There is an article in today's (11/23/07) Wall Street Journal (page W1 for print subscribers) or here for online subscribers outlining some of the debate on tithing in the church today.

Some pastors and theologians have stopped advocating tithing, as they see it as an Old Testament custom, instead of a command from God.

The article is slanted towards those who oppose tithing, as they have provided many opinions from people who are against tithing, but there was limited information quoted from those who support tithing.
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As the article states, references to tithing are mostly found in the Old Testament.  Malachi 3:10 is most often quoted.

There are also instances where tithing is discussed in the New Testament.

One instance is found in Luke 18:9-14, the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.  From this, we see that tithing is not sufficient for salvation.

Another instance can be found in Matthew 23:23, where Jesus proclaimed (NIV), "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former."  Here we find that tithing is commanded but is less important than justice, mercy and faithfulness.  So, it seems that we are still called to give a tenth of what we have to God.

Many of arguments about tithing - - gross or net, should we do it, etc - - tend to miss the point.  Rather than being legalistic, we should focus on whether or not we are being as generous toward God as we can.  Recall the story of the widow's mite, found in Luke 21:1-4.  Here, there were many rich people who were making very large contributions.  A very poor widow came and gave two very small coins.  Jesus commended the widow, for she gave sacrificially.

The fact is that for most of us in the United States today, giving a tenth of what we earn is not sacrificial giving.  We are a very rich nation, so our giving toward God, while large in dollar terms, is not large in terms of percentage of what we own.  In fact, many of us would need to give much more than a tenth to approach anything resembling a sacrificial gift.

We are called to store up treasures in Heaven, instead of on earth. Are we giving as if we want to gain treasure in Heaven?

Jesus taught that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.  Does our giving reflect our love of God, or do we love our toys more?  From the Wall Street Journal article, it seems as if we are arguing about ways to keep more of our toys.



 

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