To Tithe or Not to Tithe?

There are times that I think I stand alone in the evangelical community in insisting that a tithe of one's income is never mandated by Scripture.  Tithe of course means ten percent.  And many if not most evangelical pastors teach that Christians are commanded by God to give ten percent of their income to the church. To me, the tithe is a legalistic addition to Scripture.  It is a teaching that is not clearly taught in the New Testament and I would suggest it is in fact contradicted there.  Now, I want to be clear here.  If someone feels that the Lord has led them to give ten percent of their income, that is not wrong. The problem is when ten percent becomes the golden standard with no thought of any Christian giving below or even above that.  Any Christian convicted that they should give ten percent should do that.  But we can't insist that, that figure is the magic one for every believer.

2 Corinthians 9 is one of the passages that demonstrates that Christians are not constrained to give a certain percentage of their income.  In verse 7, Paul writes: "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."  Note what Paul says: each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give.  He doesn't say that you should give ten percent.  He doesn't say that you should give any percent.  He simply says that you should give as the Lord leads.  And note that he says that this giving should not be under compulsion.  One should not give because they feel obligated to give a certain percent.  One should give because they joyfully and thankfully choose a certain amount.   

I'm sure that some would fear that abandoning the tithe would lead to poverty for the churches.  But even if we are not commanded to give ten percent, we are commanded to give generously.  Paul lists several reasons why we should give generously: God is pleased by generous giving, He rewards generous giving, God's purpose in giving to us is so that we might give to others, and generous giving leads to God being praised.  The reality may be that Christians should use far more than ten percent of their income in serving God and others.  Someone has estimated that a faithful Israelite would have given close to 33 percent of their income to the Lord under the direction of the Old Testament Law.  If those under the Old Covenant gave a third, ten percent doesn't seem like much for New Testament saints who have far more abundant blessings in Jesus.

The point is that there is no standard is for everyone when it comes to giving.  While Christians are called to give generously (especially in service to the poor), we are not called to give a set amount.  Instead, we should give freely and joyfully as the Lord leads.