Who cares?

And I’m not talking about the tithe, but about its relevance. I mean, seriously, is there anything more irrelevant than diagnosing the relative relevance of binding moral issues? By its definition, universal principles are always relevant, so typically when I see the relevance of the tithe questioned, it betrays the questioner’s assumption that it does not, in fact, fall into the category of “universal principle”. Which is wrong, of course.

(Ok, I hereby promise not to use the word “relevant” or any of its variations for the remainder of the article…)

It may seem like a pretty big jump to say that a practice that was commanded in ancient Israel under the Old Covenant is still applicable today. Many Christians will say that tithing, or giving 10% of one’s income, was an Old Testament practice, and is no longer required for believers under the New Testament. They will say that tithing is an example of Law and that we are now under Grace. Instead of giving out of a strict requirement, they say, we now give out of our hearts, led by the Spirit. So how can I justify taking an Old Testament command and put it forward to fellow Christians as an obligation to follow today? My argument follows pretty simply:

1. There is a moral, natural law that transcends all times and cultures.
2. This law is summarized in the Ten Commandments.
3. The 8^th commandment – “Thou shall not steal” includes tithing.
4. Therefore, tithing is part of the moral law that transcends all times and cultures.

I’m going to take some liberties to assume points 1 and 2, and if you disagree, we can argue in the comments. But I have yet to hear anyone make the case that “Thou shall not murder” is just Old Testament law that is out of date and no longer binds people today. The other thing I will add is that tithing is not only contained in the Ten Commandments. For we see examples in Scripture of tithing before the Ten Commandments were given. That means that tithing was part of that natural understanding of right and wrong that believers didn’t need written out in stone in order to understand. Similar to murder. Cain did not have, or need, the physical Ten Commandments to tell him that he was wrong and guilty for murdering his brother, Abel. It was the law written on his heart. The same law written on your heart, and mine.

The two primary examples of tithing before the Law are Abel and Abraham. In Genesis 4, it says, “In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.” (Gen. 4:3-5). We can conclude from this that there is a natural expectation that offerings are to be brought before God, and even more specifically, the firstfruits (or tithe). Cain brought “an offering”. Abel brought “the firstborn”.

The second example is in Genesis 14 when Abraham (Abram at the time) tithes to Melchizedek, the king-priest of Jerusalem. This passage is full of rich significance, which the author of Hebrews picks up on in Hebrews 7. While a full exposition is beyond the scope of this article, what we gather from this is that Abram specifically gives “a tenth” (Gen. 14:20), and that Melchizedek is a type of Christ, meaning that if Melchizedek was worthy of receiving a tenth, how much more does Christ, the greater Melchizedek, have a right to our tithes? And both the tithes of Abel and Abram were before Israel or the Law existed.

Now, point #3 might raise some eyebrows. How is refusing to tithe, stealing? Well, Israel asked this same question. “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” (Malachi 3:8-10). Contained in the command “Thou shall not steal” are both positive and negative duties required. Things we should do and things we should avoid. It is not enough to just refrain from robbing banks. In addition, we should give to every person what they are owed. This means everything from returning your neighbor’s borrowed tools to offering tithes to God. I included verse 10 because it is a wonderful reminder that obeying God is good. He is gracious and promises that blessing will follow tithing. This does not mean that He doubles your money and sends it back to you. Believe it or not, there are more blessings in the world than money. But it does mean that you can never go wrong obeying God.

If tithing is part of the moral law of God binding on us today, then it is also how we love God, and how we fulfill the greatest commandment. Tithing, put simply, is nothing more than the monetary expression of loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. So, Christian, if you do not have a regular practice of tithing the question you must answer is: can you worship God with 100% of your heart if you cannot submit just 10% of your wallet?