Thoughts on Tithing

1. Tithing isn't magic. Too often we read Malachi 3:10 as a promise that a gift of 10% of our income is an investment with quantifiable returns. A gift of $10 to God brings back $100! Well, no. (The context of the passage is about return of crops and protection from pests.) While we all know stories of people who began tithing and their businesses earned double and triple in the next year, I also know stories of people who gave and gave and gave and never made an extra dime. That God blesses some people some of the time in financial ways is to be expected. That it is only sometimes is proof that tithing isn't magic.

2. Tithing at a local, institutional church should be tied to that church's mission. If you cannot support the mission and work of an institutional church that you attend, then you're missing out on one of the privileges God's gift of the institutional church offers. I think belonging to an institutional church is a tremendous aid in the Christian life, but that it is not even close to the support needed and community available to friends of Jesus. The institutional church is not the whole of the Church. At times the institutional church can be a step to that support and into that community; at times it can be a hindrance. Still, tithing at an institutional church is one of the most important ways to achieve your own buy-in to its mission. You start to add your voice; your hands and feet; your prayers to its life when your money is there. As Jesus said, where your money is, there your heart will be also. If your church's mission is not one you can support, then consider finding one you can! Don't settle for less!

3. Tithing is about character. By this I don't mean that people who don't tithe don't have strong character, because there are times when people must stop tithing for financial reasons. By saying "Tithing is about character" I mean that the practice itself--whether it is given to an institutional church, a Christian mission, families / individuals in need--is about practicing who you want to become. A standard gift from the top has enabled me to become better with the following 90% because of a change in character in two specific ways. First, I have become more devoted and joyful in a simple lifestyle. The other 90% of my money simply goes further because of what I now (don't) desire to spend it on. Second, I have become more generous. I don't mean I give away more money; I mean that I want to give away more--of my time, of my food, of my books...of me.

4. Bad thoughts on tithing have abused people, heaping needless feelings of shame and guilt, even from well-meaning people, onto many people. Sometimes those who have given over and again, even when they didn't have it to give, are precisely those who the church should be helping with the tithes and offerings of others. As such, I think tithing is best taught on as a privilege and opportunity.