A man named Robert Hastings once told the following story:

One rainy Sunday afternoon, a little brother and sister were playing Noah and the Ark.  An old cardboard box was the ark, the bath tub their flood.  After the flood was over, they decided to make a burnt offering to God.  Noah (the brother) said to Mrs. Noah (the sister), “Here, let’s take one of your toy animals as a sacrifice.”  “No,” she replied, “let’s use one of your animals instead.”  When he did not agree to this either, she ran to the attic.

In a moment she was back with a toy lamb.  It was dirty, its head smashed, its tail missing.  “Here,” she cried, “let’s give this to God.  We will never want it again!”  Her brother agreed, and they made their “sacrifice.”  The broken lamb they did not want was given to God.

Let’s contrast this with another scene.  God is watching the people on Earth and He sees that they are all sinful.  He knows that, without a perfect sacrifice, they have no hope, no escape from the consequences of their sin.  God then demonstrates how much He loves the world by deciding to send the best that He has -- His Son -- to be the perfect sacrifice for people’s sin.

Unfortunately, some Christians act similarly to the children in the story by Robert Hastings. Despite having accepted the best gift that God could offer to them, they are not willing to give their best to God, and this includes a tithe of their income. Instead, their contributions to Christian ministries consist primarily of “leftovers” -- money they have left over after satisfying their personal wants and desires, not just their needs.

Larry Burkett, a well known Christian writer and lecturer on family financial matters, has stated, “The tithe serves as an external, material testimony of God’s ownership of both the material and spiritual things of our lives.”  On page 440 of his book entitled The Complete Guide to Managing Your Money, Burkett asserts,

Tithing is an important principle for a Christian because it demonstrates a commitment to God in the most visible area of our lives: the area of money. . . . One part of your long-term plan should be to reduce your monthly expenses so that you can give God His portion too. . . . God will honor the commitment of your heart.  He doesn’t care about the money nearly as much as He cares about your heart’s attitude.

There are several Bible scriptures that specifically mention tithing, including the following:

Leviticus 27:30 tells us, “. . . all the tithe of the land . . . is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord.”

Deuteronomy 14:22 instructs us that, “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.”

Malachi 3:10 not only instructs us to tithe, but also offers us a promise by God, "'Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now in this,' says the Lord of hosts, 'if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.'"

The word “tithe” means “tenth,” but many Christians are unsure of whether the tenth should be calculated on the basis of their gross income or their net income after taxes. Proverbs 3:9-10 not only tells us the answer to this question, but also confirms the promise of Malachi 3:10, stating, “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase, so your barns will be filled with plenty. . . .” Therefore, if we give of our “firstfruits,” our tithe should be calculated on the basis of our gross income (i.e., before any deductions).

With the possible exceptions of Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42, the New Testament does not teach tithing.  In these two verses of Scripture, Jesus Christ declares that teachers of the law and Pharisees should continue to practice tithing, but should not neglect virtues such as justice, mercy, and faith.   If teachers of the law and Pharisees are expected to tithe, it can be inferred that Christians should also tithe.

I Corinthians 16:2 suggests a different standard.  This verse of Scripture states, “On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may proper, that there be no collections when I come.”  With regard to this passage, the KJV Bible Commentary says,                                            

The New Testament teaching of giving is that it is to be regular (“Upon the first day of the week”), all-inclusive (“let every one of you”), systematic (“lay by him in store”), and proportionate (“as God hath prospered him”).  Nowhere in the New Testament is it suggested that the believer is to give 10 percent of his income, though in view of the Old Testament example that is probably a good place to begin.  The measure is “as God hath prospered him.”  It is possible that one could give 10 percent and still rob God, if God had prospered him greatly.  The New Testament is more concerned with the motive in giving.  

If you are not currently tithing (i.e., contributing at least 10% of your gross income to Christian ministries), you may want to consider increasing the amount that you are giving.  God understands that it will be difficult for some people to tithe if they have not been doing so in the past.  Although the Bible indicates that God wants us to tithe, there is reason to believe that He will be at least somewhat pleased to observe growth (i.e., an increasing percentage of giving) in this area of a Christian’s life.

Admittedly, the financial circumstances of some people may make it extremely difficult for them to give more than a small percentage of their earnings.  However, if they sincerely desire to give more, they can some degree of comfort from 2 Corinthians 8:12, which  states, “[I]f there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.”  With regard to this verse, the Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible states, “God accepts the will for the deed.  He judges not according to what a man has the opportunity to do, but according to what he would do if he had the opportunity. . . .”

The challenge and the opportunity for those who have been tithing is to give more than the tithe to Christian ministries.  If you are paying lower income taxes as a result of being able to deduct the amount of your contributions from your taxable income, perhaps you could increase your giving by the amount of your income tax savings.  Or, if you have been saving a higher percentage of your income than you have been giving to Christian ministries, you may want to think about reducing the percentage of your savings and increasing the percentage of your giving. 

If you have reached the level of savings you will need to meet your long-term financial goals, ask yourself if you need to continue to accumulate more savings.  If you don’t really need to add to your savings, your surplus can be given to Christian ministries.  And, if you do so while you are still living, more people will benefit sooner. If instead you wait until you die to donate your surplus, you probably won’t experience the same joy and satisfaction that can come with knowing that your surplus is already benefiting others.

Whether or not you tithe, your attitude about giving is of utmost importance, as indicated by 2 Corinthians 9:7, which says, “[L]et each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”  It is arguably better to give less than a tithe with a positive attitude than to tithe with a negative attitude.