Tithing... Giving...
What Does God Want You to Do?

These common tithing and giving FAQ can help you come to an understanding of how God wants us to give.

Dave Briggs, head of the Good Sense ministry at Willow Creek Community Church, provides straight answers to the giving questions that people often wrestle with.

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Tithing Question #1:

"My fiancé and I differ on giving. I tithe 10% of my income and see it as a matter of faith.

I give with joy knowing that God will take care of my needs...and He always has.

My fiancé thinks that you should only give after your debts and bills have been paid and he decreases his tithe if an unexpected bill comes up.

What does the Bible say?"

Before I answer your question, let’s talk about why I believe in tithing in the first place.

The tithe (10%) has been practiced throughout biblical history as an important expression of our willingness to release and give back a portion of our resources to God under His leadership.

The first mention of the tithe in Genesis 14:18-20, shows Abraham giving a tithe as a tangible recognition of being under a spiritual authority greater than himself.

But beyond that ... when Jesus taught about giving it was not merely the “act of giving” but the deeper concept of "being" givers.

We see giving in the New Testament being done between 10% and 100%. (Remember the widow who gave all she had in Luke 21?) Other examples of giving far beyond 10% are shown throughout the New Testament, particularly in Acts 4 and II Corinthians 8.

When you become a "giver" by nature, you desire to give to God to please Him and further His work.

For Christ followers who really grab hold of that concept, the 10% becomes the starting point, not the ceiling.

Based on the whole of Scripture, it is a great place to start, but an insufficient place to end.

The Pharisees were very good at the “doing” part, but Jesus was not happy with the condition of their hearts.

With regard to giving a tithe before or after some of the bills are covered. Proverbs 3:9-10 says, “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim with new wine.”

First fruits represents both the first of your crops and the best of your crops.

The idea being that you give the first and best to that which is most important in your life.

It is a tangible representation of the highest priority in your life.

When we give from our very first dollar earned, it shows God is first in our lives.

When I give after paying other bills and obligations ... there is something else that has become a higher priority than God.

If taxes are paid first, then the government has the real first fruits.

If retirement or medical insurance or social security tax or credit card bills or whatever are paid before the tithe to God ... then God has become the third or fourth priority.

The Bible is clear that God blesses our “first fruits” giving.

Tithing Question #2:

"My wife is not a believer, and we are far from an affluent family. I am the sole income and I try to keep spending to a minimum. I believe Malachi 3:10, and I am trying to get to a point where I am giving a full tithe. I give weekly, but always in cash, as I fear the consequences of my wife discovering I give so much to the church.

I do not want to keep things from her, but at the same time, I want to give back to God for all the blessings in my life.

Do you have any suggestions?"

When we marry we become in God's eyes "one flesh." I believe God wants us to do everything we can to develop a "one mind" approach as a married couple and to be open and honest in jointly managing our resources.

You may find that as you pray and engage in honest discussion with your wife about your desire to tithe, perhaps over time she will support your commitment to give.

In addition, giving cash may be costing you a legitimate tax deduction which would allow you to increase your giving for the same impact on your total expenses.

Many couples have found that living on a good working budget has facilitated positive communication about money and giving. If you do not have a good budget we can help you here at Financial Freedom Trail, attend a seminar or workshop to help you get started or purchase a book that can help you develop one.

Tithing Question #3:

"I have always heard that we should give our 10% to the Lord’s work, but where in the Bible does it tell us where our gift should go?"

This is a great question that a lot of people are asking. In Malachi 3 we are instructed to bring our tithes into the storehouse.

Because this is a very specific instruction, we need to find out more about what the storehouse was.

In biblical times there were four main functions of a storehouse:

• To care for the needs of the Levites
• To care for the needs of the prophets
• To care for the needs of the Jewish widows and orphans
• To care for the needs of the Gentile widows and orphans

If you were to translate that into a modern context, you would see that the Levites were the rough equivalent of church pastors and staff ... the prophets would be missionaries ... then the next two would address the needs of those inside the God’s family and those outside the circle of believers.

That pretty much lines up with a key part of the mission of the New Testament church and to the degree that the local church is acting as a "modern day storehouse" then I believe the tithe should be brought to the local church.

Tithing Question #4:

"We just inherited some money and I want to know the biblical perspective on giving.

Should we tithe on the interest that will be earned as it is invested or the total amount of the inheritance or both?"

In Deuteronomy, we are told the tithe is based on the “increase” in the goods and crops that represented God’s blessing during a given period.

In biblical times, if you “inherited” some camels then that would represent an increase in your wealth and would be the basis for a tithe.

When the camels had offspring, that would also represent an “increase” and they would also be tithed. Following that example, both the inheritance and the interest represent an increase in wealth and would be the basis for your tithe.

Tithing Question #5:

"In a meeting with our retirement counselor last night he asked a question I could not answer. What is the church’s position on using a portion of the tithe to purchase a policy that will have the church as beneficiary?"

In my view, this is a bad idea.

The biblical examples of giving involve "bringing your gift to God on a regular basis to God's house."

The advice you got may sound good from a "logical human perspective" but is not a biblical perspective.

Current ministry needs are ongoing and more can be accomplished to further God’s work with the tithe being put immediately to use.

Tithing Question #6:

"I have heard about the 10/10/80 plan which teaches 10% giving, 10% savings and 80% living expenses as a recipe for financial stability and freedom.

I have a couple of questions related to this that I hope you can answer …

1. Is the 10% tithing supposed to be based on gross or net earnings?

2. Does the 10% savings include 401k monies or should it be 10% in addition to that?"

Let’s tackle the second question first. A 401(k) is a type of savings ... so I would say that counts as part of the 10% to get you started.

Obviously, if you can go beyond the 10% that would be great ... but if you are saving at least 10% including your 401(k) you are in line with the concept of 10-10-80.

You do not want to save all of the 10% in your 401(k).

You need a fund for emergencies as well as a fund to cover replacement of things like the washing machine, hot water heater, the roof, etc.

One of the problems with the simplicity of 10-10-80 is it can be a bit confusing with regard to giving.

I firmly believe the Bible teaches 10% of giving is on Gross, rather than net ... but it does require a little tweaking of the equation.

The proper Biblical order is to give back to God 10% of the "Gross" ... then you can pay your taxes and other stuff … then save 10% and then live off the rest.

The verses in Proverbs 3 use the words "first fruits."

First fruits represents, from an agricultural standpoint, both the FIRST of your crops and the BEST of your crops.

The idea being that you give the first and best to that which is most important in your life and is a tangible representation of the highest PRIORITY in your life.

It is because of this that the gross versus net issue has always been a fairly black and white one to me.

When I give from my very first dollar earned, it shows God is first in my life.

When I give of my “net” ... there is something else in my life that has become a higher priority than God.

If I pay my taxes first, then the government has my real first fruits.

If I pay my retirement or medical insurance or social security tax or whatever BEFORE I tithe to God ... I feel like I have made God the third or fourth priority in my life as expressed through the choices I make with the money He has allowed me to earn.

Proverbs 3:9-10Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

Tithing Question #7:

"My wife is not a believer and I am the sole wage earner. We are both good with our money and don’t overspend.

I believe in the importance of the tithe am trying to get to a point where I am giving a full 10% but my wife does not support me in this.

I give weekly, but always in cash, as I fear the consequences of my wife discovering I give so much to the church. I do not want to keep things from her, but at the same time, I want to give back to God for all the blessings in my life.

What suggestions do you have?"

When we marry we become in God's eyes "one flesh."

I believe God wants us to do everything we can to develop a "one mind" approach as a married couple and to be open and honest in jointly managing our resources.

You may find that as you pray and engage in honest discussion with your wife about your desire to tithe, perhaps over time she will support your commitment to give.

In addition, giving cash may be costing you a legitimate tax deduction which would allow you to increase your giving for the same impact on your total expenses.

Many couples have found that living on a good working budget has facilitated positive communication about money and giving.

See if you can get your wife to agree to attend a Good Sense event that will get you started—not only on developing a stronger budget but in opening up new lines of communication about your finances. And keep praying for her.

Tithing Question #9:

"I just received a huge sum of money from a small business I just sold and I want help with the biblical perspective on tithing.

Should I tithe on the interest that will be earned as this money is invested or the total amount of the sale proceeds or both?"

In Deuteronomy, we are told the tithe is based on the “increase” in the goods and crops that represented God’s blessing during a given period.

In biblical times, if you were given some sheep or goats then that would represent an increase in your wealth and would be the basis for a tithe.

When the animals had offspring, that would also represent an “increase” and they would also be tithed. Following that example, both the money from the sale and the interest represent an increase in wealth and would be the basis for your tithe.

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