“And, taking his seat over against the treasury, he was observing how, the multitude, was casting in copper into the treasury, and, man rich, were casting in, much. 42 And there came, one destitute, widow, and cast in two mites, which are, a farthing. 43 And, calling near his disciples, he said to them—Verily, I say unto you, this destitute widow, more than they all, hath cast in, of those casting into the treasury; 44 For, they all, out of their surplus, cast in, but, she, out of her deficiency, all, as much as she had, cast in,—the whole of her living.” (Mark 12:41-44)
Jesus said that she gave “the whole of her living”. Many times when it came to the topic of giving, in general, and “tithing”, in particular; that I have heard preachers speak of this passage with a glow. This poor widow gave all she had. Her giving was much more than what the rich men had given. Jesus Christ said as much. Then, the exhortation is given from the pulpit to give. Give till it hurts. After all, that is what The LORD wants, correct?
Was Jesus happy to see this poor widow give the little bit she had; “the whole of her living”? Was she being faithful and “tithing”? Was the widow bringing her “tithes into the storehouse”?
“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saiththe LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” (Mal. 3:8-10)
The verse, above, is often used to guilt and strong-arm members of a church into writing checks and dropping cash into an “offering plate” on a consistent basis. The word “tithe” is taught by most churches to be the obligation of a believer and should constitute 10% (tithe=tenth) of your income. That is how the institutional “church” defines a “tithe”. Of course, what is important is how the scriptures define a “tithe”. See below:
“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's: it is holy unto the LORD. 31 And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. 32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD. 33 He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.” (Lev. 27:30-33)
“And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. 22 Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die. 23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance. 24 But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe. 27 And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress. 28 Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the LORD's heave offering to Aaron the priest. 29 Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the LORD, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it. 30 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress. 31 And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation. 32 And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it: neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die.” (Numbers 18:21-32)
“And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house.” (Neh. 10:38)
As you can see from the passages above, money is not a tithe. The scriptures define the tithe, specify that is only the tribe of Levi (“sons of Aaron”) who were commissioned to accept the tithe, and that it was for the children of Israel to provide the tithes. So, to summarize, Gentiles were never given a command to tithe money to non-Levites. So, where is the churches’ authority to not only command (on behalf of God) that tithes be paid to them by those who God never commanded to do such?
I challenge anyone to provide a passage in the scriptures showing where God changed the definition of an acceptable tithe, who was to provide it, and who was to accept it. The tithe, served a very practical purpose. It provided sacrificial animals for the Levitical temple service (sacrifices) and provided food for the tribe who was charged with the temple service, because they owned no land and raised no livestock, grains, or (to the dismay of the “wine is grape juice” crowd) fruits of the vine.
If the institutional “church” wants to be at all consistent, why not resume animal sacrifice, dietary restrictions, and the like? These were also commanded of the children of Israel and God never lifted these ordinances either. This is a “pick and choose”, cafeteria-style approach to the law.
One other important point should be noted when it pertains to preachers who use Malachi 3:8-10 as an indictment against people they believe to be “robbing God”. Reading the entire book of Malachi brings out a very important detail. This word from the prophet was not an indictment against the children of Israel for robbing God, by withholding tithes. In multiple verses, God is speaking to the priests for “robbing God”, “polluting the altar”, and robbing “even the whole nation” due to the priests’ unfaithful actions. But, it is almost a certainty, that you would hear a pastor preach the book of Malachi in context.
The institutional “church” has to have the obligation of tithes placed on its members for very simple reasons. The basic reason is that when the church departed from the truth (in the 1stcentury) it didn’t just depart from some truths. It departed from almost all truth and set itself up as an institution, rather than an organic body of people. Doubt me? Most churches today are incorporated businesses that have a business/budget committee and pay salaries to staff, overhead expenses for buildings, real estate, endowment funds, loan service, etc. Does any of this hold any resemblance to the early believers, who met in homes, in the countryside, etc. and each member taught doctrine, shared the gospel, and helped those in need? I don’t believe so. In fact, there is a very good book which goes into much deeper detail on the origins of the institutional church structure, entitled, Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church, by Frank Viola and George Barna.
Earlier in the article, I mentioned the story of the widow’s mite, recorded in the book of Mark. Like the passage from Malachi, this is another Pastor “go-to” passage to perform an “open sesame” on the congregation’s pocketbook. It is effectively used by lifting the passage from its context.
Jesus is teaching and is at the temple, speaking parables (begin reading in Mark chapter 11) being challenged and asked questions by the Sadducees, Pharisees, and priests. He is openly rebuking these religious charlatans. By the latter part of Mark 12, he is walking with His disciples warning them to beware of them. There is one particular and interesting charge He makes against them to the disciples, as He goes to stand by the treasury and watches the rich, and a certain widow, cast in “the whole of her living”. See below:
“And in his teaching, he was saying-Beware of the Scribes, who desire, in robes, to be walking about, and salutations in the markets, and first seats in the synagogues, and first couches in he chief meals,-Who devour widows’ houses, and, for a pretence, are long in prayer: these, shall receive a more surpassing judgment. And, taking his seat over against the treasury, he was made observing how, the multitude, was casting in copper into the treasury, and men rich, were casting in much. And there came, one destitute, widow, and cast in two mites, which are a farthing. And, calling near his disciples, he said to them-Verily, I say unto you, this destitute widow, more than they all, hath cast in, of those casting into the treasury; For, they all, out of their surplus, cast in, but, she, out of her deficiency, all, as much as she had, cast in,-the whole of her living.”(Mark 12:38-44)
Throughout the Old Testament, Israel is admonished by God to take care of the widows and the orphans, and the strangers. But, here, we have the one of the very ones who Israel was meant to take care of, having “the whole of her living” being taken away by religious burdens, imposed by the institution. What is really interesting is what takes place in the very next chapter. In chapter 13, Jesus and his disciples are leaving the temple and the disciples are looking in wonder and remarking about the beauty of the temple. The Lord’s reply?
“And, Jesus, said unto him-Art thou beholding these great buildings? In nowise, shall there be left here, stone upon stone, which shall, in any wise, not be thrown down.” (Mark 13:2)
What a difference context makes. When the passage is read in context, we see that the priests and scribes are known for “devouring widows’ houses”, along comes a widow and casts in all she has (the proof that they do this), and next Jesus prophecies the destruction of the temple and its system. Hardly an endorsement, don’t you think?
“Phillip, are you saying that we should not give?!” Absolutely not ; we should give and give cheerfully, because God “loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). Take a look at the passages below, where Paul is speaking with believers about helping out fellow believers who are poor in the Jerusalem church.
“For Macedonia and Achaia have been well-pleased to make a certain fellowship for the destitute of the saints who are in Jerusalem,-“ (Rom.15:26)
“Only that we should remember, the destitute,-as to which I had given diligence, this very thing, to do.” (Gal.2:10)
Paul took up this collection of voluntary giving from believers who had, to give to those who did not. Should we only give to those who are fellow believers? No, we should give to any in need as the Spirit directs and use that as an opportunity to show God’s love in a practical way. Paul says we should, as opportunity allows, do good to all; but especially of those of the household of faith (see Galatians 6:10).
We should give in ways that impacts people and people’s actual needs, and does so in an effective manner. Personally, I give to ministries which get the true gospel out there. Two of the ministries I give to are very vocal that they are not 501(c) 3 organizations; meaning they are not tax-free entities/businesses. These men’s ministries pay taxes out of what they are given. That says a lot. When it comes to helping others, I try to give to people directly, who have immediate, real needs. Some of these people may or may not be believers. It makes sense to me to give in a way that gives the most to the one in need without the gift getting a “haircut” to pay for a building, building expenses, salaries, etc. But, to each; his own.
The point is, give when and how you can, but don’t neglect your own obligations or the needs of your family. Don’t “givetill it hurts”. Be a cheerful giver; not making giving a burden.
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