Understanding and practicing consistent stewardship as productive
managers of everything God has “loaned” us is really Christianity 101. It’s one of those foundational ideas that
summarizes our life as Jesus followers and citizens of his Kingdom. But
sometimes the details escape us and might even become sources of controversy.
So let’s explore foundational stewardship brick-by-brick.
It really all began with the story of Cain and Abel. Genesis chapter 4
is the first time we see the word “sin” in the Bible and has everything to do
with the heart of worship. Both brothers were worshippers but they had a very
different heart toward the Lord in their worship. The text says that Cain
brought “some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the Lord” while Abel
brought “fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock” (vss. 3-4). God
saw the differences between these two offerings as a fundamental indication of
their different approaches to God as worshippers. That fact was proven when,
after God showed favor to Abel and his offering, Cain responded by killing his
brother out of jealousy. Because Abel had a sincere, wholehearted commitment to
God, he understood that the first and best portion of everything belonged
entirely to God and was to be offered up as worship. The “first and the best”
as God’s “sacred portion” became a clear principle of worship and stewardship
in the rest of Scripture. In the Law of Moses the sacred portion was sometimes
referred to as the “firstfruits” (Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Leviticus 2:12; Numbers
18:12; Deuteronomy 26:10) or the “firstborn” of the flock (Exodus 34:19;
Leviticus 27:26; Numbers 18:17; Deuteronomy 12:6).
I think it would have been helpful if God had defined the “sacred
portion” more specifically so true worship could be proportional and
systematic. But wait – God did provide that kind of definition. It all began
with Abram. When God gave Abram victory over his enemies and enabled him to
rescue his nephew Lot, he worshipped the Lord with the priest-king Melchzedek.
“Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything” (Genesis 14:20). This is the first
passage in the Bible that defines God’s sacred portion, the first and best, as
the first “tenth.” Later Jacob followed this same principle (Genesis 28:22). In
the Law of Moses, the first tenth as God’s sacred portion simply became known
as the “tithe” (meaning “tenth”). When the nation of Israel was given
instructions concerning the true worship God was looking for in their covenant
relationship with him, the tithe became a key principle. God summarized it by
simply saying, “A tithe of everything…belongs to the Lord” (Leviticus 27:30).
It wasn’t so much that the people were given the option to worship God by
generously giving him a tenth of everything; the first tenth belonged uniquely
to God and was not the people’s to give. A sign of their covenant loyalty to
the Lord, the baseline of their commitment as worshippers, was an understanding
that the sacred tenth belonged to God alone and was to be systematically and
consistently offered up to him as worship. It was “holy to the Lord” (Leviticus
27:32). Just before his death Moses reemphasized the role of the tithe in the
nation’s covenant relationship with God as an acknowledgement that everything
they had belonged to God and had been given them to manage according to God’s
instructions (Deuteronomy 26:1-15). Giving was then seen as “systematic”
(regular, consistent) and “proportional” (calling for the same portion from
everyone, rich and poor alike).
Whenever
the nation of Israel experienced a “backsliding” from their commitment to God,
they neglected to worship God with a sacred portion. However, during times of
revival Israel always knew to return to their covenant loyalty and true worship
with tithes (2 Chronicles 31:5-6; Nehemiah 10:37-38; 13:12). When the prophets
called on Israel to repent, their repentance included a return to the worship
principle of the tithe (Amos 4:4). In fact, the prophets understood that,
because the tithe was holy, it could not be given – but it could be stolen.
Giving to the Lord did not begin until it exceeded the tithe. “Will a
mere mortal rob God?
Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8). Malachi went
on to promise blessings to those who would return to faithful worship and
stewardship. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.
Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw
open the floodgates of heaven and
pour out so much blessing that
there will not be room enough to store it” (Malachi 3:10).
Unfortunately,
the Pharisees in Jesus’ day made tithing into a superficial, external religious
tradition. Jesus rebuked them by saying, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and
Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of
your spices—mint, dill and cumin. 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” (Matthew 23:23; see also Luke 11:42). Jesus
commended them for “practicing the latter” (tithing) but condemned them for
neglecting justice, mercy and faithfulness. Some object saying that Jesus
taught 100% belongs to God and not just 10% and that tithing, therefore, is not
called for. My response is: (1) The Old Testament taught that 100% belongs to
God as well, the tithe was the sacred portion that constituted the baseline of
covenantal worship; and (2) the 100% surely includes the 10% as a starting
point. If we understand that everything belongs to God and that we are all
managers of God’s stuff, then we also understand that the starting point of our
faithful management is worshipping God with the first and the best portion that
uniquely belongs to him. We are then stewards of the remaining 90%.
So what
is the meaning of the tithe?
1.
It is a small portion of everything God has given us that belongs
uniquely to God. We have the honor of worshipping God with that portion.
2.
It is a sign of our covenant relationship with God. When we
worship God with the first tenth we are acknowledging that 100% belongs to God.
3.
It is worship, an expression of love and gratitude to the God who
sacrificed everything, and especially his Son, for us. It is to be offered up
freely and joyfully.
4.
It is proportional and systematic, asking the same thing of
everyone equally.
On the other hand, the
tithe is not:
1.
Membership dues, a requirement to belong in God’s kingdom
community.
2.
Brownie points, earning favor with God or contributing in any way
to our salvation.
3.
An investment scheme, making a business deal with God in order to
earn his blessings.
4.
A savings program, allowing us to worship with a tithe and add 10
or 20 or more percent – “banking offerings” (maybe during a building program)
and then not tithe for some time afterward.
5.
A barter system, trading one kind of service and stewardship for
another. (“I’ll trade you 3% of the tithe for an extra two hours of service in
the youth group,” etc.)
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