Tithing: Probably NOT What You Think

I find there is a lot of confusion these days around the concept of tithing. In the Old Testament it’s nothing more than a temple tax designed to keep the temple, God’s house, running. In fact, the tithe was common in cultures of the ancient Near East because the temples were the economic centers of those societies. Paying a tithe to the temple was very similar to paying taxes to the government today.

The fact is there is no tithe today because there is no longer a temple. The local church is not the temple, nor is it God’s house. We are God’s house. Ironically, that means that if you are going to pay a tithe, a temple tax, you should pay it to yourself.

The New Testament doesn’t talk about the tithe because they understood what it was and they presumed its payment. No way would Paul or the local congregations ask people to tithe because the tithe was for the temple. How ironic is it that we often think our first 10% should go to the local church, and institution designed for believers, and any giving to missionaries, those reaching the lost, should be above and beyond the 10%.

We should stop talking about the tithe because it simply does not exist anymore. Sure we should give to our local churches and to missionaries and to local charities. We should love God with our resources. But tithing was not giving, it was a tax.