“Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of truth.” — (Psalm 60:4) “Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them.” — (Isaiah 13:2)

The word "plan" seems to have a great fascination for the common run of people. This is especially true in religion. All sorts of schemes, some of them fantastic and impractical, some of them good as measured by human standards, are acceptable and given currency if they are christened "the better plan." Lack of a plan suggests chaos and even some of the Lord's requirements are subjected to human alterations to fit into some plan or scheme devised by man. Sometimes the "simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ" that Paul feared the minds of the brethren would be "corrupted from" is rejected because it does not fit into the ideas that some entertain of what a "plan" should be.

A case in point came to my attention as I listened to a religious broadcast. The speaker was earnestly insisting that all Christians should tithe and read extensively from the Old Testament in support of that view. Because the Jews robbed God in withholding their tithes, he concluded that Christians also rob God when they withhold the tithe. He declared that there is nor has there ever been any "better plan" than tithing. If God requires that his people give the tithe, then it becomes obvious that those who do not do so are in rebellion against him as the Jews were who robbed him in this particular. There are some sects that make tithing a test of fellowship, require it on penalty of excommunication in which case the tithe is paid as a form of taxation and cannot be classed as a voluntary gift or offering. Since there is evidence of confusion as to what tithing means, the man who pays the tithe, pays a tenth of his gross income. A church therefore in which all the members pay in that much, either has a very small membership, or else it has a considerable amount of money to carry on its "plan." A large religious denomination so organized that a central authority has control over its funds would be something to reckon with, at least financially, should its members all tithe.

This system was evidently good for the Jews or God would not have given it to them. It does not follow that Christians should borrow it from the Jews and call it "the better plan." I have noted some confusion even among gospel preachers when it comes to comparing Christian's liberality with Jewish taxation. We are gravely told that a Christian ought to be ashamed, in view of our greater blessings, to give less than the Jews were taxed. In most cases, if not every case, the preacher himself does so. It might be well to check up on this matter of Jewish "giving" before making rash comparisons. The tithe was only a small part of it and that for a special purpose. It has been estimated that the Jews parted with about a third, or more, of their gross income in support of their religion. It should be remembered that the Jewish nation was a theocracy, a nation whose law was the law of God. The law required a tax, called the tithe, for the support of the priesthood. The support of the government, also a part of the religious scheme, had to be supplied by additional taxation.

Surely, Christians should be liberal in the use of their money in carrying on the work which is peculiar to the church. Saints must be edified, the poor must be remembered and the gospel must be supported. Is tithing "the better plan" to get the money for this necessary work? If the Bible teaches it, then of course it is. If the Bible does not teach it or any other "plan," then expediency might suggest it as better. It happens that there is considerable teaching in the New Testament on the matter of liberality among Christians. Covetousness is classified with idolatry and stinginess is downright sin. Opposition to tithing as a "plan" prompted by a covetous spirit must of course be ruled out as wicked. Plan or no plan, Christians should give as the Lord directs. It is significant that there is no direct command, or necessary inference, in the New Testament binding the tithe on the disciples of Christ. This is in vivid contrast to the binding obligations of the law, often repeated, which bound the Jews in this respect. Paul made a widespread appeal to the churches to give sums of money for a much needed work. He went directly to the churches in these words: "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I gave order to the churches of Galatia, so also do ye. Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come." (1 Cor. 16:1-2) "As he may prosper" does not sound like a command to pay the tithe. The curious might pry into the question of the amount, whether equal to, more or less than the tithe. Such curiosity is not satisfied. It might be more. It was to "be ready as a matter of bounty, and not of extortion." (2 Cor. 9:5) "But this I say, He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." (2 Cor. 9:6-7) Why did not Paul just come out and say plainly for these disciples to follow "the better plan" and pay tithes as God required then they would always have plenty of money on hand to take care of all the calls that came to the church. There is not as much "plan" about God's requirements as some brethren and others seem to think we need. If "each man" does "according as he hath purposed in his heart" and "each man" loves the Lord as he ought to, then sufficient money will be forthcoming to take care of the work of the Lord. If the money is not forthcoming somebody is evidently falling down on a responsibility. We may resort to corkscrew methods to twist it out of them, or try to scare them into submitting to the legalistic system of tithing, but it does not occur to me that either is "the better plan." "Because the love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us" should be a greater incentive to liberal giving and the discharge of duties related thereto than any of the constraints of legalism. Properly led and properly taught, the Lord's people should and will respond voluntarily and generously. This is the better plan because it is found in the New Testament. — C. E. W.

TITHING: THE ENEMY OF GENEROSITY^*

   The idea of tithing (10% see note) as the standard for acceptable giving has so permeated the church that no one (including Pastors and Elders) even questions its validity or application to those of us who are living on this side of the cross. Many pastors and preachers, emphasize tithing in hopes that their congregations will increase their giving above the national average of 3% by evangelicals. They believe that if they could just get everyone in their congregation to start tithing the church would have more money than it needed to do all that it wanted to do.  Consequently, they fervently teach tithing as the floor that every Christian ought to start their giving at – the minimum entry point. I know of one church in my town that requires potential new members to commit to tithing in order to become a member. Pastors are not really aware that while their efforts to promote tithing will increase giving for a few, it actually ends up doing more harm than good to everyone in their congregation.

     Let me illustrate. Take any congregation that is being consistently and regularly indoctrinated with tithing as the giving standard. Those who for whatever reason (good or bad) are not able or willing to tithe are made to feel guilty that they are giving less than they “owe” God. So their giving is  accompanied with feelings of guilt because they are told they are “robbing God”. Then you have those who are tithing to the penny. If they get a paycheck for $3,125.60, they will write a check to the church for $312.56. They are content to give exactly what they have been taught God has prescribed for them to give. Their giving will only increase as their income increases (mathematically to the penny). Then there are those rare few who have broken over the tithe standard taught by the church and are now giving over 10%. They often look upon themselves with some sense of pride because they are actually exceeding the required, minimum standard of giving. Now let me ask you, which of these attitudes of giving is healthy – giving with guilt, giving with contentment or giving with pride? You see, as soon as you employ some mathematical formula to determine how much someone ought to be giving – what God expects – you actually create a spiritual, psychological and emotional barrier to encouraging generous giving.  We are all fallen, sinful creatures and consequently we want to know what the “rules” are because we want to “please” God. How much church attendance, prayer time, scripture reading, giving, etc. will be enough to keep God happy with us. So, if we are given a formula for giving, we will use it as the predetermined acceptable standard and no longer feel any need to seek out God’s will for our personal giving because we already know how much we are to give. Should we really want to bless and impress God, we’ll delight Him with a bonus gift over and above the required 10% payment that is due.

     The New Testament never mentions tithing as the rule and standard for New Testament Christian giving – not even one verse. There is a very good reason for this. The New Testament calls Christians to give by faith (life) and not give by law (death) [ For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2]. How much I decide to give of what the Lord has entrusted to me is just as intimately personal and individual as every other aspect of my Christian life. Let me ask. Has God prescribed how many minutes I must pray each day? Has He stipulated how many verses He expects me to read each week? Has He established how many people I am required to witness to each month? He has prescribed none of these as His acceptable standard for me being a “good” Christian.  Rather it is left up to each of us individually to seek out the Lord by faith and allow Him to direct us in how much of these activities we should be participating in. Similarly, our giving is to be arrived at by careful, personal self-examination and seeking the Lord’s direction in how much we should give as we evaluate this crucial area of financial stewardship. May I suggest that II Corinthians 9:7 gives us the Christian methodology for deciding how much we personally should be giving back to the Lord. Paul instructs, “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give…” In other words, the amount of our giving proceeds from our heart, not from our calculator. Our giving is to grow out of a personal relationship with Christ and not merely a prescriptive formula arrived at mathematically. I can tell you with certainty that a poor woman who chooses to sacrificially give $500 out of her meager $12,000 annual Social Security income is being substantially more generous than the businessman who is giving $50,000 of his $350,000 annual income, even though the woman is giving only 4% and the businessman is giving 14%. Occasionally, I have been asked by affluent folks we work with, how much should they be giving. They sense that 10% is no longer the right percentage for them and they are looking for someone to give them what that right percentage should be. My answer is always the same, “That is a very important question. Unfortunately, you are asking it of the wrong person. You need to ask that question of the One who owns all your stuff.” Many pastors I have talked with about generosity vs. tithing express the same gnawing concern. They fear that if they tell their people they are not required to tithe, the church’s weekly offerings will collapse. I disagree. If believers were properly taught and really came to understand and live out the idea of generous giving by faith instead of legalistic giving by math, I believe that congregation’s giving would actually explode. It may not happen overnight because the church will have to overcome years of bad teaching.       But once people really understand they need to go to their knees to decide how much to give instead of to their calculators, we will likely see another outbreak of generosity that might compare to what the Israelites experienced in the construction of the tabernacle. Their giving was so “over the top” Moses had to command them to stop giving. (Exodus 35:20-35; 36:1-7). I recently attended a meeting in which the speaker was enthusiastically telling about a financial advisor who had a wealthy client selling a $1.5 million asset and the advisor had actually asked him about tithing on the sale price to the Kingdom, which he ended up doing. What struck me as unfortunate in this story is that the advisor did not ask his client if he personally needed any of the sale proceeds. Maybe he should give 100% of the sale proceeds to the Kingdom - and if not 100% how much might God want of these funds to use for His purposes. Possibly an even more challenging question for this client would be, “How much of this $1.5 million would I have to give away for the gift to be a real, sacrificial act of faith on my part? The first option – the tithe – is clean, mathematically simple and requires little thought. The second – generosity – is neither clean nor simple and requires genuine soul searching, faith testing and “wrestling with God”. In our struggle to find an amount we might find ourselves feeling compelled to ask a similar question, “How much would I have to give to the Lord in order for my giving to be both generous and sacrificial?” I hope you can see why I say that tithing is the enemy of generosity. If believers are ever going to become generous givers, we must first kill the legalistic, Old Testament doctrine of tithing that wars against it and replace it with the New Testament directive of 2 Cor. 9:7 KJV - "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, [so let him give]; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.". I would be remiss to conclude this article and not mention the “rest of the story” of II Corinthians 9:7.

     Paul concludes this verse by giving us the emotional outcome of giving generously by faith vs. giving legalistically by math. He says, “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Giving legalistically by math produces a reluctant giver who is giving out of a sense compulsion. Giving generously by faith produces a cheerful giver who is giving out of overflowing joy. Paul says this giver is the one whom God loves. I personally opt for the latter. How about you?

^*The author, E. G. “Jay” Link, is both an ordained minister and the President/CEO of Kardia, Inc., a firm that specializes in assisting wealthy Christian families with the stewardship of all of their life resources. He is also the author of the book Family Wealth Counseling: Getting to the Heart of the Matter. Mr. Link may be reached via email at jlink@KardiaPlanning.com. On the web at: http://www.kardiaplanning.com.

Note: 

to tithe or tithing:--noun; one tenth of annual produce or earnings, formerly taken as a tax for the support of the Church and clergy. (in certain religious denominations) a tenth of an individual's income pledged to the Church. [in sing.] archaic a tenth of a specified thing: he hadn't said a tithe of the prayers he knew. verb; [with obj.] pay or give as a tithe: he tithes 10 per cent of his income to the Church. historical subject to a tax of one tenth of income or produce. ? tithable adjective. etymology: Old English teotha (adjective in the ordinal sense ‘tenth’, used in a specialized sense as a noun), teothian (verb). --Oxford English Dictionary. Lev 27:32 KJV - "And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD."