Tithing: Net, Gross, and How Much?
It seems most every Christian has an opinion (usually a highly emotional one) on the issue of tithing. The New Testament never explicitly commands tithing (the practice of giving 10% of one's income to God) as was the case in the Old Testament. Scripture does state that,
"Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7, ESV).
The practice of tithing, however, still remains a good "starting point" on giving to the Lord's church. The controversy remains, however, whether one should tithe on one's gross total income before taxes are taken out, or should one tithe after the taxes are taken out of one's income and given to the government?
Dr. Mark Coppenger has an insightful view on this issue. You may read the article in its entirety here. Coppenger says:
"By my light, if we net-tithe, then we give the government the "first fruit" of our increase, and then the church gets a cut of the leftovers. But when you tithe the gross, you say, in effect, to the state, "Whatever you do, I’m giving first to the Lord, and then you can do as you wish to what remains. If that puts me in a bind, so be it, but your tax policies will not determine my manner of churchmanship."
Tithing as a manner of churchmanship is a good idea. Likewise, continuing with the rest of 2 Corinthians 9, verse 8-9 state, "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, 'He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.'" (ESV)
Therefore, how much should one tithe? One should tithe as much as one wants to be blessed by God. And by using the terminology, blessed, I am not referring to exlusive financial blessings. God blesses in more ways then purely monatarily. So, brothers and sisters in Christ, give abundantly and freely because God loves and blesses the cheeful giver with what is sufficient through His grace.
posted by Charlie Wallace at
7:33 PM
7 Comments:
I don't mean to butt my head into a position that frankly I don't really care that much about. But you have to be kidding me.
"Therefore, how much should one tithe? One should tithe as much as one wants to be blessed by God."
So basically you're saying that the more you give (monetarily), the more you will recieve from God, be it blessings or good fortune. This has got to be some kind of holloween joke. This goes against everything I was taught about what is "good" about church. Essentially you're saying that the central focus of the church and religion is money.
The quote from Coppenger is equally rediculious. If giving 10% of Net puts you in a bind, then so be it? I think God would be more concerned that your kids get the clothes that they need and the electricity so they can go to school.
McFeely,
Scripture clearly states that God will bless you if you give to Him. "Bless" does not mean you will be given more money, have your credit card debt erased, etc. There are many blessings in life that God gives us...frankly, the Bible says that every good thing comes from God. Please don't think I'm talking about monetary blessings from God in response to giving...thats the Health/Wealth gospel that Joel Osteen and the TV guys preach, and frankly, its from the pit of Hell.
Also, part of giving (even if you think you're in a bind) allows God to bless us in ways we never thought and thus it increases our faith in Him, which in turn, brings glory to Him.
I'm curious, what were you taught is 'good' about church?
I'm not talking about God giving you monetary blessings for giving, I'm talking about you saying the more MONEY you give to the church the more God will bless you. Your statement comes off as is God's love is for sale. There are plenty of people who cannot afford to give money, so they do things like volunteer for Habitat, or have a bake sale. Everything "good" I was taught about the church was that everyone was equal. Money is of no issue. As long as you give your heart to God, that's all that matters. But now you say that if I give the Church a million dollars I will recieve a million times more blessings than the person who volunteers 20 hours a week?
I think that Charlie is saying the opposite of your last question, McFeely. If a Christian operates on the principle that everything they do in life is worship, then that does not exclude the way she uses her time and money.
I am uncomfortable with the language of "if you give time/money, God will bless you" for some of the same reasons you expressed, McFeely. That language has been so abused and twisted by men and women over the years who extorted Christians in order to line their own pockets. Nevertheless, it is a biblical principle, but NEVER to be the underlying motivation behind the act of giving.
God's love is never for sale, because the stark truth is that there is nothing we can ever do to merit such love. The Christian gospel (the heart of Christianity) is a message about a God who loves us despite our unworthiness, and GAVE himself up for our sake. Since God has given all of Himself, He cannot be a heavenly tyrant who demands that you pay Him financial homage. Rather, a heart that has been so radically touched by His gift of Himself delights in bringing what little he can as an expression of gratitude. The money is a gift of gratitude to be used to help more people be touched with that same love.
Drew pretty much summed it up.
McFeely, I never once said, "if you give." I said give (out of the cheerfulness of your heart) and experiences the blessing that come with giving. One blessing is the satisfaction that you are serving your Lord. The woman who gave everything she had to Jesus, though it was not much, was exceedingly blessed in many ways. The person who holds back and puts God second in life does not experience the blessing of serving the Lord because God is not his first priority and his heart is not right.
Your exact words are "Therefore, how much should one tithe? One should tithe as much as one wants to be blessed by God" Since the word tithe refers only to money you are saying: One should give as much money as one wants to be blessed by God. Even your boy Drew said he is uncomfortable with what you said. I think you should be very careful with the way you say things because you ARE saying that God's love is for sale.
Thank you, McFeely, for your revisionist take on the original authorial intent of my written words.
Nice picture.
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