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Shekels & Sense
How then, shall we give?
by Sam Nadler

Q. Sam, I have a couple of tithing questions. We have always tithed 10% of our gross income. We were taught to do that and I have no problem with it, but my wife and I were discussing tithing being a biblical directive vs. a healthy spiritual discipline. I understand the ‘first fruits’ concept, but it has always seemed to me that there is not a New Testament directive with regard to giving 10%. It seemed that [Yeshua] was saying that we should give freely, even sacrificially, with joy and not out of a sense of compunction. Thoughts? Thanks, Frank*

A. Hi Frank, Although most people consider a tithe to be 10 % of one’s gross income, under the Torah the total tithe came to about 23% a year (2 yearly tithes, plus an additional tithe every 3 years. Wow!) Keep in mind though, in God’s plan the tithe funded the priesthood, as well as Israel’s government.

Regarding tithing, at one point in Israel’s history God declared through His prophet Malachi, “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Mal. 3:8-10). God takes our giving seriously, and here He expresses His earnest desire to bless and take care of His people, and to make His faithfulness known. However, greed and unbelief, even by God’s own people, tie His hands regarding His blessing in our lives.

The purpose of tithing is to teach us always to put God first in our lives.“Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year...that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always” (Deut. 14:22,23). Even if one chooses to practice “the 10% tithe” found in the Torah, my question would be, “Should we do less under grace than we would do under the law?”

Giving 10% of our income to God’s work and ministry is a biblical norm (see Matt. 23:23; Heb. 7:4-10).

 Regarding ‘New Covenant giving,’ 2 Corinthians 9:7 says that, “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Our giving should be done graciously, and out of an appreciation for the work of God being conducted both in our own lives and even around the world. Since the Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, one way to look at giving is not, how much of my money am I giving to God; but, how much of God’s money am I spending on myself? Rather than ‘owners’, we are simply stewards of what God has entrusted to us.

A Practical Plan for Your Future
“The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets” (Prov. 21:20). Consider the “10-10-80 PLAN”. Give to God 10%. Save 10%. Live on 80%. If you’re 30 years old making $30,000 and follow this principle, at 55 you would have given $50,000 to God’s work and saved $171,000. To sum it up, giving is a matter of gratitude and trust, as Yeshua said, “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return” (Luke 6:38). So purpose in your heart, as a good steward, and decide what is right for you; have a good attitude in giving; and remember, you’re investing in eternity.
In Messiah, Sam. Y

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