I’ve gotten into some fairly philosophical discussions with our professional legacy planner. As a result, several months ago–I didn’t know at the time whether he was seeking merely to be provocative or whether he was really serious, but–he said he is opposed to ministers who teach the concept of tithing. He said he thinks such teaching holds too many wealthy Christians back from giving more.

Since then, I have come to realize he is actually very serious in the matter. And a month or two ago he sent me a note in which he said he believes “the concept of tithing as taught in the Old Testament does not apply to New Testament Christians in any way and is nowhere endorsed in the New Testament as a basis for giving.”

For some initial food for thought, he said, he thought I would enjoy reading some “very scholarly papers on the subject”: “Will a Man Rob God?” (Malachi 3:8): A Study of Tithing in the Old and New Testaments, Part I and Part II by Andreas Köstenberger and David Croteau.

“I’ll enjoy the dialog with you after you get a chance to digest all this material,” he wrote.

Just what I need–more “material” to digest! I’ve got thousands of books sitting on shelves in front of me still needing to be read!

But this guy impacts a lot of people, and he’s trying to influence me, so I thought I’d better read up on the subject. I finally completed the assignment while on vacation the last couple of weeks, and I wrote back.

I, too, have some severe concerns about tithing, but of a very different nature, I expect, from his.

“You said you’d be interested to hear my perspective(s),” I wrote. All right, then.

My perspective and opinion(s):

1. I have to remind myself that Köstenberger and Croteau are writing to what they expect to be a theologically sophisticated audience.
2. I am sure their assumptions are generally valid. However,
3. While I think they pursue a legitimate goal–to prove that tithing was a matter of that portion of biblical (Old Testament) law that is no longer valid as a legislative requirement in the New Testament era . . .
4. I sense that, from a practical (practical theological!) perspective, their emphasis is inappropriate.

Rather than getting into a detailed analysis of chapters, verses, and specific words or phrases that the authors use, I would like to note and/or suggest the following:

1. As we learn in Galatians 3:24, “the law” was meant to serve as a tutor to lead us to life (and how to live!) in Christ.
2. The law can teach us, lead us, discipline us, provide an example by which we can learn how we ought to live as those who profess love for Christ.
3. I sense “the law” concerning the tithe (just as “the law” concerning the Sabbath) is also meant to serve as a tutor to lead us to life (and how to live!) in Christ.
4. Köstenberger and Croteau are correct: we ought not to look to the law for life within itself. The law itself will not lead us to life. But . . .
5. It disturbs me that they fail (it seems to me) to make any mention of how the tithing law(s) can (and should) be used for practical training; they provide no positive plan concerning how Christian leaders–pastors and teachers–can prepare their followers for giving. Instead, it appears, they prefer to make vague, ultimately content-less and largely unhelpful comments about how Christians should give “systematically,” “proportionally,” “sacrificially, generously,” “intentionally,” “cheerfully,” blah-blah-blah.
6. Their ostensible goals are very nice. But when I think of education and training, I think in more concrete and sequential terms. –How do you bring a person to understand what “systematic, proportional, sacrificial, generous, intentional, cheerful . . . ” giving looks like?
7. Scripture says, “He who is faithful in little things will be faithful, also, in much.” –I believe that offers a hint concerning how Christian leaders might help to train–or offer a plan of education–for members of their congregations. One portion of such a training program would include appropriate references back to Old Testament tithing. Think of it. Might such references provide appropriate challenges to modern “post-law/living-in-grace” Christians concerning how they think about their own “systematic, proportional, sacrificial, generous” giving? Would such references help them evaluate their giving accurately (Romans 12:3–”not . . . more highly than [they] ought, but rather . . . with sober judgment . . . in accordance with the measure of [their professed grace-filled, living] faith”)? Might it be worthwhile for “post-law/living-in-grace” Christians seriously to consider how generous they are compared to their “pre-grace/under-the-law” spiritual forebears? Would it be worthwhile to challenge them with the question? Köstenberger and Croteau, it seems, think it would not. . . . But I beg to differ.

And then one final set of comments:

1. Did you notice–I certainly did!–that at the “Iron Sharpening Iron” conference [a training conference our planner sponsored for his clients], several of the larger donors–including the people in the Generous Giving movie–all talked about how they had learned the discipline of giving through the agency of tithing–from the time that their wealth was small?
   • To put it differently: the people who give the most–again, it seemed to me (since I do not know their actual giving patterns)–. . . The people who give the most were taught to give by means of a minimal/consistent tithe from the time their wealth was small.
   • Those who are still struggling to give, and who (as it seemed) give least, have no background in tithing. They have not been trained by it. They have not learned to be faithful in the little thing (of “mere” tithing, when their wealth was small). And so
     • They (and/or their spiritual mentors) have failed to allow “the law” to “bring them to [life in] Christ.” . . . And so
     • They seem impoverished in their ability to give. They are incapable of giving–they can’t even give–10% of their income . . . much less more than 10%.
2. I agree with your concern (and the possible–though by no means clear–concern of Köstenberger and Croteau) that Christians (including wealthy Christians) may use the idea of the tithe as an excuse for not giving more than 10%. But
3. I am far more concerned that
   • Christians (including wealthy Christians) not only may, but actually do, use the idea that “we are under grace and not law!” to avoid even thinking about what kinds of responsibilities we must hold if we are to live as sons of the King rather than as mere slaves. And,
   • Christian leaders who want to emphasize “grace not law” fail to think through what means and methods God authorized for them effectively to disciple members of their congregations in this area of giving.

And your thoughts, dear reader?

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Related posts

• Tickled tither or generous giver (0)
• Belief v behavior (0)
• What’s your charitable niche? (0)
• What lessons can we learn from someone with a multi-billion-dollar fortune? (0)
• Voluntary v Involuntary Philanthropy (0)
• The “50% of AGI Barrier” (1)
• Project-specific v. general/overhead/infrastructure charitable donations (0)

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

 |  Email This Post  |  Print This Post  |  Subscribe to It!
This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 at 10:02 am and is filed under giving. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.