Since I don’t know the Bible as well as I should, I Googled “jesus tithing” and came up with this article (http://www.ehow.com/about_4572423_what-does-jesus-say-tithing.html) which states that Jesus only mentions tithing three times and in each case, it’s a reprimand to the Pharisees, saying that tithing, in itself, does not sufficiently give evidence of a life lived in accordance with God’s will. As with other Old Testament laws, Jesus does not simply rehash the law; he takes it a step further and says there is a much greater expectation on how we live our lives than simply making sure we write a check for the right amount to place in the offering plate. However, Jesus does give us the well known parable of the talents, which has to do with stewardship — how we choose to use what God has given us.
In this time of economic crisis, I’ve seen churches act desperate over the decline in giving this past year. As human beings, that is a natural response — churches, as with any non-profit or for-profit organizations, are responsible for a budget, programs and staff and when we find ourselves unable to maintain programs, continue paying staff salaries, etc., we feel a sense of responsibility to find some way to make it happen. So in my eyes, churches are acting entirely human, which I think is normal and for which there is grace.
However, what I’d ideally like to see is an emphasis on stewardship over tithing. Unfortunately, there are many churchgoers who are in financial distress and do not have the knowledge and skills to get themselves on the path to financial health. Instead of focusing on the church budget’s shortfall and how people need to give more so that the church can maintain their budget, we need to turn back to the idea of stewardship and talk about what practices people need to incorporate into their lives so that when the next crisis hits, there is a little bit extra to help others and to help the church. I believe there is very little use in giving people money, without giving people the skills to steward that money appropriately.
What are some of the concrete action items I am suggesting in response?
* We need people who have an understanding of good personal finance practices to volunteer their time to teach others.
* We need to stop the explicit and implicit teaching that the act of the tithe, in itself, is some sort of requirement to living a holy life. Tithing should be a natural act of worship that is a part of a larger concept of sacrifice and worship that involves the giving of not just money, but also of time, physical resources, talents, etc.
* We need to encourage people to not allow consumerism and materialism to rule their lives.
Even more concretely, but probably more controversially, here are some other action items I believe should be enacted by churches and churchgoers:
* Churchgoers should not tithe until they have paid off all their credit card debt. Learn about compound interest, do some calculations of how much a credit card debt of $2000 *really* costs over time, and come back to me if you still think people should tithe if they have credit card debt. This should not be seen as a free pass for people who have debt; the intent is to get people to financial health as quickly as possible so that they are able to give even more.
* Churches, as with any organization, must cut their budgets and layoff staff in response to budgetary shortfalls. No one is exempt from economic hardship and I believe it is selfish and irresponsible to think that churches can continue to meet their budgetary targets on the backs of churchgoers who are living off of unemployment and high interest debt.
In conclusion, it’s simple — let’s encourage stewardship over tithing.