How Much Should I Be Giving?
Giving is always one of the most highlighted topics where faith and finance intersect. Often one of the biggest questions among Christians is, “How Much Should I Be Giving?”. It’s a tough one to answer because: it depends. But, this is a question that you should absolutely be able to answer for yourself as a steward of what God’s entrusted to you.
A Brief History of the Tithe
As you probably know, the “tithe” is the standard for giving in the Western Church (I’m not sure for other parts of the world). The term tithe is a term and concept first seen in the Old Testament and it means “ one-tenth”.
Tithing in the Old Testament
According to Ministry Magazine, there were three different tithes mentioned in the Old Testament. They were:
The Levitical Tithe
The Tithe of Feasts
The Tithe for the Poor
The Levitical Tithe
The Levitical Tithe is probably what most of us are familiar with. We first see this concept in Genesis 14 when Abram (Abraham) rescued his nephew Lot.
“And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said,
'Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!'
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”
We later see the concept reappear in Leviticus 27:30.
It’s named the Levitical tithe because the tribe of Levi was the tribe that God chose to maintain the temple and perform the priestly duties.
Today, this translates to us giving to help fund our church’s ministry or to missionaries. Our giving goes towards maintaining the proclamation of the Gospel in our area, or abroad, and helps to ensure that the church remains operational.
The Tithe of Feasts
The Tithe of Feasts was an act of setting aside a tenth in order to embark on a pilgrimage to a destination that God chose. At this destination, a Jew would feast on their tithe (remember, it was likely set aside as food) and rejoice in God.
This tithe and journey had immense purpose to it.
“You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.”
The Tithe for the Poor
The Tithe for the Poor was a triennial tithe, every three years, that was to be set aside for the sojourner, the fatherless, the widow, and the local Levites within their towns. Put another way, it was a tithe for some of the most vulnerable amongst them.
For most of us today, this is seen as an offering or simply a separate gift or donation.
“At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.”
Tithing in the New Testament
Tithing is rarely mentioned in the New Testament. One of the few times we see it talked about is when Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel.”
Jesus condemned the Pharisees because their faith seemed to stop at tithing and failed to include justice, mercy, and faithfulness…the things God immensely cares about.
Even though the New Testament doesn’t cover tithing much, it should be noted that we do see Jesus say that tithing shouldn’t be neglected. This highlights the fact that it’s still important to give.
What Is the Right Amount to Give?
Okay, so how much should we actually be giving?
I believe that tithing and giving has been left vague on purpose in the New Testament. The above scripture (Matthew 23:23-24) is a perfect example of how we as Christians can behave after attaining certain standards or living purely by rules.
Giving isn’t a box to check that takes care of your faith until the next week or month.
This is all to say that there isn’t a “right amount” to give. If there was, we might find ourselves like the Pharisees.
Is 10% a good place to start? For many, yes.
For others, they may only be able to give less than 10% because that’s all they can do in this season of life. They may be diligently working on improving their stewardship (i.e. increasing savings, paying down debt, etc.) or struggling to get by and that’s okay.
But I love what Ron Blue (founder or co-founder of the National Christian Foundation, Kingdom Advisors, and The Ron Blue Institute of Financial Planning) says about giving, “Ten-percent is rarely the right amount to give.”
This is because, for most of us, we should be giving more! But for some of us, at least in this season, it may be less. Overall, we should be less anchored to a specific percentage or dollar amount, especially a static one, and more open to changes and increases in our giving.
The apostle Paul mentions that we should give as we’ve decided in our own heart and to do so willingly and cheerfully. And I think this is where we as Christians should spend the most time.
“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
I do think our giving should hurt a little. I’ll share why I believe this in the next section.
Another way to help determine the upward limit of your giving is to answer “How much is enough?” when it comes to our income. How much income do you need to live off of (e.g. saving, expenses, etc.). From there you can work through potential giving amounts. This works especially well for high-income earners.
Giving is such a beautiful picture of the Gospel. A non-specific amount to give is a great reminder that there’s not a specific amount of God’s gift of forgiveness and grace.
Giving is going to vary by Christian and it’s going to be their own journey of generosity as a steward.
Focus On Your Heart
This brings us to the importance of focusing on our hearts when it comes to giving. God doesn’t need us to give back to Him what’s already His. He wants us to be generous because He’s a generous God. Ultimately, He’s interested in our hearts when choosing or not choosing to give.
First, we must remember that our role is that of a steward. Everything belongs to God and we’re just managing it for Him. Keeping this proper perspective often helps us maintain a proper and healthy view of giving.
Second, we need to remember that giving breaks the power of money. Money is warned about in scripture countless times because of its ability to lead us astray. So it’s clear that an effective way to combat greed is to give, which is on the opposite side of the spectrum.
Third, as I mentioned above, we should give because we’re happy to do so and not out of obligation. Our joy for what God has given us should be reflected in our giving. If not, we need to reflect on why this isn’t happening.
Finally, giving should hurt a little. If it doesn’t, then we miss out on one of the best parts of giving: the sacrifice. The sacrifice helps remind us of the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. When I think of sacrificial giving I always think back to the early Church in which believers sold all they had so no one went without (Acts 4:34-35) and the poor widow that gave her last two coins (Luke 21:1-4). Is God asking us to sell and/or give most or everything away? For most of us: no. However, we must be ready to do that cheerfully and faithfully if called.
Although there isn’t a “right amount” for Christians in general to give, you should spend time determining the right amount for you AND remaining open for that amount to change. The faithful and ongoing act of giving is what’s most important. Remember, giving does benefit the recipient of the gift but it has a larger benefit for YOU. Ultimately, God is most concerned about your heart in the process of giving.
We at CFAN hope this has been encouraging for you and please let us know if we can assist you further! You don’t have to go at it alone!
