Here's a complete resource for a congregation to begin using an asset-based approach to financial stewardship. "This simple program can help your congregation fund God’s mission in a fresh and exciting manner." Available for free PDF download. From ELCA Stewardship.
I happen to be one of those pastors who shares the radical opinion that all our actions and programs in the Church should be rooted in the biblical revelation of God and His will. This means we must constantly go back to the Bible as we plan and implement our programs to "keep ourselves honest," or more accurately, to keep ourselves faithful to God.
As I studied for and prepared this Bible study for you, I was, frankly—and still am— overwhelmed by the complexity of the matter. Those who are looking for a simple directive or rule—or guide, if you're a Lutheran—in the Bible to shape a person's giving to the Church certainly won't find it. You might, if you choose your Bible passages carefully, leaving some important ones out, and using the others out of context. But I found that an honest examination of the Bible regarding stewardship and giving—especially giving—leaves at least as many questions as answers, and I must say the answers I found left me feeling both sinful and confronted with ambiguity in the face of considerable complexity and flexibility. I'm probably tipping my hand regarding conclusions if I point out that this sounds remarkably close to certain elements of faith.
So don't be surprised if this study raises at least as many questions as it provides answers. Hopefully, however, the answers that you do find are basic ones that give you a firm foundation for developing your answers to the other questions, or at least living with the questions.
The Bible Study
Quite a few years ago I heard that old story of the young couple who had just married. One weekend the wife was preparing dinner, and her husband was with her in the kitchen, helping out here and there. The wife was planning roast, so she got out her roaster, took the meat roast from the refrigerator, picked up a very sharp knife and cut one end off the roast. She then carefully laid the roast in the roaster and placed the piece from the end alongside the roast, put the lid on the roaster and the roaster in the oven. Her husband was watching all this and was quite intrigued by it. So he asked her why she so carefully cut the end from the roast and placed it by the side in the pan.
The wife got a blank look on her face, and answered, "I don't know. That's the way Mom always did it." This got them both curious, so they decided to go to her mother's house on Sunday afternoon and ask her why she cut the end off the roast and laid it alongside the roast in the roaster. When they arrived and asked the question, her mother got a remarkably similar blank look on her face and said, "Golly, I don't know. That's the way my mom always did it."
By now their curiosity was really aroused, so they all immediately jumped into the car and drove to Grandma's house. When they asked Grandma why she always cut the end of the roast off and laid it by the side of the roast in the pan, she had her answer ready. "Oh, that's easy," she said. "My roaster was too short, and I had to cut the end of the roast off so I could get it into the pan."
Has anyone ever asked you why we, in the Church cut a tenth of the roast off the end and lay it to the side for the Church? To be more blunt, how do you answer the question, "Why does the Church suggest tithing?" So I looked up all the passages I could find about tithing in the Bible.
What Does the Bible Tell Us?
(Read Genesis 28:10-22)
An early reference I could find to tithing in the Bible is in Genesis. I'm sure you know the story, but you may not remember the reference to tithing. That verse usually isn't included in the Old Testament lesson. It's the story about Jacob and the ladder upon which angels come down from heaven to Jacob. I don't know if you've ever noticed before or not: Jacob's ladder, contrary to the popular song, was not something on which Jacob climbed-to heaven. It was something that God used to come from heaven down to Jacob, to present His promise to Jacob that He was making Jacob His servant through whom God would bless all the people of the world. You probably remember that after this was over, Jacob built an altar there as a reminder of God's invasion in his life. The next verse records Jacob's pledge to use a tenth of all the fruits of his efforts for God. I don't remember seeing any definition of what this meant in actual practice, meaning "giving to God." Obviously he didn’t pull out ten dollar bills and lay them in God's hands, or even lay his sheep in God's hands. So even though we are told he pledged a tenth to God, we don't know exactly what that meant.
The next references I could find of any substance occur in Leviticus 27:30-33, Numbers 18 and Deuteronomy 14:22-29 and 26:10-15. Which of the references comes first in terms of time, I don't know. All three authors seem to be speaking from roughly the same period.
However, as you will note by looking at these different accounts, there are definitely some important differences in the reasons given for the tithes. The account in Leviticus mentions simply that one tenth of the "Gross National Product" belongs to God. Please note: it is not to be given to the Lord; it already is the Lord's. That's probably why Malachi could speak so eloquently that refusal to tithe was robbery. However, again note that it doesn't define what it means to belong to the Lord.
In the account from Numbers, we see a new dimension. The author has someone no less than God Almighty saying that the tithe is really to go to the Levites—those who took care of the temple—and the priests, the family of Aaron. At a conference I once attended the speaker commented on approaches to reading the Bible. He suggested that one question we should ask in reading the Bible was whose vested interests are involved here? Or, to use his words, whose ox is being gored? In doing that with this passage, the thought occurred to me that this is the type of blurb you might see coming down from the Levite and priestly bureaucracy, whose livings and ways of life were at stake. I'm sure it didn't hurt any to report that God told them in a dream to tell the people to skim the cream off the top of their produce and give it to the Lord. Here we see them defining for the first time what it means to give to the Lord: namely, to support the full-time religious workers and their families. To be perfectly fair, it must also be noted that since the religious workers have this source of support, they therefore cannot own any property of their own. If you study the entire chapter, you'll notice that the main focus is on the duties of the Levites and priests. For their pay, they not only receive the tithes, but the offerings for sacrifices— for sins, for purification, and even the first-born animals. I think it's important to note that not only were the Israelites expected to tithe of their produce, but also to give the first fruits, like a cow's first calf, to the Lord, to show who the Giver was. This seems to be the origin of the distinction between tithes and offerings. I must admit to mixed feelings as to whether we should push strongly for a return to the biblical practice of tithing and then trot out with this passage to back it up. Just imagine 10 percent off the top of the income of persons in a 300-member congregation for the support of the pastor! And only have to share 10 percent of that with the Synod!
We'd better move on to the next passage—reminding you that it's next only in order of the books in the Bible, and not necessarily next in chronology. I think when you see the passage you'll understand why we need to keep this "time" distinction before us. I had never before heard this passage either directly in connection with tithing, or as someone's treatise or sermon on the basis of tithing.
Read Deuteronomy 14:22-29
Notice that in this passage it again gives a definition—albeit, a different one— as to what it means to give a tithe; it describes how you actually use it for the Lord. I couldn't help but notice three main themes to this purpose of the tithe: First, as a way to keep straight in everyone's mind who is Lord. (As an aside I might mention that there are literally hundreds of passages in the Bible about possessions—but not specifically about tithing—that echo this very same thought. Take, for instance Deuteronomy 8:17-18, "Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.'") Second, there is the distinct theme of celebrating, of feasting, because of who is Lord—beef, lamb, wine, beer; eat and enjoy yourselves. The third theme that is definitely unmistakable, although here it is to be done only every third year, is to share it with those who do not own property—the dispossessed, so to speak—such as the Levites, priests, the poor, the widows, orphans, the unemployed, etc.
Doesn't that passage just blow your mind? Especially about using the tithe to buy steaks and wine and beer? I wonder who authored that version regarding the tithe: the Israeli Restaurant Owners Association, the National Brewers Association, and apparently an Israeli Civil Liberties Union representative as well as a Levite sitting on the editorial board.
Read 2 Chronicles 31:4-19
Here we see King Hezekiah seeking to reestablish temple worship, and the means of supporting the priests and Levites through tithes and offerings is a part of this restoration. Then, in Nehemiah 10 and 13, we read of Nehemiah's attempts for reformation, and here we see the people of Israel signing a covenant in which they pledge to keep the laws of God, and the tithes and offerings are a part of this. Interestingly the element of feeding the dispossessed other than the priests and Levites is now missing. Also, interestingly, the reform apparently doesn't work. In chapter 13 we find the priests and Levites owning land because the tithes and offerings weren't coming in and they got land to support themselves and their families. At least that’s the way it's reported. I suppose it could have been the other way around.
From here on, through the prophets and into the New Testament, most of the references to tithing seem to come from prophets who are greatly disturbed — or more accurately, who report the Lord's great anger—with the abuses of tithes and offerings. Not only was this a concern of Malachi; Amos raised the issue. The concerns included not only the neglect of tithing, but also just as frequently and with at least as much vehemence, "hypocritical tithing." Listen to these words from Amos 5:21-24:
The Lord says, ‘I hate your religious festivals; I cannot stand them! When you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; I will not accept the animals you have fattened to bring me as offerings. Stop your noisy songs; I do not want to listen to your harps. Instead, let justice flow like a stream, and righteousness like a river that never goes dry.’
A careful reading of the whole book reveals that the justice and righteousness he is talking about is the helping of the poor and powerless through the tithes and offerings instead of oppressing and taking advantage of them.
Jesus had some pretty scathing comments for at least some tithers—not because they tithed but because the tithing was inconsistent with the rest of their lives—again hypocrisy. He very much echoes Amos when, as Luke relates it. He says, in 11:41,
“But give what is in your cups and plates to the poor and everything will be ritually clean for you. How terrible for you Pharisees! You give to God one tenth of the seasoning herbs, such as mint and rue and all the other herbs, but you neglect justice and love for God. These you should practice without neglecting the others."
Consider one more passage, Deuteronomy 8:11 and following:
Make certain that you do not forget the Lord your God. …be sure that you do not forget the Lord your God who rescued you from Egypt where you were slaves…. So then you must never think that you have made yourselves wealthy by your own power and strength. Remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you the power to become rich. He does this because God is still faithful today to the covenant that he made with your ancestors. Never forget the Lord your God or turn to other gods to worship and serve them.
Tithing: A Rule to Give By?
We need to be extremely careful if we are going to present the tithe to people as a rule-- or call it a goal, or norm, or whatever — for them to use in determining their giving to the Church.
This is not just because we tend to think there is something un-Lutheran about rules — laws — but because the biblical accounts about tithing on the one hand have overtones regarding the maintenance of a religious bureaucracy that we don't need. On the other hand it leads to a self-righteousness that suggests once I've given 10 percent to God I have 90 percent left over for myself. This last one is the most serious danger. There is just as much legitimacy to present for a rule or norm that of giving 100 percent to God—that's what Jesus demanded of the rich young ruler, and also what the widow gave, or 50 percent, which is what Zacchaeus gave and which pleased Jesus greatly. Giving to the Church, or more accurately, giving to God, just isn't so simple that we can boil it down to tithing. Overemphasizing it could easily do people — and God — a disservice. (As an aside, have you noticed how easy it is to equate "giving to God" with "giving to the Church"? I guess it shouldn't surprise us; it happened with the first tithing!)
Giving to God
Lest some jump at this as an excuse for neglecting to discuss giving, let me hasten to add that "giving to God" is a much more serious matter than we usually consider it, and the term "giving to God" may even be a misnomer that contributes to this. How often doesn't "giving to God" get put into the same category as "giving to your favorite non-profit organization"? For most people, it happens every year on April 15. To be perfectly honest, with the way we usually use the term "give," I am quite uncomfortable about using the phrase "giving to God." How can you give something to God when it's already God’s to begin with? If there is a recurring theme in the history of the tithe, it is that tithing helps people to keep their heads on straight as to who really is God around this place, as to who really is the owner and Lord over all these riches and products, not just 10 percent; and, yes, even over all these live bodies around us including our own.
The most appropriate motivation for this phenomenon we call giving is simply the recognition that God is God. "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt...." points to the recognition that it is all God’s anyway. Call it faith or grace. No matter. The reality is the same, regardless of the name we give to it. To "give to God" is to express concretely our conviction that God is the ultimate source of reality and life. It's to put our money where our mouth is. It's to put down earnest money, in real estate parlance. It's to say that living for or serving or putting our hope in anything else is an illusion, stupid. It is a concrete way of saying with action, "I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth."
Therefore, to "give to God" can be really a rather deceptive and self-righteous term that confuses the fact that "possessions" are God’s, and that it is our responsibility to manage those real estate holdings, those businesses, those products, those skills, those hours, those bodies, and even those ideas and religious understandings God puts into our control, for His service. That's serious business. That's a 24-hour-a-day, 365-days-a-year task, one we don't finish when we sign a pledge card on a Sunday in October. What we "invest" from our riches, our possessions, in the work of the Church when we give to the Church is just a symbol of what's going on with the remaining proportion of our possessions — unless it's a lie. "Giving to God," if we're going to persist in using those words, is a much more serious business and much more complicated than we usually consider it.
Give for Justice
Giving to God is inextricably tied together with justice — with refusing to either crassly or subtly take advantage of the less powerful; or for that matter to allow anyone else to do that dirty work while we reap the plush results, but keep our own hands clean, so to speak. An extremely strong case can be made for the position that every single human being has a God-given right to a decent living, and any interference that hinders that from happening is stealing this right from them. I find it interesting to note also that in the New Testament the references to giving are invariably related to helping the poor, the needy, the powerless. There is no way to give to God and neglect the rights of others, neglect justice. In 1 John 4:20 we read, “If someone says he loves God, but hates his brother, he is a liar. For he cannot love God, whom he has not seen, if he does not love his brother, whom he has seen."
How Much?
No one else can decide for me "how much I'm going to give," or, as I would prefer to put it, how I'm to use or invest the possessions God has put under my management. Nor can I decide for anyone else. We may be able to share insights with each other, and we can challenge each other to take our respective responsibilities seriously, but no one can take my responsibility away from me or fulfill it for me. I must take the responsibility for myself in this matter of deciding on the use— or misuse—of God's gifts to me. And I must recognize the fact that God gives others the responsibility to manage—be good stewards—of their comer of the creation. As Joshua said, "Choose you this day whom you will serve ... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
We Fall Short!
Thank God for forgiveness in Christ! Thank God that the idolatry and hypocrisy in which I so frequently engage, such as when I sometimes so cleverly and other times so blatantly seek to hang on to my possessions as though they were mine instead of God's, such as my money, my time, my skills, my church, my family, my thoughts, my reputation, or my life—: Or when I think that my security or my worth comes from having these possessions, these valuables, and thus go after attaining them, grasping after them like a drowning person grasping for something to hang on to, frequently at the expense of others—thank God that my sin is forgiven in Christ. Through the sometimes gentle and sometimes not so gentle prodding of the Holy Spirit I am turned around; my eyes are opened to see that only God is the Lord.
For your personal study I would recommend very strongly two resources. The first is The Service of God in the Church, a treatise by Dr. Robert Marshall, former president of the Lutheran Church in America. This was published by the LCA Commission on Stewardship and the Lutheran Laity Movement. The second is a book that is very challenging to read, but an excellent biblical study. Sharing Possessions, Mandate and Symbol of Faith. This book was written by Luke T. Johnson and published by Fortress Press in 1981. If you read this book, be prepared to have your thought process challenged, as well as your preconceptions on possessions and giving.
The Rev. Dr. Lowell Buss is a retired pastor and assistant to the bishop of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod. He lives in Kentucky.
