Through out the Old Testament scripture we see time and again the subject of tithing. What is tithing? Tithing is defined as a tenth of one's income. This is a common practice that we see mandated by God in the Old Testament. For your review look at the following verses.

Leviticus 27:30-33, "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's: it is holy unto the LORD. And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD. He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed."

Numbers 18:21-24, "And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die. But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance. But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance."

Deuteronomy 14:22-29, "Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest."

However, in the New Testament we don't see a tithe being referred to as the requirement of ten percent. Now, before we go into what is required let us look at what the New Testament says about the tithe. We see in Matthew 23:23,

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."

Jesus rebuking the scribes and Pharisees for focusing on tithing rather than weightier items in the law. We have to remember that the scribes and Pharisees often focused on the law rather than the motivation. This should be a lesson to all of us. Our desire should not be to give out of obligation but out of gratitude. Corinthians 9:7 says,

"Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver."

In accordance with this verse let us look at a scripture that teaches us all something about giving. In the book of Luke we find a familiar story about the widow's mites. Luke 21:1-4 says,

"And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had."

In this we see that giving truly does come from a cheerful heart. If your heart is not cheerful then don't give. Don't forget that God is the creator of the universe He doesn't need your money. Giving is our way of worshiping God. Look at this widow, she gave the last two mites that she had. She really worshiped God for who He is.

Our worship of God can really be seen by how our finances are arranged. For example, ask yourself this question. Do I give my offering to God first? Or do I give to God after everything that I need and want is in my possession? It's a tough question but we can see the answer that the widow gives. Her worship is true and it is above everything else, just as ours should be. Imagine two men. One is a millionaire that gives $300 a week to the Lord, and the other is a middle class man who gives $300 a week to the Lord. Who gives more? Think about it...we need to remember that giving is based on what we have left over not on what we give.

For more information on how exactly you can begin to tithe, please visit our Offering page.