Just as many things in the Old Testament are misunderstood and misapplied by many modern churches, the issue of tithing has become seriously twisted in modern Christianity. In the Old Testament, tithing was effectively a series of taxes designed to support the Levitical priesthood. Since the Levites had no inheritance with Israel, but instead the Lord was their inheritance (Deuteronomy 18:1-2), they were materially supported by these tithes. It's worth noting that there were actually multiple tithes in effect in the Old Testament (one for the Levites, one for the use of the temple and feasts, and one for the poor), bringing the total to about 23%, as opposed to the commonly understood 10%.
The very nature of tithing means that actually, it doesn't exist in the New Testament. As Hebrews 7:12 tells us, a change in the priesthood requires a change in the law. The Levitical priesthood of the Old Testament has changed; the whole Church are now priests, operating under Christ as our High Priest. Because of the change in the priesthood, there must have been a change in the law.
Christians will search in vain for "tithing" in the New Testament. In fact, there is no command to give any percentage of anything, least of all with the promise of some kind of reward. There is not even a "recommended minimum". Tithing, therefore, is actually unBiblical, and in fact, it actually causes problems.
But some Christians are so passionate about their beliefs about tithing that hearing me say that, they will automatically assume I am promoting selfishness. I can say it as loud and as clearly as I want, I am not against Christians setting aside a portion of their income, even if that portion is greater than 10%, and dedicating it to the Lord. In fact, as I will expound upon in a moment, I strongly recommend giving. It is specifically "tithing" I am "against", and even then, I am not really against it.
First, let me explain the problems with "tithing". The first and most obvious is that it is vitally important to take Scripture as we find it. Even for a "noble cause", we do not get to alter Scripture. It is not our job to conceal Scriptures we don't trust people to apply properly, nor is it our job to add to Scripture in order to encourage "good" behavior. To alter Scripture, by addition or omission, is explicitly sinful. Therefore, because the New Testament does not command Christians to tithe, nor does it promise reward for doing so, it is actually a sin to say it does.
Aside from being sinful in and of itself, it actually leads to further sin, starting with greed and stinginess. This depends on the extent of the tithe teachings of a given church. Tithing is a common feature of the so-called "Prosperity Gospel", wherein God promises prosperity for certain actions. This may not even need to cause greed, it just generally attracts greedy people. If you tell someone who already wants to be rich "God wants you to be rich, too", of course they're going to be interested. And if you tell them "so give 10% of your income to our church and God will reward you", they're going to want to give that 10%, not out of the goodness of their heart, but simply out of desire to get that 10% back with interest.
Of course, this generally doesn't work out to begin with. Not that God is unable to reward a good deed, be it in this life or the next, but simply because He is unmotivated to reward greed. "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." (James 4:3). The only ones who really get rich from the Prosperity Gospel are the con artists who sell it. The people who actually give 10% of their income to these con artists don't get anything back from the con artists, because they're con artists, and they don't get anything back from God because they only gave 10% in order to get something back, not in order to please Him.
Furthermore, when you attribute things to God that God did not promise, you actually breed unbelief. A lot of unbelief actually does come from Christians misrepresenting God in some way. Ask any atheist why they don't believe in God, there is a high chance you will find you don't believe in that god either. "I was told if I gave 10% of my income to my church, God would reward me, but instead I just ran up a debt" is not an ideal reason for someone to lose their Christian faith.
Furthermore, I mentioned stinginess. When you recommend a minimum, the chances are people will be tempted to do that minimum. But then, when you ask that person to do more, that "more", ironically, becomes the new minimum. You become trapped between making up ever-increasing minimums that Scripture nowhere mentions, all for sake of handling genuinely stingy Christians, and, ironically, just admitting there is no such minimum.
But not all Christians are stingy. Some Christians tithe because they genuinely believe this is what God would want them to do. These Christians then begin to ask "can I stop tithing, or pay less tithes, in this difficult scenario?" Rather than being good and faithful stewards, they start trying to meet imaginary rules, and feeling bad if, for whatever reason, this becomes a serious problem for them.
The flip side of this is that, stingy or not, some Christians may feel a sense of pride in their giving. Note Jesus' words in Matthew 6: "“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly." (Matthew 6:1-4).
Motive really matters in charity. In fact, later on, in 1 Corinthians 13, Paul tells us that we can give everything, right up to our very bodies, it will remain utterly meaningless if we do not have love. Pride, selfishness, greed, these are all poor motives that ultimately mean you can give 100% and still make God angry.
Having explained these problems, let's have a look at what the Bible actually says about giving and see why that is a better system.
I'm actually going to start with an interesting passage that addresses a particularly stingy Christian. His name was Ananias, and we read about him in Acts 5. "But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”" (Acts 5:1-4).
At first glance, one might question my choice of this scripture. Ananias, after all, is actually killed for this particular sin. But notice, the sin was not withholding anything from God. Rather, it was lying about it. Peter is annoyed that Ananias has lied to God, but note what he says about the land/price thereof: "While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control?" From this, we see that actually, what you own is yours to control. You can't be compelled to give it.
Here's where the tide turns, however. Notice Paul's words to the Corinthians: "But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7).
From this, we see that the New Testament principle is not "give this figure as a minimum", but rather, don't give out of necessity or grudgingly, but cheerfully, and as you purpose in your heart. Some translations say "not under compulsion".
I recently debated a tithing advocate on this recently, and she played off of that wording, suggesting that tithing isn't about compulsion, but rather we are compelled to tithe by our love for God. This, she followed up by saying a poor Christian shouldn't feel too bad about only giving 5-9%. To this, I asked if a rich person must give more? Rather than giving a simple yes or no, she then went off on a spiel about how a Christian should want to give more, and it is unfathomable that they wouldn't. I reminded her, as I had already repeatedly told her throughout the discussion, that I'm not against cheerful giving, but twisting the Old Testament to create a specific requirement for Christians today, and pressed her for a simple yes or no answer. This is where she decided to end the discussion.
Now, I'm not one to assume motive. I can't read minds, I don't know an individual's heart, and this is just one random woman who jumped on me on Facebook, so I don't even know her as a person in general. But given the implications of both a yes and a no, I'm guessing she realised, at that point, that she'd been caught out.
The implication of a "yes" is that the tithe is not given out of love, but indeed, out of compulsion/necessity, which is precisely what Paul is speaking against. But the implication of a no is simply that her view is incorrect. If a rich person cannot be compelled to specifically lay aside 10% for the Lord, then there is no tithe. Unless, of course, she can bring another scripture showing that there is a 10% minimum.
This same scripture, which I would say is sufficient on its own to stand against even a "recommended minimum", nevertheless tells us that God loves a cheerful giver! Each of us should give as we purpose in our hearts. We may well decide on 10% of our income in our hearts, and be glad to give it. No problem what so ever. In fact, that's great. If we'd rather give 15%, which the aforementioned woman said she gives in order to at least match what her corrupt government takes from her in taxes, better still. 20%, 25%, 100%, it is not for a church, denomination, or individual, to decide how much one person gives. What we give is between us and God. That doesn't even require a percentage! All it requires is wisdom.
Now, ultimately, the point of this article isn't to directly address the misapplication of tithing in modern churches. I did, of course, go into great depth, but what I really want to address is the strange mentality that to be against tithing is somehow to be against giving. There is a major difference between "what you give is between you and God" and "you don't need to give anything to God".
Ultimately, there are three main differences between the two views. The first, and most important, is adherence to scripture. As we've hammered to death, there is no New Testament requirement, nor even recommendation, to tithe, and tithing itself was not what modern churches often claim. It is important to stick to what scripture says, not put our own spins on it and expect the rest of the Church to agree.
The second is compulsion. Tithing advocates may claim it's all about the heart, but when pressed, they often admit that, in their view, it is a requirement; they do want people to give 10%, even if it is grudgingly.
The third, which I didn't actually address in this article, is location. I often find tithing advocates specifically want the tithes to go to the local church. There are even abominable practices I would say absolutely must die, starting with the passing of the collection plate. Not that churches shouldn't take money, of course, but if we're going to stick to "do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing", I don't think the nosy parishioner to your left should be aware of how many bank notes you put on that plate either. Collection boxes, visibly displayed, and with no expectations, would serve the same purpose (and of course, in our technologically advanced age, there are other ways to leave anonymous donations). But more than that, are you not serving God with your money as much by buying a homeless man a meal? Paying for your neighbor's shopping? Filling up someone's gas tank for them? Giving to the local church is important, but not so important that we should feel especially obligated to give a specific portion to them.
The issue of tithing is not black and white. It is not as simple as "you either believe we're required to tithe, or you're pre-redemption Scrooge". Rather, it's ultimately a question of compulsion. The sooner tithing advocates realise that, the sooner we'll be able to have a constructive discussion on the topic.