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What Does the Bible Say About Giving Less than 10%?

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We are starting our series of posts called “Tithing on Trial” and begin with this argument defending tithing.

ARGUMENT #1
There is no place in the Bible where it says to give less than a tithe.

There are plenty of examples in scripture where the Israelites gave an offering or a sacrifice that was less than 10% of their increase. To say that there is no place in the bible where it says to give less than 10% is a closed-minded and ignorant statement.

If we want to get technical about giving, we should remind ourselves that there is no place in the bible where it encourages us to offer less than 100%. If you want to dissect this even further, God doesn’t require us to give back 100%, he requires us to give back 100% plus interest. We can see this concept in the parable of the bags of Gold in Matthew 25:14-30.  “…Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?  Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest…”

In this parable a master leaves three servants entrusted with his riches while he’s away on a journey. When he comes back, the master finds that two of the servants give back even more than what was given to them, but finds the third servant returning only 100% what he was given. Although this parable is ultimately about lost souls, we can reflect on the implications this has on stewardship in general. This parable shines new light into my heart and brings conviction about how i should truly view stewardship and giving.

9 Occurrences Where Giving Was Less than 10% in the Old Testament

  1.  Abraham – Gave from the spoils of war and not a tenth from his own wealth. (Hebrews 7:4)
  2. Israel – They were only required to offer 1/500 of the spoils of war. (Numbers 31:9, 27-29)
  3. The poor – They received but never gave from their gifts. (Nehemiah 10:38)
  4. Occupational income (Not including farming and herding) – Doctors, Lawyers, Carpenters, etc didn’t tithe from their increase. (Leviticus 27)
  5. First fruit offerings – This included a small portion of first of the crop. This was the first offering of the crops as well as the best and was less than a tithe. (Exodus 23:16)
  6. High Priests – The Levites tithed to the house of Aaron, but what did the house of Aaron give from the tithe they received? As far as I know, it wasn’t a tithe. (Numbers 18:8-20)
  7. Temple Tax – Only a half Shekel was used for the maintenance of the Temple. The Bible states, “The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less” (Exodus 30:13-16)
  8. Herdsmen – Every tenth animal was given as a tithe, this means if a farmer had 9 cows, he was commanded to give 0%. If he had 19 cows, he gave 5.3% etc. (Leviticus 27:30-33)
  9. Promised Land – The Israelites gave no tithes from animals or agriculture they raised outside the promised land of Israel (Deuteronomy 12:5)

A misconception about tithing is the belief that everyone was required to give tithes off everything. The Bible repeatedly clarifies that the tithe was only given from the crops or animals, which means that tithes were not given off of wages earned from other occupational incomes. Bankers, lawyers, doctors, blacksmiths and carpenters did not give a single cent from their occupational income. On the other hand if they garnished an increase from their herds or from their personal crops, they were to give the tenth one to God. One can only conclude that some carpenters may not have tithed at all if they never had crops or animals.

If you read every single bible verse about tithing from the time it was commanded to the end of scripture, you will see that neither money nor other goods were involved in tithing. Even when Jesus spoke to the Pharisees in the New Testament about tithing (Matthew 23), he confirmed that herbs and spices from the garden were to be tithed upon.

Many people also forget that the poor received the tithe; they didn’t give it (Deuteronomy 14:28,29). There is no scripture stating that the poor must give back 10% of what was donated to themselves. As you can see, this is another group of people that not only gave less than 10% of their increase but in reality were benefactors without even being a contributor.

I’m sure there are some of you who think I am looking at tithing legalistically, and I’m focusing on the legalities of the Mosaic law instead of tithing under grace. There is a pre-mosaic example of Abraham’s tithe which didn’t include animals or crops that we can look at. But let’s compare scripture with scripture and really understand whether or not Abraham’s example prior to the law sets the tone for tithing throughout scripture. Let’s read Numbers 31:25-30, “Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Count up the plunder that was taken–of man and beast–you and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation; and divide the plunder into two parts, between those who took part in the war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation. And levy a tribute for the LORD on the men of war who went out to battle: one of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep; take [it] from their half, and give [it] to Eleazar the priest as a heave offering to the LORD. And from the children of Israel’s half you shall take one of every fifty, drawn from the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep, from all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.'”

I know it is kind of a lengthy passage, but in summary, God just told Israel to divide the spoils of war in half, take 1/500 of the first half and give it to the family of the high priest, and then take 1/50 of the second-half and give it to the Levites. For those of us who are bad at math, I had a genius figure this out for me, and it seems the Israelites gave 2.005% of the spoils of war to God. So, in other words, this is a clear example where Israel was commanded to give less than 10% of their increase.

Now that the evidence has been given in this court of law, it is your turn to decide; Does the Bible allow less than 10% of your increase- Guilty or not guilty?

YOU BE THE JUDGE

Does the Bible allow less than 10%?

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What’s the Difference Between Spirit-led, Freewill, & Grace Giving?

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I hate being picky about terminology, but I feel this issue is important enough to be picky about. Many non-tithers use the terms “freewill giving”, “Spirit led giving”, and “grace giving” to describe how they give. The only problem is that the use of some of these terms to describe their philosophy of giving send out mixed messages. In this post I am going to describe the difference between spirit-led, freewill, & grace giving. I will tell you why grace & freewill giving is not a term that clearly describes our opposing view about tithing. In the end I will tell you why “Spirit led” giving is the correct terminology that does illuminate the differentiating properties between tithing and new covenant giving.

Here’s the issue, people who enforce tithing tend to say, “i believe in grace giving and I believe in freewill giving, it’s just that i believe 10% is the starting point.” I would venture to say, that they are probably right – they do believe in grace and freewill giving. Their motivation to tithe may not be as if it were a law; their motivation is because they are under God’s grace and love. The issue is that they are led by a law, not by the Spirit.

What is Freewill Giving?

I’m not going to pull up dictionary definitions, but generally, I believe that everyone has freewill. Whether you believe tithing is commanded or not, you believe that God doesn’t force you to do something. So freewill giving is a very broad definition. By nature, the term “freewill” doesn’t describe attributes that are against tithing. Tithing can be freewill also.

What is Grace Giving?

Ok, so grace giving sounds much more definitive right? After all, the Old Testament was under the law and we are under grace, so anyone who tithes is still under the law, right? Well, many tithers claim that they are under grace as well, simply for the fact that they are free from the curse. Typically these are the ones that tell you that the tithe is not a law that you will be punished for, and yet in the same sentence convince you how the tithe is the minimum, and God expects you to give it. Hence they somehow morph an old testament concept to fit under the new covenant relationship. Regardless, yes, we are all under grace whether we believe in tithing or not. So, the term, “grace giving” doesn’t exactly describe the attributes that are against tithing either.

What is Spirit Led Giving?

Here it is: Spirit led giving. What’s significant about this term? Simply the fact that the Holy Spirit is the sole distinguishing factor between the saints of the Old Testament and those of us under the New Testament. You see, neither Abraham, Moses, Noah, Jacob, King David, or Isaac had the gift of the Spirit. Their communication with God was between them and an earthly priest. They did not have personal communication with God. Only the priest, who entered the Holy of Holies had that privilege.

The most bizarre concept to me about tithing, is that God can’t trust his Spirit to help you make the right decision as to where you can give the first 10%, but he can trust his Spirit to guide you with offerings? Spirit led giving puts the Holy Spirit in control of what you do with every single penny. Don’t confuse, “spirit led” with “spirit filled”. Both terms are totally different concepts. Spirit-led is receiving instructions from the Holy Spirit as your source as opposed to using scripture to dictate your actions. Spirit filled is more or less obtaining character attributes of God.

I guess another term that would be safe to use is “new covenant giving“. When you debate others about tithing, this terminology stuff can get nit-picky, and sometimes frustrating. Next time you talk with someone about tithing, i challenge you to use the term “spirit-led giving”.

What do you think about all this terminology? Do you think it matters? Do you call your giving something different? If you do, I’d like to hear it.