Who demands 10% of the income? This is not always clear. Wisely, many pastors will not insist on tithing because they know it cannot be directly justified biblically. We no longer live in Old Testament times. The expression is also not associated with the present-day community. Accordingly, the basis for collecting “tithes” is tenuous, if not non-existent. More about that in a moment.

At this point, the question is “who claims 10% of the income”? There are actually communities where this is seen as a “rule”. However, in congregations where the pastor does not state this directly, the assumption nevertheless runs rampant among congregation members because no clear position is taken against it. The reason should be obvious: There is a small group of people who live off these donations. They are unlikely to reject it outright, because it will make them question their livelihood.

I have talked to many Christians about this issue. Not infrequently, there were questions about how much to donate to the community. It was not the giving that was questioned, but the size of the amount. There are several problems with this at once.

• There is a seduction in quantifying faith, faith commitment, giving. It’s kind of like splitting off a part of your life “for God,” but the rest is unaffected by that expectation. Do the “little” and the rest is mine. You could also put it this way: If I paid 10%, I have 90% available as an allowance. It’s like Sunday is for God and worship, and the rest of the week I can do whatever I want. Here, man enters into a bargain with God: I give you something so that there is peace. A kind of indulgence trade.
• The focus on “what” I do is valued more highly than the attitude of what I do it with. The admonition we read in Hosea probably applies here: “For I delight in godliness and not in sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God more than in burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6, cf. Mt 23:23 and Mk 12:41-44).

What is biblical?

Quite a few Christians are unsure about what they should donate and then like to stick to “biblical” standards. What exactly that was supposed to be is not clear. A yardstick is sought because it is easier to distinguish between “right” and “wrong” than to take responsibility oneself for the measure of the donation. The desire for legal regulations serves religious people, even if it has nothing to do with “living faith”.

Conversations about this topic often revolve around tithing. If someone wants to and can donate 10% of their income, they are of course free to do so. However, it is not reasonable for everyone. Many households live with a lot of financial pressure. Donations on this scale do not succeed.

Amazingly, this existential threat is covered up with biblical quotations. That, too, is a pious seduction. It happens something like this:

• One quotes 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, which says, among other things, “God loves a joyful giver.” People use this statement to manipulate: “If you want God to love you, give because God loves the joyful giver.”
• This statement seems to take on more weight in context, as it says, “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly” (2 Cor. 9:6). The prosperity gospel goes like this: Money is like a plant that you can plant and then later reap the fruits. The fruits are more than the seed. If you donate money, consider it as a seed. The more seeds you sow, the bigger the harvest will be. Donate the little you have and soon you will be a millionaire – or something like that. This is a feasibility mania and magical thinking. Money “sown” in this way naturally ends up with the leadership of the faith community (Video: Extreme aberrations in the USA).

In these and similar arguments, the Bible is quoted. Thus, some argue, the principle should be “biblical.” That seems rather naive to me. Those who fall for these arguments, assuming that this means that God wants this (as I have often experienced), do not understand what is happening here. Quoting a statement from the Bible does not make an assumption “about” the Bible “biblical.” No statement in the Bible can do without context.

What is the context in 2 Corinthians 9? Paul begins with the words “For to write unto you of the support of the saints…”. Two groups are mentioned here, namely “you” and “the saints”. The first speaks of the church at Corinth and the saints are the believers of another church. The support Paul is talking about here is not about church leadership, or the expenses of a church in general, but the apostle is talking directly about a support for other believers. It’s about another community. One community (in Corinth) supports another community.

In the chapter before, Paul wrote the following:

“So then, not so that others have relaxation, but you have affliction; but in compensation, on the present occasion, let your abundance make up for the deficiency of those, so that at another time the abundance of those may be a help to your deficiency, so that there may be a compensation, as it is written; he who had gathered much, his portion did not increase; and he who had gathered little, his portion was not less (Ex. 16:18).”
2Cor 8,13-15

The previously quoted statements from the 9th chapter were therefore not aimed at the permanent financing of a congregation, or even of the congregation’s leadership, but at a temporary compensation for the emergency situation of another congregation.

This is church teaching. There is no mention of tithes. There is no mention of a permanent levy of 10% of income. So where do the so-called tithes come from?

Tithes in the Bible

The first time tithing is mentioned in the Bible is in Genesis:

“And when he had returned, after he had smitten Kedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s valley. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; and he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him, saying, Blessed be Abram of God, the Most High, which possesseth heaven and earth. And blessed be God, the Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand! – And Abram gave him tithes of everything.”
Gen 14:17-20

Abram – who was not called “Abraham” at that time until now – gave the tithe of everything to Melchizedek (etym. “king of righteousness”), the king of Salem. As this is described, it concerned a one-time and voluntary donation.

Later, Jacob spoke similar things as a vow to God:

“And Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone which he had laid for his heads, and set it up for a memorial, and poured oil upon the top thereof. And he gave the name of Bethel to the same place; but in the beginning Lus was the name of the city. And Jacob made a vow, saying, If God be with me, and keep me in this way which I go, and give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, and I return in peace unto my father’s house, Yahweh shall be my God. And this stone, which I have set up as a memorial, shall be a house of God; and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely tithe unto thee.”
Gen 28:22

Jacob’s vow speaks of the future. He raised a stone. This stone is said to be “House of God”. Of everything he was to receive in the future, he promised 10% to God. In what way, that is not explained further.

Later, tithes were used in Israel as a tribute to the Levites (Deut. 18:21) and kings (1 Sam. 8:15-17). Tithes (or: the tithe) existed before these cultic and governmental applications. Moreover, the tithe is not to be understood only in religious terms. There is another social application: once in three years the tithe is provided for Levites, as well as for the needy (Deut. 14:28-29).

Whoever now says that the donation of tithes of income is “biblical” may still explain what he means by this and how these regulations are to be understood in modern times. A “biblical basis” for application to today’s church cannot be found here.

In the New Testament, we find tithing in the Gospels and in the Letter to the Hebrews. These speak in a context of Jewish history, expectation and custom. A congregation from all nations is not mentioned here with a single word. The references are exclusively to the Old Testament, where Israel – and only Israel – paid tithes (Num 18:21-24).

Summary

The principle for sound biblical interpretation is: consider the text in context and according to the basic text. And: Everything is given for us (so that we learn from it in a figurative sense), but not everything speaks of us.

Not everything mentioned in the Bible applies to us. Not everything that is piously given a meaning therefore applies to us. That should relieve some of the tension. God does not expect us to tithe. We don’t have to pay tithes to the church because that is “biblical.” Such assumptions are pious projections, not suitable for setting people free.

Whoever is now free and wants to support a project, a community, a person, can and should do so. This is indeed important, however, it is an effect of grace, not a prerequisite for grace. It is voluntary because that is the only thing that corresponds to grace. Those who have experienced grace understand that everything (without exception) is by grace. Let us steward this grace in our lives and our direction in life.