TEN REASONS WHY I TITHE

Tithing (giving away ten percent of income) has often been a controversial area for Christians. It has certainly at times been enforced in a way that does not reflect our understanding of the grace of God, and at other times been followed in a legalistic manner which again does not reflect our understanding of grace. At the same time, if every Christian tithed no church would be short of money! Even more important than ‘raising funds’ though, is what tithing achieves for us spiritually.

Here I want to set out ten reasons why I tithe, which might help you in the area of giving. (Some of these reasons are borrowed from PJ Smyth’s booklet Money Matters which is available on the downloads section of the church website.) We also discuss these things more thoroughly in the Generosity session of the Finding Your Place Course.

1. I follow the principle of the tithe because it teaches me to carefully manage my finances rather than estimate them.
If we are to give a tenth of our income we need to calculate what a tenth is! This is not legalism but accuracy, and helps with the overall management of our finances. We do not consider it legalism when our employer accurately calculates our salary and would be unhappy if he simply guessed what to pay us each month! In the same way we should be accurate in our giving.

Proverbs 27:23-27 gives us an example of how to be good stewards of all we have. For me tithing forms part of this stewardship.

2. I follow the principle of the tithe because it demonstrates gratitude and proves grace more powerful than law.
Tithing is not bringing in the Law. Any spiritual discipline (prayer, bible reading, fasting, witnessing, silence and solitude, etc.) can be performed in a legalistic way, but this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do them – instead we should do them in response to grace.

Abraham was justified when there was no law of Moses to guide him and he tithed when there was no law to enforce it! In Genesis 14:20 we read that Abraham tithed to Melchizedek the priest as an act of worship to God. Abraham’s tithing was a response of gratitude for God rescuing him, and resulted in further blessing coming to him. The Israelites were commanded to tithe by Moses but Jesus never overturned this command, rather he endorsed it (Matthew 23:23). When we tithe we are being obedient to the example of scripture, exercising faith and demonstrating our gratitude to the God who has saved us. Like Abraham, we are free from the law – we live in the age of the inner motivation of grace, but wouldn’t it be a slap in the face for grace to come in lower than 10% and thus prove law to be more effective than grace? A true understanding of grace will move us to radical generosity (2 Corinthians 8:7-9).

3. I follow the principle of the tithe because it helps keep me consistent and disciplined.
John Piper says that ‘another name for serious intention is planning… failure to plan …results not in spontaneity, but the same old rut’. Again, we must not mistake discipline for legalism. The Bible instructs us to give cheerfully (2 Corinthians 9:7) and sometimes people twist this to mean we should only give when we feel like it. This is not the case! The Bible also instructs husbands to love their wives – whether or not they feel like it – and commands us to pray – whether or not we feel like it. We need to make up our minds about how we are going to live and let these decisions shape our emotions rather than have our emotions drive our actions. When we do things we should do even though we don’t feel like doing them we demonstrate our love for God and his priority in our lives.

4. I follow the principle of the tithe because it is proportional.
No matter how much I earn, tithing keeps pace because it is a matter of proportion not amount. However, there is also a challenge here for us to increase the proportion (percentage) that we give away as the amount we earn increases (1 Corinthians 16:2).

5. I follow the principle of the tithe because it means giving the first 10%...and that is a demonstration of faith!
One of the key things about the law of the tithe in the Old Testament was that it was not giving any old 10%, but rather the first 10% of your income (Exodus 23:19). This is the radical thing about the principle of the tithe. Giving the first tenth is a clear and powerful statement that you are putting God first – he is the first ‘bill’ you pay each month. Money talks. Think about it: you have no idea that you will come out okay that month. Unexpected bills might arrive that you could have used that 10% to pay. It is a statement of faith and trust in God to provide for you.

6. I follow the principle of the tithe to stay free from the love of money.
Money demands to be worshipped and the only sure way to kill its power over us is to give it away. I have found that consistently surrendering a decent portion of my income (10% plus) to God on a monthly basis is an act of faith, obedience and worship that stops me worshipping money. Grace and I have always made our tithe and offerings the first item on our monthly budget, and we pay it before any other bill. This is because we are giving in faith, acknowledging that God comes first in our lives. We know that if we seek God first, he will always provide for us. We love God more than we love money.

7. I follow the principle of the tithe because I soon get used to it and don’t ‘miss’ the money.
Once you are into the habit of tithing, then you get so used to living off 90% that you hardly even feel the hit. So, to keep on the faith stretch, Grace and I always give more than just 10% each month. Remember, 10% is not a law, although it might be a good target for you early on, but before long you will want to outstrip it. We are not trying to find the minimum that we can get away with, rather how much we can get away with!

8. I follow the principle of the tithe because it sets the example for all members of our church.
While the tithe is no longer a law for any of us, we recommend it as an appropriate amount for all members to give to the church each month. We want to be a church that is overflowing with the grace of God, and that must include excelling in the grace of giving (2 Corinthians 8:7).

9. I follow the principle of the tithe in order to invest in the future.
When we die we cannot take any of our possessions with us, but we can send them on ahead. There is a heavenly bank vault in which we can make deposits that will last eternally on the basis of how we handle our money and possessions in this life. It makes sense to put as much as we can into this account! (Matthew 6:19-20; 1 Timothy 6:17-19).

10. I follow the principle of the tithe from a place of contentment.
Discontent is good when it pushes us to get creative and make the world a better place, but it is bad when it makes us greedy and dissatisfied with what we have. Our economic system works by making us discontent with what we have so that we are always seeking more. In contrast to this, God urges us to get content with what we have and not be continually running after more and more. (Hebrews 13:5-6; 1 Timothy 6:6).

Common questions about tithing
Q. Should I tithe if I am in debt?
A. Fight your debt but also start to tithe right away as an act of faith. Honour God and he will honour you. He will make your 90% go further than you could make go your 100%.

Q. I am a student – should I tithe my student loan?
A. No – tithe on earnings, not on loans. If you have a part-time job tithe on what you earn there, rather than on your student loan.

Q. Should I tithe on gross or net?
A. Up to you, but “excelling in the grace of giving” would suggest we tithe on our headline income!

Q. Should I tithe when my tithe is so small?
A. Yes. “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” - Edmund Burke. God honours the attitude more than the amount. Someone earning £700pcm and giving £70 is being more sacrificial than the person earning £10,000pcm and giving £1,000.

Q. Should we be teaching our children to tithe?
A. Yes! We need to teach our children about the grace of God and to respond to that grace by generous giving.


Application Questions
• Do you tithe? Why or why not?
• Which of these ten principles is most challenging to you?

Vision For Giving

I have just got back from Seattle, where I was at a church planting conference. This has sharpened my thinking about how we at Gateway need to be a people together on a mission for Jesus. At the same time we have some particular financial challenges facing us as a church – but before asking you to increase your giving I want you to get a sharper understanding of our mission.

Recently our friends from River of Life Church, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe were praying for us. Among the things they felt God speak to them for us were these:

Jesus is asking you who you say he is. If he is the CHRIST and son of God, then He will build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail. He has given you the keys to the city of Poole and freed you to bind and loose all that is in the City. According to your faith it will be done for you.

I felt God speaking Psalm 115 to you!..... Read it just as it was written with you in mind.

So we are going to connect Mission and Giving through Psalm 115…

Ps 115:1a
Its all for Jesus! The first mistake we make is thinking its all about us.

We all live in a movie where we are the central character. This is as true of introverts as of ego-maniacs – we are all more aware of ourselves than of anyone else. But as Christians we need to make The Name the star. Jesus needs to be the central character in our lives.

Ps 115:1b
There is tangible reason to make Jesus the star: He has drawn us into his story and called us onto the field of play with him. Because he has done this for us the Church’s Mission is to make his story known.

Ps 115:2
Our prayer should be that Jesus would, “Show your glory through the church.” We are all called to be missionaries. Missionaries are not people far away about who we know little and to whom we occasionally send some money. We are called to mission in the place and to the people where we live.

As God’s missionaries we should ask God’s blessing in order that we might better glorify God! There should not be a poverty mentality in the church. Jesus was poor but he didn’t have a poverty mentality! A poverty mentality says that things are only spiritual if they are shabby. A poverty mentality is what Judas had when he objected to expensive perfume being poured out on Jesus. A poverty mentality does not bring glory to God.

Ps 115:3-7
Yahweh is powerful; the gods of this world are impotent.

Idols give the appearance of potency (they have mouths, eyes, ears, noses, hands, feet); idols really seem to offer something. Idols offer salvation – which is why it is so crushing when they fail. In the current economic crisis many people have been crushed because their gods have fallen.

Ps 115:8
We always become like the thing we love. We take on the characteristics of what we worship, and everyone worships. Everyone has a god, whether they consciously realize it or not. A good indication of what our god is, is to ask, Where do my thoughts drift? The thing your mind drifts to in idle moments is likely to be your idol. And if you are not prepared to think that this thing might be an idol, it almost certainly is!

Ps 115:9-11
We are to Trust Yahweh. Trust is what we exercise when we will fall flat on our faces if the thing we are trusting is not trustworthy. God is trustworthy. We can trust in him.

We are to look to Yahweh for Help. This is an active decision. Following Jesus leads to living a different way.

God is our Shield. Sometimes we need someone to stand behind for protection, but even in this position we are meant to advance rather than cower.

Those in debt need to know the God they can trust, who will help and who is a shield. If you are in debt you need to go to war against it. You need to:
• Get help [Secrecy is a killer. Talk to someone!]
• Go to a cash economy
• Only use a credit card where there is no payment alternative and clear it each month
• Don’t use credit cards as a form of overdraft
• Plan a budget and keep records
• Where radical action is needed, take radical action
• Honor God in your giving.

Ps 115:12-15
Yahweh’s default position is to bless his people, so we can ask for and give blessing! We are meant to increase, not decrease. We are meant to advance, not retreat.

Ps 115:16-18
This Psalm is not denying hope of life after death (it is very clear in its assumption of a literal heaven) but its focus is on the witness of God’s people on the earth here and now. We have been given the earth and we are to glorify God on the earth. The church is to be a glorious and victorious people. We are not simply hanging on for heaven but – on a mission for Jesus – are bringing heaven to earth.


Application Questions
• Why must we understand the mission of the church before we can understand giving to the church?
• What does it mean for you to be a missionary?
• How is the current economic crisis affecting your own financial position?
• What idols are you drawn towards and need to deny?
• In what ways do you need to know God as your Trust, your Help and your Shield?