Does the Old Testament principle of tithing 10% apply to today? Alex Early says that life in Christ is one of generous giving back to God.
“If you were to ask a New Testament Christian, ‘do you give money?’ They would say, ‘Yeah, of course – I signed up to give my life away – money is part of that, too.’“
Giving of material resources is just one example of living out our covenant with God. That covenant of sacrifice begins but does not end with money.
“Does my sacrifice go down as a result of looking at the perfect life and death and resurrection of Jesus, or should my sacrifice go up? It seems that it should go up, that we should become more generous, not stingy, that we should become more holy, not more sinful.”
“A tithe is a great place to start, but probably not the place to finish; by the end of our lives, we want to be more and more generous. So, for new Christians who are hearing this and saying, all my money is budgeted and maxed out for this year and I don’t know where to start, I would say start somewhere – just start.”
In contrast to the world’s aim of setting its sights on the prize of wealth, Scripture has a different message.
“Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have.” Hebrews 13:5
Many Christians are in need of a wake-up call to reevaluate life goals, and redefine the prize.
“Just like with everything else that comes into our lives, we were intended to steward our entire lives to the glory of God. I don’t personally buy into what some would call like a poverty gospel that says the poorer I am, the more God loves me. God’s love is not based on my income or lack thereof.”
“But rather, as a child of God, it becomes a question of wisdom – is this the right way to live? Is this the loving way to live? Is this a generous way to live? Do I have to have that house or that car? Can I really be content with what I have?”
“Our wealth is not in our houses or our cars or our boats or our vacations. If you start to redefine wealth, and think of it in terms of relationships, you can become the wealthiest person in the world, you can be wealthy with God, you can be wealthy with one another, that’s real wealth. That’s the stuff you’ll be thinking about on your deathbed.”
When we place our value and purpose in Jesus Christ and the relationships He entrusts to us, our lives become a covenant of stewardship. Instead of seeking how much we can get, we are motivated by love for the one who gave his life for us.
Alex Early is a pastor with a Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served as a theology professor and founded the Acts 29 West Academy, a missional-theological training center. Alex lives with his wife and children in Seattle, Washington. He is author of .
Key Scriptures: Psalm 42:1
Featured Songs: Trust in You by Lauren Daigle; Never Stop by Urban Rescue; Priceless by For King and Country
Covenant of generous giving
