In my last blog post, I talked about Malachi 3 and gave a testimony of how the Lord really blessed me and taught me about giving. In this part I want to talk about giving in the New Testament. I find it interesting that when Paul was instructing the Corinthians on giving he never once mentioned tithing at all to them (at least not in his letters, we certainly don't know everything that he taught them when he was with them in person). In his first letter to them, he simply mentions that they should put something aside every week as they prosper, or as God blesses them. In his second letter to them (both chapters 8 and 9), he tells them that giving should be according to what a person has, not according to what he doesn't have, that it shouldn't be done out of compulsion, and that God likes a cheerful giver.
So what do we make of all of this? Since Paul doesn't mention the tithe, does that mean that it no longer applies? Even though tithing is part of the Law and we live under grace, I don't think that this is the case with Paul's teaching. Jesus told His disciples that He didn't come to abolish the Law but rather to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). So we can't just throw everything written about giving in the Old Testament out the window. I think the key here is that God told the prophet Jeremiah that in the days of the new covenant He would put His law on the inside, in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33).
You see, once we are born-again, God takes all of His law and stuffs it in on the inside of us. Now we no longer have to do it, instead, now we want to do it. Like many things that transition form the Old Testament to the New Testament, giving becomes an attitude that is internally motivated instead of a behavior that is externally motivated. That internal motivation actually comes from love, because loving your neighbor as your self fulfills the whole law (Gal 5:14). So Paul was appealing to the law written on their hearts which is really no longer bounded by the tithe. He trusted this heart-law so much that he wasn't even compelled to mention the tithe to them at all.
I have noticed over the years that, in general, if you give people a minimum boundary, human nature dictates that they will almost always regress to the minimum. In other words, if you tell a willing giver that they are 'required' by God to give the tithe, then that is what you will get. Paul on the other hand, leaves it open for people to hear from their hearts, or from the Spirit, about how much to give. This can be a little scary because this also means that you might get some people who don't give at all. So in a sense, Paul, and by extension churches and ministries today along with anyone who needs financial help, would need to trust that the Lord would bring in what they need. Paul trusted that the Spirit inside of the people would prompt them to fulfill the law of the tithe and perhaps even surpass it.
Aside from that, when you give as led by the Spirit, being cheerful is generally not a problem. You might still have to fight your selfish desires sometimes, but in your spirit you delight in giving. But even being a cheerful giver has an upper limit to it, just as giving does too. If giving has become a burden to you, or if you feel compelled to do it by someone, then you might need to reevaluate why you are giving or how much.
For instance, I have gotten into the trap of giving because I'm expecting God to give me something back as it says in Malachi and even my own experience showed. God blesses us because we are His children, not because we give 11% versus 9%. God's generosity depends more on His character and not on our behavior. I have also had an instance where I believe the Lord told me to stop giving a certain offering because it was affecting my ability to cover all our expenses. We have to listen to His direction on the matter because we don't want to take money designed to pay our bills and give it away, just as we don't want to take money that the Lord has desired us to give and use it on our selves. He expects us to take care of our business and use the abundance that He has provided to us to help those in need.
Getting back to the trust aspect, we should see that it is a big deal in giving and it is a two way street. A big reason why we give is that we trust the Lord to take care of all our needs as well as use us to meet the needs of others. From the Lord's perspective, when He sees that we are willing to give He knows that He can trust us with His resources to meet the needs of His kingdom. If you follow the leading of the Spirit you will find that you are most likely giving more than the tithe and over time you will find that the Lord has provided you more and more so that you can in turn give more.
So, here are my final pieces of advice when it comes to giving. If you don't give at all right now, just start giving something, as much as you feel comfortable with and that you feel you can give with joy. If you already give something, try increasing it a bit at a time or as you increase. A good place to give is the church you attend regularly and/or a ministry that you learn a lot from or that really speaks to you and helps you. If you do this, the Lord will meet you where you are and you will find that you are growing in this area. In that moment you will also find that the tithe has truly been written in your heart.
Phillip