Question:

I'm having a big struggle with tithing. For me to give 10% of my fortnightly income to the church is putting a strain on my household budget and there has been times when we've almost run out of food. Now I have tried finding scriptures where Jesus or the apostles mentioned tithing. Now I know the scripture talks about God loving a cheerful giver and also, “Render unto God the things that are God's....." I have tried to rationalize it but I can't. I feel really bad about it and it is impacting on my spirituality. I don't want to go to the pastor just yet as I am embarrassed about it, particularly since I'm starting to miss church. Maybe you can help me out with some friendly advice.

Answer:

Please believe me that I empathize with your situation, and I don't want to trivialize your situation in any way. My reply is to your general question. Ultimately, the notion of tithing is a personal matter between you and God because only God knows your heart.
 
First off, here is what I believe the Bible teaches regarding tithing:
 
1. The tithe is a universal concept. In Genesis (I think around chapter 13), Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek the king of Salem and the priest of God. This was hundreds of years before the Mosaic Law.
 
2. The tithe as prescribed by the Mosaic Law was specifically for the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel was set up as a theocratic nation meaning God was their ruler and the priests were his go-between. There were actually three tithes prescribed by the Law: two annual and one every three years. These were used to support the priestly caste and provide for the upkeep of the temple and for the holy feasts. Overall, the average Israelite family paid 23% of their "income" in tithes. You can almost say the tithe acted like today's income tax (much if this is detailed in Leviticus and Deuteronomy).
 
3. Offerings were over and above tithing. Tithes were required by Mosaic Law. Offerings were freewill gifts beyond the tithe to express praise and gratitude toward God for his abundant blessing.
 
4. Jesus never specifically did away with the tithe. Of course, that's an argument from silence, so cannot be used as proof. However, Jesus spoke more about money than he did any other subject because he didn't want his children becoming enslaved to wealth. Monetary wealth is one of the greatest roadblocks to Spirit-filled living. Jesus praised the widow from Mark 12 for giving "out of her poverty." Jesus asked the rich young ruler to sell all his possessions and build up heavenly treasure.
 
5. Jesus specifically said to his followers not to worry about food or clothing or shelter. He told us to seek after his kingdom, and he will provide for us these other things. This does not mean we are to foolishly give all our money away. What is does mean is we're to trust God to keep up his end of the bargain.
 
6. Though the word tithe is not specifically stated in the NT, it seems to be a good starting point for giving.
 
7. The NT does talk about sacrificial giving. As King David said in 2 Samuel, "I will not offer to God a sacrifice that cost me nothing." I believe that NT giving is meant to be done in faith and should stretch our faith a bit.
 
8. The tithe was taken from the "first fruits." Meaning that God's portion comes off the top. It is an act of faith that says, "What I have is yours God, so I am giving you back a portion of what I have to demonstrate that everything is yours."
 
Let me relate to you my own personal experience with this. I don't say this in order for you to do what I do. I offer it only as input on how I handled my own crisis concerning this.
 
When I first became a Christian, I knew that is was right to give something to the church, but my initial offerings were basically "pocket change." I usually gave what I had in my wallet (which wasn't much since I don't like to carry a lot of money). I heard some teaching on this subject and was moved to ramp up my giving, so I started to give 10% of my net income. The problem with the 10% number is that is can be used legalistically—i.e., it can be used to make some feel self-righteous (I give 10%, how about you?). For awhile, I felt self-righteous because I was giving 10% of my net income.
 
Then I realized that God doesn't NEED my measly 10%. It's not like God is up in heaven saying, "I hope Carl gives his 10%, things are pretty tight this month." The whole idea of giving was a measure of my faith and trust in God and my level of dependence on monetary wealth—did I control the money, or did the money control me? I came to the point that I realized my money was controlling me! I repented and covenanted to give 10% of my gross income (which was a significant bump in my giving, I definitely felt it). In addition to that, our church is in the middle of a three-year funding campaign and I'm giving to that over and above my tithe (that's really a stretch for me!). In order to make sure I don't over extend myself, I have had to alter my lifestyle (I was pretty selfish to begin with).
 
Again, I don't say all of the above to suggest you have to do things the way I did. I only say it to give you food for thought. My pastor is fond of saying that 90% with him and God is way better than 100% with him by himself. I feel blessed when I give because I feel that I am no longer enslaved to material wealth anymore (or at least to a much lesser degree).
 
How any of this works out in your specific situation, as I said earlier, is a personal matter between you and God. I would like to suggest that perhaps the impact this has had on your spiritual life and the bad feelings you have been having may be God's way of letting you know that you're not trusting him in all of this as you ought.

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