Cover Charge

A saved housewife, married to an unsaved man, asked John Piper how to go about tithing in this blog post.  Piper answers her question by stating, "If you originate no income then God doesn't expect you to give any income."  Piper continues however, instructing the wife to sit with her husband and attempt to quantify the value of her contributions to the household in an effort to create a basis for tithing.  I respect Piper's study and biblical expositions, but  his response in this matter; I found it troubling.  Why would I have a problem with his answer?  In order to explain why Piper's answer made me uneasy we have to fully understand tithing as God designed it.  We have to understand it as more than a measure of 10%, but a system of equitable and responsible giving.  Once we understand God's design, we need to question our application of God's intention.  

The Law Establishes the Tithe

Leviticus 27:30 speaks of "the tithe of the land".  This holy portion consisted of seeds, fruits, grain and all that the land produced.  Leviticus 27:32 introduces us to a livestock tithe.  These are the only tithes outlined in the law of Moses.  Note that there is no mention of a monetary tithe.  In God's system, neither money nor income was tithed.  Money could be used to redeem tithed items, but not as a tithe.  It's also important to note that when an item was redeemed, it was redeemed at 120% of it's value.  That means that in God's system of tithing, money was worth 83% of what the livestock and crops were worth.  We can speculate and opine as to why, but we can not deny that God demanded livestock and crops while not demanding a portion of income and devaluing money.

Who Did the Tithe Belong to?

Leviticus 27:30 states that the Tithe belongs to the Lord.  With the Tithe belonging to God, it was His to do with as he pleased.  What pleased God was to with the Tithe is stated in Numbers 18.  In Numbers 18 God decrees multiple times that the tithe was his gift to the Levites for their service in the temple.  God also decrees that a tithe of a Levite tithe was to be given to the High Priest.  It is important to note that the Tithe was not for the upkeep of the temple, nor was it simply for the people who maintained the church as described in many churches today.  The tithe was specifically for the Levites.  It's important to note that along with accepting the tithe, the Levites no longer had any inheritance in the land.  

So God's system of tithing provided food to the descendants of Aaron.  It was not monetary, and monetary sacrifices were devalued by 17%.  In return, the Levites had no inheritance to the land.  The purposes of tithing expanded beyond the purposes of the 10% cover charge that New Testament churches have implemented.   

The Sabbath Year and the Year of Jubilee

For many advocates of the New Testament cover charge, understanding that the tithe was food for the Levites is negligible.  Given that most parishioners grow no crops, own no livestock and worship with no Levites; the  simple answer is to draw parallels and equate the temple and Levites with the church and the clergy.  Some may read this blog and conclude that Christians should be paying 12% (120% of the tithe) since we are not offering crops and livestock.  Understanding the tithe as crops and livestock is imperative to understanding The Sabbath year.

Leviticus 25 lays out rules that every 7th year, each household was to allow the land to rest.  In the 7th year God made provisions for the poor and allows for each household to feed themselves.  In God's system of tithing, there were six years of sacrifice followed by one year of relief.  Modern churches can not claim to be following God's system of tithing without instituting a Sabbath year.  

If Not Tithing Than What

Most people will agree that New Testament churches are not run by Levites and have little use for corn and goats.  Most will also agree that most churches would fold sometime during their first observation of a Sabbath year.  2 Corinthians 9:6-15 gives us a blueprint for New Testament giving.  

1. Give understanding that the more you give the more you sow in giving the more you shall reap.  
2. You determine how much you should give
3. Give your amount cheerfully.

Unlike tithing, which was agricultural, this passage of scripture can be extended to include monetary donations.  For some of us, the amount we purpose may be 10%.  For some it may be more; less for others.  This blog isn't about me telling others how much to give.  If you have purposed 10% in your heart then 10% is what you should give.  

Then What's the Point of This Blog Entry

Go back to John Piper's answer.  If the housewife posing the question has purposed in her heart to give 10% then why would Piper's answer bother me?

In Sunday church services the importance of tithing rivals the importance of salvation.  Malachi 3:8 is quoted more than John 3:16.  Most Sunday services spend more time passing a collection plate than opening the altar for salvation.  The opening dilemma of the housewife exemplifies this.  This homemaker is married to a man in need of salvation; a man on his way to hell.  Getting 10% of his earnings shouldn't be part of this discussion.  More important than her tithe is his soul.  Moreover, after this question was posed, Piper did not take the time to redirect and refocus her to the more pressing issue; he focused on the church's collection plate.  There is something fundamentally wrong with the focus in this question, and the answer.  

The point of this blog entry is illuminate the fact that the church is so obsessed with collecting 10% that we bend scripture and we discuss how to collect a portion of income from an unsaved man.  In most matters we understand that we are no longer under The Law, but govern our giving through The Law ignoring Galatians 5.    Furthermore, we ignore the common components of Old and New Testament giving; equality and faith in God to provide.

Equality - In 2 Corinthians 8:13-15 Paul states that it is not his desire to see some struggle while others live in luxury.  The mathematics behind Old Testament tithing also promoted equality.  We've already covered that the tithe was agricultural, but let's assign a seven year span where the value of Israelite agriculture was $7,000,000.  Let's assume that the $7,000,000 was split equally between the  11 Non-Levite tribes.  We use a 7 year span so that we can include the Sabbath year.  Under this scenario, the Levite tribe would collect $600,000 in a 7 year span.  The other 11 tribes would collect $581,818.  Better stated, the 11 tribes would each own 8.3% of the agriculture while the Levites own 8.6% of agriculture.  In short, God mathematically provided equality.  

Conversely, let's create a church with 24 parishioners and a pastor.  If we spread the same $7,000,000 over those 25 individuals with the 24 parishioners tithing the church/pastor would collect $700,000 compared to the parishioner's $262,500.  In terms of percentages, the church/pastor is collecting 10% while the parishioners are controlling less than 4% of earned income.  The disparity in those percentages only increases as you add more parishioners.  It's no mystery why Joel Osteen preaches health and wealth.  

Faith in God to provide -  Both the Old and New Testament speak to God's ability to provide.  In Old Testament tithing, the Israelites were to trust that God would provide ample in year six to sustain for 3 years.  In the 2 Corinthians 9:8 Paul talks about God's ability to create an abundance for every good work.  

What now?

That's up to the reader.  One person may read this blog and continue to give 10%.  Another may read and increase giving to 25%.  A third may decrease giving for the time being.  The point of this blog was for readers to understand that we as Christians no longer need to give 10% from obligation.  The purpose of this blog post is for all to know that we can give from our hearts knowing that God loves for us to give cheerfully.  Hopefully, in understanding this, we can focus on the souls of the unsaved, and not the wallets.