by Jacob Ninan
Many Christians are used to the concept of tithing – giving ten percent of their income to God – and that is the only concept they have been taught about giving. Even when several preachers and writers point out that tithing was an Old Testament concept and it is not applicable to the church in the new covenant, those who advocate tithing refer to Matthew 23:23 to say that Jesus Himself taught tithing! But don't we need to remember that when Jesus was asked in those days what someone should do in order to get eternal life, He told them to keep the commandments! Obviously, now we know that it was the old covenant concept of salvation and that really salvation is only by grace through faith! But Jesus was talking to people who were still under the old covenant, because the new covenant had not yet come. Salvation by grace through faith came only under the new covenant, which came only through the death of Jesus. So to those people under the old covenant, Jesus still spoke about tithing.
It is surprising that people who preach about freedom from the Law still hold on to tithing as a carry-over into the new covenant. In some cases it may be out of the fear that if tithing is removed and people are free to give whatever they wish, the offerings may drop!Give ourselves first
The secret of giving is in our heart. One of the things that happens when we are born again is that God takes away our self-centred heart and gives us a heart of love. This was what happened in the time of Paul to the church in Macedonia (2Cor.8:1-5). They became known for their abundant giving to the needy churches elsewhere. They themselves were poor, but their hearts compelled them to give, because they had become concerned about the great need in those other churches. Paul made an example of them to the church in Corinth and said how the people in the Macedonian church had first given themselves to the Lord and to the churches. They gave voluntarily, and not because someone had given them motivational talks. In fact, they compelled the apostles to receive their contribution, even though the apostles felt that they should not be giving so much in view of their own poverty!Let us look at ourselves and see what kind of a heart we have when it comes to giving. Let us not think of giving just our money, but also our time, energy and our abilities to bless the others. Is our heart driving us to give because of our love for the others and our concern for their needs?
Not out of compulsion
An obvious fault with tithing is the compulsion of the law. It means that whether we feel like it or not, whether we have enough to give or not, compulsorily we must give. But under the new covenant, God does not force us to do anything, but He wants us to do all things happily from our heart. That is the reason why He gives us a new heart. In the matter of giving, God wants us to give cheerfully, from our heart (2Cor.9:7).Not reluctantly
When people live under the law of tithing, they are taught to fear lest they rob God of what is due to Him, and warned of the calamities that can overtake them if they do. But the big mistake here is in assuming that only ten percent belongs to God and that once we have given that to Him, we will be free to do whatever we want with the ninety percent. No, whatever we have has been given to us only for us to manage as stewards on His behalf. Everything belongs to God. If we imagine that we have worked and earned what we have, we even forget that it was God who gave us health to work (Deut.8:18).God owns everything there is on the earth (Psa.50:10-12). He is not in any need which we ought to satisfy. By asking us to give, He is trying to teach us to overcome our self-centred lives and to show kindness to others.
Not as an investment
One of the common things that we hear about tithing is how God will multiply the seed that we plant in order to give us a hundred-fold. So, many are giving, just like a business investment looking for handsome returns! That misses the whole point. We ought to give because we love to give, whether we get any material returns or not (Lk.6:35). That is how God gives, not looking at what we deserve but out of His heart of love.God blesses those who give, but He knows with what motives we give. Some people think that if they prospered more, they could give more. But many times, it is prosperity they are really after, not the ability to give more.
As the Lord prospers
There is no fixed rate, like ten percent, when God expects us to give. He tells us to have a heart to give more as He prospers us more (1Cor.16:2). It also gives us the freedom to give less, if we are facing difficult financial situations. Preachers of tithes are sometimes hard and cruel on others when they demand that even if people are struggling to survive with the little money they have, they have to give God His portion. How liberating it is to know that God is not like that. He wants us to give only as much as He has enabled us.Many preachers misuse the example of the poor widow who gave all she had to teach that the offering to God comes even above personal survival. No. This woman was not under any compulsion, and she gave out of her love for God. Jesus used that example to teach the disciples that it was not the quantity of how much we gave that mattered to God, but the heart with which we gave.
This verse also teaches us to make a budget and to plan our giving accordingly. Our giving should not depend on our feelings of the moment. As God propers us more, we will get the opportunity to give more, if our heart wants to give more.
Secretly
One strong desire we have in our flesh is to want to impress others with our good deeds. Jesus taught us to avoid this by using the example of the Pharisees who used to make a fanfare to get public attention when they gave anything for charity (Matt.6:2-4). We learn here that if we do things in public with the intention of drawing attention to us, that attention alone will be our reward. In other words, God who watches our heart will not be able to give us any reward, even though it was a good deed that we had done. When we give in order to help others, our motive should be purely to bless them, and not to get any appreciation for ourselves. That is why Jesus tells us to give as secretly as possible without anyone else knowing about it.Sad to say, people make donations and want their names to appear on the donor's list, if they donate any furniture or building for the church, they want their names to be engraved on them, etc. In some churches, they pass an open plate to give the offering so that people will put more on the plate knowing that others notice what they put. How about giving secretly so that no one will know and our heavenly Father alone knows what we are doing?
Sacrificially
Isn't this a mark of true love that we are willing to give to the others even when that pinches us? The church in Macedonia gave beyond their ability, out of their love and concern for others in need (2Cor.8:3). The example of the poor widow who gave all that she had teaches us about a heart that wants to give sacrificially (Mk.12:42-44). Jesus was not teaching us, as some greedy pastors teach, that even people struggling to make both ends meet should necessarily give to God what 'belongs to God'. At the same time, God will specially reward those who give abundantly and sacrificially (2Cor.9:6). God will not be in debt to any man. He will even bless the children of those who give abundantly (Psa.37:25).Where to give
This is another place where preachers of tithing quote Old Testament passages to insist that all the money which people give must be given to the local church where they are members. Of course, we have a responsibility to take care of the needs in the local church and to support the pastors and others who serve that church (1Cor.9:14). But there are other responsibilities too. There is also the universal church in other places where we are aware of needs, like the Macedonian church sending help to the church in Jerusalem (1Cor.12:26). Certainly it is a primary responsibility that we have to provide for the needs in our own family, because those who neglect that will be worse than unbelievers (1Tim.5:8). We even have responsibility to help people around us, even if they are unbelievers, when they are in serious difficulty as in times of flood, earthquake, sickness, etc. (Tit.3:14)(Lk.6:35). We will have to figure out the priority in different situations, for which we need to listen to the Holy Spirit.Conclusion
Don't place ourselves under rules concerning giving. Allow the Holy Spirit to teach our heart and mind to develop concern for the others and to deny ourselves so that we can be a blessing in every place.