Tithe & Tithing

A tithe is the practice of setting apart for the use of the temple (or the church) of a portion, usually ten per cent, of one's income.

The word "tithe" is an Old English word which simply means "the tenth number," i.e., one in ten. The word had its origin in days when farmers had to count their stock, and as the sheep or cows passed through a gate the tenth animal was pulled out. The number of animals pulled out, i.e., the tithe, multiplied by ten, plus whatever was left, was the size of the farmer's flock. The English word reflects exactly what the Hebrew word ma'asher means, "the tenth part" and, as suggested by the expression, "every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod" (Lev 27:32), probably had a similar origin in the pastoral world of the ancient Israelites.

Though the tithe is most often associated with ancient Israel and the church, the practice of tithing was, in fact, a custom fairly common to the cultures of the ancient Near East. Sometimes the tithe was simply "a political matter, a tax paid by the people to their king or one imposed on conquered nations by the conqueror." In Babylon in the reign of Nebuchadnezzer II, on the other hand, a tithe from the land was paid by everyone, including the king, to the temple, while a tithe from imports went to the king. Cyrus made his soldiers give a tithe to Zeus.1 The practice, if not the token, is also the custom among Muslims, where it is called zakat.

Tithe & Tithing in the Old Testament

Origin of the Tithe

Long before the tithe became an institution and part of the religious requirements in ancient Israel, the practice of giving away a tenth of one's property or income was already in practice. Abram, e.g., gave Melchizedek king of Salem "a tenth of everything" he had as a gift of honour (Gen 14:18-20). In a dream, while he was fleeing from the wrath of the brother he had cheated, Jacob met God who promised him that He would bless him. When he awoke and recognized God's presence with him, he set up a stone, anointed it in worship, and promised—if God would keep His promise to him—to give Him a "tenth" (Gen 28:22).

Once Israel had been delivered from Egypt and began to have time while journeying through the wilderness to be taught what it meant to be God's people, they were instructed for the first time to offer back to God a portion of their produce. In Lev 27:30 & 32 we hear for the first time that "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," and that "the entire tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod—will be holy to the Lord." As time when on this "tenth" of all their income became the rule of their yearly offerings to God. Thus, in Deut 14:22, Moses reminds the Israelites, to "be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year."

The Administration of the Tithes

How the tithe was administered in OT Israel is not entirely clear because the instructions for the tithe and how they were to be used are recorded on the assumption that Israel already understood such things and the instructions that have been preserved for us in the OT are recorded only by way of reminders. From Num 18:21-28 we know that the tithes served to sustain the levitical and priestly institutions, since they do not have land entitlements; this tithe became "their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting." At the same time, a portion of it seemed to have been consumed by the people themselves during some of the festivals at "the place the Lord will choose," for Moses instructs them,

You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts. Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place the Lord your God will choose—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites from your towns—and you are to rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you put your hand to" (Deut 12:17-18). Additionally, the tithe was also shared with the needy; "When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.

Deut 26:12

What is clear, however, is that the tithe was instituted as an apparatus of and for the sustenance of the levitical-priestly structure of the temple that became so central to the life of ancient Israel as a nation.

It would be a grave mistake, however, to think of the tithe as it was practiced in ancient Israel simply as a religious tax. At the core of the practice lies a cardinal theological idea; Gerald Hawthorne explains:

Underlying the giving of the tithe was the basic idea that "the earth is the Lord and all that is in it" (Ps. 24:1). To give a tenth, therefore, meant to acknowledge in a tangible way the Lord's ownership of the land and its produce. Hence, Judah's failure to do this was tantamount to robbing God (Mal. 3:8, 10), not of the material things themselves — these already belonged ot God (Ps. 50:10) — but of the recognition that these material things belonged to him and were exclusively his. Man's possessions were seen as gifts given by God, the proper response to which was gratitude. Tithing, then, came to mean also an expression of thanks to God for his generosity . . .

G. F. Hawthrone, "Tithe," The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Colin Brown (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978) 3:853.

That Hawthorne is right is affirmed by the additional encouragements by Moses to ancient Israel to give more than the tithes they had given. At the end of every seventh year, e.g., the Israelites were to cancel the debts owed to them by fellow Israelites (Deut 15:1-3). And when it came to the poor who come for help, Moses instructs them:

If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: "The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near," so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.

Deut 15:7-11

We may say with confidence that the principle underlining the tithe in ancient Israel was that of 1 John 4:19, "we give because he first gave us."

Before we leave the Old Testament, it is important for us to take a look at Malachi's preaching about titles, if for no other reason than the fact that his sermon relating to tithes in 3:6-12 is used by preachers hoping to encourage church members to give, and praticularly by preachers of the prosperity gospel to make themselves rich. In this passage God charges the people with "robbing" Him by withholding the tithes they owed God, and challenges the people to "bring in the whole tithe" and "see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessings that there will not be room enough to store it" (v10). It is perfectly sould and balance that Malachi should preach the way he did. Tithing was a covenant obligation under the laws of the old covenant, and what Malachi said was totally in line with ancient Israel's understanding of the practice. Christian preachers who use this passage—to encourage the practice of tithes—apply a principle foreign to the new covenant under which Christians become Christian and by which they live. For more on this see the explanation below.

Tithe & Tithing in the New Testament

Tithe is inferred to in the New Testament several times. In Mt 23:23 & Lk 11:42 Jesus denounces "the teachers of the law and Pharisees" who "give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin" but "neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness." Lk 18:12 records one of Jesus' parables in which a Pharisee praised himself to God for fasting twice a week and giving "a tenth of all I get." Tithe appear again as a subject in Heb 7:2-9, but again the author was speaking of Abraham giving a tenth of all he had to Melchizedek.

There is, however, nothing in the NT to suggest that either Jesus or the apostles required or even encouraged the practice of the tithe as it was done in ancient Israel and that continued to be practiced among the Jews of their time.

Though giving in the form of a tithe is not mandated in the NT, the NT is replete with references to giving:

Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

Acts 2:43-45

And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.

2 Cor 8:1-5

There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the saints. For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be. For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we-- not to say anything about you-- would be ashamed of having been so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.

2 Cor 9:1-5

This giving resonates with the principle of OT tithing, that it is an expression of thanks to God, as Paul makes clear in writing to the Corinthians:

This 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. Because 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 Cor 9:12-13

Paul's first principle for giving is simple"

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And 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.

2 Cor 9:7-8

Paul, however, was also a practical person; so he instructs them on a simple discipline:

On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

1 Cor 16:2

Strictly speaking, then, there is nothing in the NT to require us to tithe, but the NT at the same time enjoins upon us generous giving. The question is whether tithing remains a useful way to discipline and manage that giving.

Tithing & the Church

In the years after the passing of the Apostles, the Church found it useful to (re-)instate the practice of tithing. The earliest record of this can be found in Didache, a book of Christian instructions from the end of the 1st Cent or perhaps the early 2nd Cent. The reasons for the practice differ. There were churches that thought of their pastors as priests; for them the basis of the tithe was the OT regulations. Other churches, however, taught that the OT regulations on tithe have been superseded; they collected the tithe because, in token of what God had done for them they ought to sell everything, as Jesus commanded the rich young ruler, and give them to the poor. Irenaeus writes that the Jews "had indeed the tithes of their goods consecrated to Him, but those who have received liberty set aside all their possessions for the Lord's purposes, bestowing joyfully and freely."2

While the practice of tithing has long been a tradition in the churches, many today are questioning whether the practices can or should be insisted upon. Such questioning is not new. In December 1618 the famous English legal expert and pioneer in the laws of the sea, John Selden, was hauled before James I to answer for the controversy he had astirred with his recently published book, The Historie of Tithes. In it he had argued that the practice of the Church of England levying the tithe from her parishioners was not ordained by God.3 Though his arguments were essentially legal in direction, the fact remains that the Church can find no basis for insisting on tithe from her members in so far as her behaviour is determined principally by the instructional teachings of the NT.

Arguing that her members should pay tithe because the OT made tithe compulsory falls apart because the Church is not constituted in the same way as the temple was in ancient Israel. Ancient Israel was, in principle at least, a theocracy, in which every member of society was a citizen of a nation with God as king. Nor do we find the equivalent of levites and priests who have "no inheritance" but who depend on the tithes for their livelihood among our midst.

Does this mean, therefore, Christians can or should ignore the practice of tithing in the church?

To Tithe or Not to Tithe?

We suggest that—call it by another name if you will ("offering," "collection")—the practice of an orderly and disciplined giving should be practiced.

Firstly, the earth and everything in it remains the Lord's. And more than the ancient Israelites, Christians have reasons to be thankful to God. And if a practice such as the tithe is a useful tangible way to acknowledge that all that we have and own come from him, would we not be wise to adopt it? If ancient Israel gave because they were required to give, how much greater would be the joy of the Christian to give, and who gives out of the volition of gratitude!

Secondly, the mission of the Church, which is the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, is ours. It is our responsibility to participate fully in it. Giving is only the most tangible way of participating in this partnership in the Gospel we should count a joy to share.

Thirdly, orderly giving helps the leaders of the church plan and administer more effectively and efficiently. We minister to and encourage our leaders when we "tithe" systematically; they know what they can expect and can, therefore, plan and promise the church's spending and giving more helpfully.

Fourthly, orderly giving helps us. We do not have to keep making the decision over and over again of how much to give. "Thankfulness" is as much in need of self-discipline as every other aspects of our personal and devotional life.

Practical Issue 1: How Much Should We Give?

Tithe, if one were to insist on its etymology, implies ten percent. Should churches insist that members give up a tenth of their income?

Christian giving is conditioned upon our commitment and submission to Jesus as Lord. When we say to Jesus, "I give you my life," we have already made it explicit that there is no holding back of any amount we can possibly give. In the early church "no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had . . . For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need" (Acts 4:32-35). Few of us would be prepared for such radical giving, but the precedence makes clear the point that quibbling over ten percent would be pedantic, to say the least. To be sure, as the Lord said to Moses, "there will always be poor people in the land" (Deut 15:4) and in the church who struggle with the ten percent. That, however, is not a matter of questioning the percentage but a practical problem of making ends meet. God would never find fault with the genuine poor. The poor widow who offered up her two copper coins, Jesus affirmed, "has put in more than all the others" (Mk 12:43; Lk 21: 3). God's disappointment has never been with the poor but has always been with the miserly and quarrelsome.

If I were to live my life all over again, here is what I would like to do. I would begin my working life with a 10% offering. Every year afterwards I would raise it by a half percent. After thirty years of working life I would be giving away a quarter of my income; which is still far less than selling and giving everything I have. And why would I do this? Because in the modern circumstances in which I live as an urban "white-collar" professional, the income almost always eventually exceeds my needs and the problem becomes reining in my wants which are always challenging to overtake my needs. Such a scheme is made more feasible if, for example, we make it a point not to buy a brand new car. Let's be honest. How many of us really need a brand new car or, as urbanites, a four-wheel drive, or a BMW whose bumper costs RM20,000 to replace after an accident? This is not judging our neighbour with the two BMWs; we are simply looking in the mirror to ask if we cannot live more simply for the sake of the kingdom of God. But we must each live as "he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor 9:7).

Let me end this section with a real-life story that we knew first hand. We had a friend who had been blessed by the Lord and was, for some years, able to invest a considerable sum of money in the stock market. One day he visited a friend, a pastor who had planted a church which was growing rapidly, in a major European city. His friend took him to visit a building that the church was hoping to procure to meet her growing needs. The pastor had not asked our friend for help; he was simply taking him into his life as a friend. On the out of the building, they went to use the washroom. There, at the urinals, our friend was convicted by the Lord to promise his pastor friend that he would buy the building for them. Once back home, our friend sold off his shares and wired the money to the pastor. Two days later the market crashed. Our friend could have lost all that money. This is how we ought to live and "tithe," in sensitivity to the Holy Spirit's prompting.

Practical Issue 2: How Do We Give?

The story I told above would already gives enough hints that there really is no rules for how we give. The question we wish to deal with here instead has to do with whether the church can rule that all its members should give through the church. The examples of giving that we see in the NT indicates that all those who gave in the "collections" or sold their properties brought their money to the apostles. This, however, cannot be construed as a rule for how our givings are to be managed. We simply do not know enough about the matter to make the descriptions into a prescription.

Giving through the church has its advantages. It will help the leaders of the church plan and managed better. In many situations, a collection of many givings can accomplish a great deal more than individual gifts. No wise leader or pastor, however, will want to restrict how the members channel their givings. A wise leader or pastor will exercise such leadership that encourages members to channel their givings through the church in an act of solidarity in body life, while encouraging members at the same time to listen to the Holy Spirit to lead them into personal acts of engagement in the larger body of the Church of which his local church is a part. To insist that givings must be channeled only through the church expects more than the leaders have the authority to demand, and stifles individuals from exploring what else God has for them beyond the borders of the local church. Ultimately, no pastor who knows the heart of the Lord will ever be so insecure as to frown on how his/her member obeys the Lord. God loves a cheerful giver and all of us should give cheerfully as He leads.