What’s Wrong With Tithing?

Most of us have been taught that our tithe is 10% of our income, and that we’re to give that to support the church. That’s only PART of the answer.

Deuteronomy 14:28-29 “At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

The Levites were the tribe of Israel that were not given land or an inheritance, but instead were to be dedicated to the temple. The tithe supported them – food, clothes, supplies, and whatever the church building needed. But within the same sentence, we see that it is also to support the needy – the traveler, orphan, and widow. Now, don’t be distracted by the “every 3 years” in that verse – that was talking about a specific event – so here’s some verses before that one

Deuteronomy 14:22-25 You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe then you shall turn it into money…

Wait, they are carrying the tithe with them and eating it themselves? Yes, here they are talking about a time when the Israelites were to depend on God. The good years, they laid up the tithe with the church, and the bad years, they were fed from that tithe. And it was acceptable to use money in place of the food, but only if you had to. But this isn’t the only time tithing refers to food.

Malachi 3:10 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.

So, are we supposed to be tithing exactly 10% of our income…in food? Consider Jesus words:

Matthew 23:23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

The Pharisees were a super religious sect, and they not only tithed 10%, but 10% of each and every thing they grew or earned or were given. But Jesus criticizes that. Jesus was more concerned with “justice and mercy and faithfulness” than exacting tithes.

So what’s wrong with tithing is that we are simply giving that 10% to a church that, most of the time, is not using that 10% to help the needy. There’s nothing wrong with a new building or fancy programs…unless you ” have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. “