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.
—The words of the Prophet Malachi from Malachi 3:10
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 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.
—The words of the Apostle Paul from 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
“When they pass the offering plate in church, how much should I give? These are tough times. I’m barely getting by. My family has to make many careful decisions every week. Even if I come to understand what God expects of me, do I really have the faith to trust Him to provide if I give what I should?”
These are all very good questions. In the Scripture passages at the beginning of this blog post I have chosen to include the two most popular statements regarding giving: one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. Both of these give wise counsel. But, neither of them really digs deeply enough to answer the questions listed above in a way that would prove helpful to most people.
Pat McGeachy, in his book Traveling Light,1 offers some helpful advice that draws on these two Scripture passages:
Even with a good budget, the ends never seem to meet. But that’s the point! Budgets aren’t for making ends meet. Money isn’t an end. Budgets are for making means fall into line! The ends we want are what Paul calls the fruits of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). A budget won’t buy them, but governing our money wisely may free us to find them.
Let’s begin with what we’ll give away. If you wait until you have paid for everything else and then start looking for leftovers to share, there won’t be any. But if you start with your gifts, by an amazing miracle you will almost always find that there is enough left over to meet the necessities. (I didn’t believe that either until I tried it on a dare with myself, but it does work.) Okay, what percentage of my money shall I give?
All Christians know the word “tithe,” which simply means 10 percent. But to some the word has a hateful sound. Let’s face it, a tithe from one person is harder than a tithe from another. If you made three thousand dollars a year—which is thirty times as much as most of the world’s people make!—a tithe of three hundred dollars might mean shoes or beans for children who otherwise might go hungry or barefoot. But if you made $300,000 a year you could probably squeak by fairly well on the $270,000.00 left over after the tithe. In fact, taxwise, you would be better off to increase your giving to charitable causes. So we just can’t say: Make it an automatic 10 percent and let it go.
What do you do then? Why not take a hard look at what you are actually giving now. What is it? Two percent of your gross income? Five percent? You know a lot of us got into the habit of putting a quarter into the plate when our parents gave it to us as children, and we’re still operating at that level. Now set yourself a goal of increasing it a little (maybe one or two percentage points a year) until you get to a place that you honestly consider a sacrificial level. Don’t stop at 10 percent. I know a family that puts aside 30 percent of their income into a special bank account each month. At the end of the month, they take pleasure in writing a check for 10 percent to their church, another 10 percent to regular causes in their community, and (here’s the best part), they save the third portion to build up interest until something really special comes along. Then they have a family council and decide how to spend it.
Can you imagine how much more fun it is to decide what to do with a surplus than to have the usual squabble over what to trim? But never mind about what the Joneses are doing. You and I have to establish our own budgets, not somebody else’s. And no simple formula will work. The tithe means 10 percent.
But is that 10 percent to the church, or 10 percent to all charitable causes? And do I take it off before or after income taxes? The answer is none of these things. That figure of 10 percent, which used to be a legal obligation on the ancient Hebrews, is still a good starting point for Christian giving, but it isn’t the end we seek. To give the whole tithe to the church, before taxes would merely be a duty fulfilled and no grounds for glory (see Luke 17:10). We can’t stop there. Like the rich young man, we have to go the whole way (Mark 10:21).
The truth remains: we can all give more. How do I dare make that statement? Because unless you are a very unique individual, you are not giving anything close to 10 percent of your gross income. I know that because I see frequent published reports from both denominational and non-denominational churches. Why the average giving to churches hovers at around two to three percent. That’s a mere pittance of what God’s people should return to Him. After all, He is the giver of every good and perfect gift. (James 1:17)
So, the question needs an answer: How much will you give? Before you answer, remember that every penny you withhold from God keeps the ministry of His body, the church, from fulfilling the responsibilities He has given us. Whether it’s planting a new church or sending a missionary to a foreign land, it takes money to make that happen. It takes your money. And, it takes my money. Let’s give generously, as unto the Lord.
Will you pray with me?
Thank You, God, for loving us. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Thank You for sending us Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
Precious Father, help us to examine our own giving. Prompt us, through the power of Your Holy Spirit, to determine to give back to you a carefully chosen and appropriate portion of all that You have so graciously given us.
We acknowledge that everything we have and everything we are comes as a gift from You. Help us to be good stewards of what You have given us. Keep us from being stingy with our gifts to Your church.
And, thank You for hearing our prayer in and through the precious Name of Your Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
1 Traveling Light, Daniel Patrick McGeachy, Abingdon Press, pages 87-89.
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