was in America and that 96 percent of what we put in the plate was spent on America while America only made up roughly 5 or 6 percent of the world’s population. I immediately was troubled when I heard that, knowing that the Scripture said, “From the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48b).

We went out and showed the Jesus Film in Mexico on a dirt lot with a generator to run the projector. Over 400 people came and sat in the rain to watch this film in the Spanish language. When it was over, 186 of them filled out on a card to make a decision to follow Jesus Christ. Those were given to the local pastor to follow up on. I thought, “Wow, this is the most powerful evangelistic tool I have ever seen.”

While we were there, Paul Eshleman said, “In six weeks we are going into Albania, and we are going to show the premiere of the film.” I went home and I told my wife all about this Jesus Film and all these folks who came to know the Lord, and I asked her, “Do you want to go to Albania in six weeks?” She said OK. So, we literally got our globe down and sat in the middle of our living room floor and were spinning this thing trying to find where in the world Albania was. I had never even heard of the place. Six weeks later we landed in Albania, and what happened there has completely changed my life forever.

Now, I was always very committed to the Lord and to seeing people come to know him, but what I saw there I had no idea existed anywhere in the world. For example, one particular day we were sharing the gospel with students at a high school. Following our presentation, I went down to the front of the school and was waiting for the rest of the team to show. There was a large crowd of people, and all of a sudden this young girl grabbed my arm, looked me right in the eye and said, “Sir, please, you have got to listen to me.” I asked, “What is it?” She said, “Please, sir, don’t waste time talking to people who don’t want to know the God. All of my friends want to know the God, and so many people here want to know the God. Please don’t waste time talking to people who don’t want to know the God.” I thought, God has just spoken to me through this girl.

We got home, and I said to my wife, “This is it.” For years I had been frustrated in business. I had felt that business was a ball and chain around me because I really wanted to make my life count for God, yet seemingly so many hours of my day were spent doing the deal that it seemed to have no real impact for eternity. I said, “This is our out.” We’ve got to get rid of the business, and we’ve got to get back to Albania, because everybody there wants to know God.” So I set out to sell my business. But when the deal came down to the bottom of the ninth inning, it just unraveled. I said, “Fine, Lord, if you don’t want us to get anything out of it, we will just liquidate the assets and we’ll go.” Two weeks before the business was to shut down, I woke up very early one morning, and the Lord was clearly prompting me, “No, I don’t want you to go to Albania, and I don’t want you to get rid of the business. I want you to stay right here.” I didn’t understand.

History’s Handful

A couple of months later I was at a large conference with Campus Crusade for Christ. Dr. Bill Bright and Dave Hannah were there challenging people to become a part of this thing they called History’s Handful. They described it this way: Over the course of history a handful of individuals have had a significant impact. If you think back about specific countries (Germany and South Africa) or periods (the Reformation and the civil rights movement), a handful of individuals come to mind who, good or bad, have had a significant impact on the course of history. Bill Bright said, “We have figured it out; we have broken the world up into chunks of 1,006,000 people each, and the cost of translating this film into all the languages of the world and buying all the equipment and doing the deal is $1.2 billion. We want 1,200 people who will step up to the plate and give $1 million each to impact eternity.”

My wife and I were listening to this, and we thought, “Are they asking for $1 million?” The problem was that we felt like God was telling us we were supposed to be one of those. So, that evening I went to Bill Bright and said, “Sir, how do we do this? We don’t have $1 million in our wildest dreams.” He said, point blank, “How much did you give last year?” Nobody had ever come out and just asked me this. I said, “We gave $17,000.” I felt pretty good because that was 35 percent of our income; grading on the curve, I thought we were doing pretty well. He said, “Good, but why don’t you start the first year with a goal of, say, $50,000?” I said, “Excuse me?” He said, “Start with a goal of $50,000.” I said, “Alright.”

We started selling tools; some weeks we made overhead, and some weeks we didn’t. We got all the way to the end of the year, and we were a long way from fulfilling that goal of $50,000. I got a call one day from a guy in Jupiter, Fla. You can’t be any further away from California than Jupiter, Fla. This guy was looking for this machine. Long story short, 15 minutes before the phone call, I was looking at an auction flyer, and one of these machines that the guy wanted was coming up at a sale the next day, two hours from where I live. I made the buy on behalf of the customer, met a guy there looking for a machine twice as big, put a deal together on that one, and between those deals, the money came in. I called the guy back in Jupiter, Fla., and said, “How did you find out about us?” He said, “A dealer in Chicago told me to call Scott Machinery if you want one of these pipe benders; they handle them all the time.” Well, he meant the Scott Machinery in Helena, Ala. I had never even seen one of these units, let alone sold one. We were then very convinced that God had just done something incredible.

Choosing to Give the Rest to the Lord

The story is not over. We get the money in, and it is the end of the year, and we are saying to ourselves, “If we give all this money, we have just given away all the profit for the year. If we do that, how are we ever going to build this business to a point where it ever could give $1 million?” I started wrestling with this by using logic, but logic gets you in trouble because it doesn’t always make God-sense. I realized that Satan was trying to keep me from fulfilling the goal, so I told my secretary, “Quick, write the check before I change my mind.” She did, and she sent it off. The next day we were closed for inventory. It’s the last day of the year, and about midway through the day we finished. We finished early, and I said, “Y’all are already here, do you want to just go ahead and work the rest of the afternoon?” “Yeah, okay.” So, we turned the “open” sign around, unlocked the door, started answering the phone, and we did $65,000 that day in business, $27,000 of which was profit. This was almost exactly the amount that we sent the day before to fulfill the commitment. “Wow,” we said, “God is huge.”

When Bill Bright had challenged us to start with a goal of $50,000, he said, “Watch what God does to your business. I bet you the next year, you will be doubling that.” Well, hey, we are on a cloud—God can do anything—so we are going for $100,000 this year. So, again, we worked all year long, and some weeks we made overhead and some weeks we didn’t. We got down to the end of the year, and there were no miracle deals. My secretary went in the office and camped out for a whole day, and she came back with all the payables and receivables. She said, “We’ve given $57,000, we are $43,000 shy, and that is almost exactly what we have in the account.” I said, “We can’t drain the account. We’ve got to have cash flow to run a business, right? That is economics 101. Let me go home to think about it and pray about it. I went home and told my wife the situation, and no sooner had I stopped with the last word than she said, “I am a signer on the account, and if you don’t write the check, I will.” So, that was God’s confirmation. The next day we went back and drained the account, and we sent the money in. I am here to tell you that each year subsequently, God has given more and more, and now we are in the habit of draining the account at the end of each year and sending the money.

I have a wife and four children, and we lived on $49,000 last year. Three weeks ago, we did our year-end giving, and my goal for last year was $175,000. My secretary called me in and said, “You want to know the numbers? We did it with $345 left to spare.” I just praised the Lord, and I called my wife and said, “We did it.” She said, “But I’ve got a house payment due next week. I’ve got these bills to pay.” I said, “Don’t worry about the bills, keep your eyes on the Lord; remember he parted the Red Sea already for us.” Sure enough, the following Monday He brought in some big deals and put money back in the account. So, we just keep trusting each step of the way. We basically have chosen a modest standard of living—we are not living poverty Christianity, but we are definitely living below what we could—and we are just choosing to give the rest to the Lord.

I am a missionary. I am using the skills and talents that God gave me to do business for the purpose of making money to fund the fulfillment of the Great Commission. My wife and I have experienced the power of God working through our lives, because we are hanging it out so far on the edge that if he doesn’t do it, we are going to crash. I am telling you, my faith has been strengthened; I am experiencing more joy and more fulfillment than I ever have before. It is the most liberating experience to truly have God running your business, because when the big deal falls apart—big deal! It is his deal when it comes through, praise the Lord, and then we get to go shopping.

We get a pile of money, and we go shopping—not down at the local mall; we go shopping around the world to see where we can use this money to impact the kingdom of God. We have had a wonderful blessing, and I praise the Lord for it. By the end of last year, we had reached $734,000, toward our goal of $1 million. Depending on what God does this year, we are either going to hit it by the end of this year or probably midway through the next year. That is where we are tracking, and we are just thrilled.

Or the great evangelist, John Wesley:

Illustration: John Wesley

Take John Wesley for example. He was one of the great evangelists of the 18th Century, born in 1703. In 1731 he began to limit his expenses so that he would have more money to give to the poor. In the first year his income was 30 pounds and he found he could live on 28 and so gave away two. In the second year his income doubled but he held his expenses even, and so he had 32 pounds to give away (a comfortable year’s income). In the third year his income jumped to 90 pounds and gave away 62 pounds. In his long life Wesley’s income advanced to as high as 1,400 pounds in a year. But he rarely let his expenses rise above 30 pounds. He said that he seldom had more than 100 pounds in his possession at a time.

This so baffled the English Tax Commissioners that they investigated him in 1776 insisting that for a man of his income he must have silver dishes that he was not paying excise tax on. He wrote them, “I have two silver spoons at London and two at Bristol. This is all the plate I have at present, and I shall not buy any more while so many round me want bread.”

When he died in 1791 at the age of 87 the only money mentioned in his will was the coins to be found in his pockets and dresser. Most of the 30,000 pounds he had earned in his life had been given away. He wrote,

“I cannot help leaving my books behind me whenever God calls me hence; but in every other respect, my own hands will be my executors.”

In other words, I will put a control on my spending myself, and I will go beyond the tithe for the sake of Christ and his kingdom. (Quotes from Mission Frontiers, Sept./Oct., 1994, No. 9-10, pp. 23-24)

If you really want to love God, don’t you think it is quite literally time to put your money where your mouth is? If you don’t have a lot of money now, be like the woman in the Bible who gave what she could. Or like John Rockefeller who said, “I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 per week.”

As the Bible says, where you spend your money, there your heart will be also.

~ by unclewormwood on April 15, 2007.