What is tithing?

Ask the Question, Part 5 

We ran out of time for a number of questions asked in worship on May 14th. Here is the final installment on responses to those questions. 

 What is tithing? 

Tithing is giving a set portion of your possessions away before any of it is spent, and living on what is left. 

Raising $2 Million   According to the US Census Bureau, the median household income for the community of La Grange is $102,500. Biblically, a tithe is 10% of your assets given away each year. Assuming that our congregation is a mirror image of the community, if every household in the congregation tithed 10% of their income to FCCLG, the member giving would be $1,927,000 (188 X $10,250). Can you imagine the ministry we could do with nearly $2 million each year?  Tithing is a practical means by which to fund the ministry of the body of Christ! 

Why Tithe?  Biblically, nothing on earth belongs to those who occupy the earth; it all belongs to God and humanity has been place here as a caretaker and steward of this resource (Genesis 1-2). So, tithing a practice that is required by the Old Testament Law in which the people are commanded to give a portion of the crops they grow and the livestock they raise back to God through the temple (Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:26; Deuteronomy 14:24; 2 Chronicles 31:5). 

There are several different tithes in the bible: a 10% tithe given to the temple to support the priests and the work of the temple (Lev 27:30); a 10% “festival tithe” for the celebration of the required feasts (Deut. 12:17–19); and a 10% “charity tithe,” given every third year to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow (Deut. 14:28–29). The total of these required tithes would be 23.3 % of your income each year! Those who didn’t tithe were threatened with a curse, while those who did tithe were promised blessing (Mal. 3:8–10). 

Why Tithe?   For me, tithing is a discipline: It is a practice that helps us to live within our means by living with less than we have rather than living on credit. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:34) While there is no New Testament command to tithe, it is clear that our gifts to charity should be “in keeping with income” (1 Corinthians 16:2). 

The New Testament talks about the importance and benefits of giving. We are to give as we are able. Sometimes that means giving more than 10 percent; sometimes that may mean giving less. It depends on the ability of the individual to live on what they have and on the needs of the community around us. “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded” (Luke 12:48).