Tithing and Giving


From my earliest years of being a Christian I was aware of the need to give to God for his works, and the biblical example of the tithe (one tenth of what your income) was a standard I tried to meet. It can be very hard seeking to make ends meet whilst trying to give a tenth to Gods’ work. Particularly when we can see around us those that are able to have more holidays, more money for nice things, better houses etc because they do not follow this standard.  

Yet Jesus again assumed that his followers would give to his work. Matt 6:2 says “When you give” – not if. Jesus assumed his disciples would give. Indeed practicing and devout Jews would give a tithe and gifts that could amount to one sixth of their income.

If we look once more at what Christ has done for us, giving his life whilst we still rejected him, with no thought for himself. Jesus took the risk and paid the price for us. Faced with such generosity can we reject the needs of his work. It is not as if Jesus benefits from the money we give, rather he seeks it to spread the good news, and offer help to those with greatest need.


To Jesus however the issue was more about how to give (privately and secretly) which we must also take to heart. To give it the Lord is to do his work, to give to be noticed is to trumpet ours – not the way Christ would have lived. Our giving should be a consequence of the love, kindness and concern for others that Christ showed whilst on earth, but it also breaks the control that materialism has over us, always striving for more and better things which is a temptation to bring the focus back to me.


If you have an example to share that may help and encourage others, please do respond with a comment.
Posted by Fellow Traveller at 15:48  
 
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1 comments:


Anonymous said...
I remember a number of years ago listening to some tapes of a powerful American preacher who stresses the importance of tithes and gifts. He made the point that tithes were rather like taxes – we should pay these to Christ’s work as his due, but that on top we should offer generous gifts as we would offer presents to those that we loved. At the time with a young family and my wife having given up work to bring up our children, I struggled with the need for gifts as well as tithes and found it hard to accept. Over the next six years my income almost doubled and yet all the time I seemed to be struggling to manage to give a tithe let alone any gifts on top. It seems the more I earned the more money I needed to pay for what I had, and it wasn’t until I lost my job. With no income I needed to cut down on our outgoings and so we examined how we were spending money. Living in the UK where the National Health Service may be struggling with the demands placed upon it, I could still be assured of essential treatment for free if I needed it. For less urgent things I may have to wait, yet I felt I needed to be able to have private medical insurance for myself and the family as well so I could get any treatment when and where I needed it. Whilst I do not say that private medical provision is wrong, I do believe we need to be careful about our priorities in life if we are struggling to give to Christ and his work his dues. There are millions in this world that struggle to receive even basic medical help, surely my priority should be to ensure I give my tithe to this activity prior to affording myself the luxuries of private as well as public health provision. Whilst this is just one example, the experience of losing my job and needing to question hard the things that I and my family truly needed, rather than just wanted, has helped me prioritise tithing and gifts for the years ahead. Although I do not yet have a stable or secure job as I write, I have set a budget to ensure that if I am fortunate to once again earn a generous salary I will first and foremost allow for tithing and gifts to Christ work prior to providing extra luxuries to myself and my family.
5 June 2011 16:19 
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