USA Today wrote an article about Christians who continue to tithe while they are losing their homes to foreclosure. While the article attempted to explain why Christians tithe, without one actually being a Christian themselves, and having that relationship with God, one just isn’t going to quite ‘get it’. So further explanation may be in vain – but here goes.
There are many differing interpretations of scripture, even among Christians, regarding the modern application of tithing. Are we or are we not required to give a 10% tithe to the church today? That is the question. We have the Old Testament law – where tithing was required; and the New Testament covenant of grace – where generous giving from the heart is encouraged. We live under grace, not law.
“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace about to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
What does this mean? I personally interpret this to mean we are no longer bound by Old Testament law to give a 10% tithe; unless God specifically lays it upon our hearts to do so as a personal conviction – or we just want to cheerfully give it! We are not bound by scripture to do so. Of course, there is a lot more in scripture about tithing, but not wanting to go into a lengthy novel-long sermon on tithing, I’ve ‘cut to the heart of it’ and summarized it.
So what of these folks losing their homes and still giving a tithe to the church: should they still tithe? That seems to be the big question. Well I suppose it could depend on why they are in the situation of foreclosure (job loss, mis-spending of their money, etc…); but ultimately the answer is Yes and No.
- Yes – they should continue to tithe if they feel God has directed them to do so; or if they personally interpret scripture to believe they must.
- No – if they are tithing because they believe it’s going to earn them a spot in heaven (it won’t), or make them more holy, or because some preacher told them they have to.
I do not at all make light of tithing and giving to God; because one thing we can not do, is out-give God! God deserves our very best and everything we have is His anyway. I believe God knows our needs, He knows our heart and our heart’s intent – even when we aren’t honest about that intent to ourselves!
Tithing Time I personally do believe in tithing of our time. We give of ourselves – the best of ourselves – to God in service. If you are someone struggling financially. Give what you feel in your heart you can cheerfully give financially, then I suggest you volunteer your time. There are always others in need – and sometimes giving of your time is giving more value to another human being than your dollar ever could.
What do you think: should Christians continue to tithe if their home is being foreclosed? I’d love to know your comments; post them below.
This is a tough one.
I do believe we are required to give of our time, money, etc. There are scriptures in the NT to support this, such as Gal.6:10 “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” I think this would refer to giving what they need – could be money, time, encouragement, etc.
However, I also think about I Timothy 5:8, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and expecailly for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” So, we see that it is our responsibility to provide for our family,and I would say that having a place to live is one of those provisions:-)
So, I have presented both sides. Sorry, haven’t helped at all, have I?
Sorry for the misspelling. It should be “especially” – fingers on the wrong keys!
Thanks for your comment Laurie! I agree, scripture says we should care for those in need, especially those of our household: but scripture also says we are to leave no debt outstanding.
So I guess this argument could be taken a step even further to: how much debt should Christians (or anyone) really take on? I don’t believe it wrong for debt to be incurred at all. I believe there are plenty of scripture that discusses debts and payment of those to know that it’s not wrong to have debt at all, we just need to pay it back. But today’s society lives primarily on credit. We borrow far more than we can afford, with no concrete plan in place to pay it back. Folks are just living paycheck-to-paycheck paying minimums on everything, using credit cards to pay basic living expenses and that’s not always because food and gas prices are high, but because they have made poor financial choices themselves. They have bought houses they could not afford. Cars, vacations and ‘stuff’ they did not need and most of them, bought it on credit. Then they start ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’, which means use one credit card to pay one bill that’s due to free up room on that card to pay something else. They are in over their heads, so it’s no surprise when they lose their job, or hours get cut, it’s not long that they are so behind that foreclosure is looming. If they were still tithing during all this, tithing is not the problem.
So yes, Laurie, I agree, if a family member finally hits rock bottom and they lose their home – whether it was their own poor financial choices that landed them there, or not (and not everyone loses their home because they mis-spent their money!), then I believe family should help family. If there is no family – then their church family should help. This is the way God’s word has said it should be. No where is government mentioned in taking care of us.
I’d be interested to hear more thoughts on this from others.
Traci, I believe if someone has been tithing (whether it be a specified amount or just giving something each week) and they have been sound with their money they should continue to tithe. If you stop tithing when things get tough that’s like saying God can’t handle your situation and you take it out of His hands and put it into your own.
Traci,
I’m not sure I was clear on what I was saying with the second Scripture I mentioned. While I do believe that family should help family, what I was saying here was that I was questioning whether someone should still be tithing if they are losing their home. Because the Scripture says that we are to take care of our own household, I think providing a roof over the heads of our kids and spouse is a priority. So, I’m questioning whether, while something like this is going on (foreclosure), we should still be tithing. OR should we be doing all we can to provide for our household and wait to tithe until we are better able???