I have been wrestling with this question for a few weeks now, and can see validity to both points of view. On one hand, if you tithe BEFORE investing, the church will have money right away. On the other hand, if you tithe AFTER investing, the church will have more money (if done right) but it will take longer to give.
I’m staying vague here because I want to hear from YOU. What do you think? Should people tithe before or after investing? I’ll meet you in the comments if you want to join me!
hmmm… It’s a valid point of discussion. The way I always tithed is to take ten percent out of my check when I get it, sometimes I do gross, sometimes I do net. I also tithe to whoever God lays on my heart, especially right now in the transition state I’m in. That would be the foundation of my response to this – especially not having experience with investing.
I sometimes think of investing as potential income, something that could happen, but might not. What if you lost all that money and were unable to tithe on it?
I’m not bound to “Thou shalt tithe ten percent on every bit of income thou makes.” No, I think it’s more along the lines of how we view money. Is it God’s or is it our own? So, that said, I’m leaning towards saying tithe before investing.
Or, here’s a thought, tithe twice. Or tithe the dividends.
(John, thanks for asking the question. Did two things for me. Got me thinking about tithing again, and gave me a good idea for a future article.)
The bible is very clear on tithing. We tithe on all income and fruits first. When God asks that you bring the whole tithe (Malachi 3 :10) he doesn’t say. Go make money, pay your bills, make profits then pay me. Therefore, once the income is made – pay tithe.
I tithe on my gross income, and then I tithe on my profit from my investments. God has blessed me
BEFORE! There is no investment return on earth that can match the returns promised us in heaven when we give faithfully. Tithe up front in faith and see what God pours out in response (see Malachi 3:10).
All of you have amazing points.
JC made a great point about investing before tithing . . . who knows if we’ll make a profit to give to the church? Giving BEFORE investing is a surefire way for the church to make money. I think this is the most biblical stance as well.
But what about tithing gross income (before tax) or net income (after tax)? I have heard it argued that because tax is something that comes out of our paychecks and we don’t have control over it, we should tithe on our net income. However, I have also heard it argued that we should tithe on our gross income.
I’m curious to see what you all think about tithing net or gross income. Some of you touched on it, but explain why you do what you do!
Looking forward to our continuing discussion.
I agree with JC (at least when he says he looks at investing as potential income).
Let’s take it a step further. Should we tithe before or after we “invest” our income in Las Vegas or at the dog track? While I realize this is extreme, many could argue that they are good at the blackjack table and therefore it is a good “investment” with the promise of a “good return”.
I would suggest that investing – whether stocks, real estate (especially as we have seen lately!), etc. – has inherent risk and it is not our right to put God’s money at risk prior to giving it. I see the difference between Las Vegas and Coca Cola stock to be simply the difference between risk/return ratios.
My two cents…
There’s no reason to shortchange God. When I’m in doubt on my tithe, I always round up
As for your question, I say you can do both! Tithe on the gross, ten percent off the top. God definitely comes before the government.
When I retire, I plan to tithe on all the increase I’ve made over the years as well! I know that God will supply all my needs and that it’s all His money to begin with anyway.
Nobody really tithes today. True HOLY biblical tithes were always only food from inside God’s HOLY land of Israel which God had miraculously increased. Money was essential to sanctuary worship, but money was never tithed. Tithes could not come from what man increased or from outside Israel.
I am an Irish-descendant Gentile. God never commanded anybody other than OT national Israel to obey the entire Mosaic Law. And Gentiles could not tithe even if they wanted to tithe.
Thank you Russell for your comment! Your viewpoint is very intriguing. I’d like to explore this more. I think many would agree that money is a good substitute for those things which people sacrificed in OT times. But explain more! Looking forward to our conversation!
I agree that the tithe should be on the FIRSTfruits. My wife and I have our tithe automatically withdrawn every month, so we have more easily overcome the psychological hurdles. It brings us great joy to give to the Church proper, but also to support missionaries abroad. An interesting concept would be to discuss tithing after retirement and after the regular paycheck(s) are gone.
Even if tithing isn’t mentioned in the NT like it is in the OT, I don’t see how one could look at their heart and find a non-selfish reason to skip out on tithing. Great article, thanks!
I found the comments very interesting. I can see the stance of tithing and how it is good for the church and God. However, I am in a bit of a predicament right now. My possible fiance with 3 young children is a believer in tithing. While I think it is a wonderful thought I can’t see the reality in it – for the near future. We might begin our marriage with a lot of debt mainly from legal expenses pertaining to custody arguments. Here is the question – since we will have all of this debt should we practice tithing? Everything I have I owe to God. But at the same time, I feel he has put me on this earth to do good. The good – is to provide for my family, first. In addition, I have been involved with many area nonprofits and give to them generously. I feel if we do one day get out of debt I want to give 1/2 to charity and 1/2 to the church. After looking at the site and the comments I know I am in the minority. But, again, I feel I was put on this earth to do good things and be a good steward of the money I earn. I have clothed people who are naked, fed people that are hungry, etc. What do you think about my views?
Maurice,
Everyone is different in their convictions about tithing. At times I have wondered if it is better spiritually and financially to tithe once we are out of debt.
But then I asked myself a question . . . why does God want us to give? One answer is that giving helps those we give to, but I think it also helps us. Giving changes our perspective on money.
I’m going to leave it at that, I hope that nugget was helpful!
To Maurice. We also have a large amount of debt we are trying to pay off. I can tell you that for us, personally, when we don’t put tithe before our debt, we don’t seem to have the funds for even the most basic necessities: food, fuel to get to work; and coming up short for others such as the electric bill or even not having our entire mortgage payment. This definitely doesn’t allow for us to even consider putting anything toward the debt that we are so worried about in the first place.
As for tithing: We asked ourselves this question to decide if we would tithe on gross or net income: Do we want a “gross” blessing, or are we satisfied with a “net” blessing. Needless to say, we tithe on gross, and everything else just falls completely into the place that God wants it.
LOVE the perspective of a “gross” or “net” blessing, Jessie! That’s great. I also tithe on gross and believe strongly in that. Like it has been said, the “first fruits.” I don’t want to give God what’s left over from my paycheck after everyone else takes their cut.
But you are absolutely right about the money going farther. When you obey and give, God will make the remaining funds stretch farther than they would have before. It’s an awesome thing.
This is a really interesting topic. It is something my husband and I have talked about a lot. We would never even consider not tithing on our income, regardless of our situation. As far as tithing while in debt, my opinion is that for whatever reason, YOU chose to have debt and you made the decision to take on that debt. The Lord doesn’t say “only tithe when you have the money”, it is expected that we do it even when times are tough. If we do, He will bless us and making the sacrifice and being obedient is one of the reasons to tithe in the first place. It’s not easy, but if it was, everyone would do it!
We have made good decisions and stayed out of debt completely. We have an emergency fund and good jobs. We have paid cash for college and continue to live well below our means. We live a frugal lifestyle but still have tons of fun and we try to bless others with what we’ve been given. But all this is not because we have done it all. It is because we have been blessed by doing what we believe the Lord wants us to do. Part of that is paying a full and honest tithe.
I love reading about money and how it ties to religion and God’s plan for us. Thanks for the article.
I stumbled upon this topic and as a Dave Ramsey follower, I believe in giving to the church. However, I believe you give what you can if you are in debt and God would want you to take care of yourself first. Read what this person has to say and the scriptures he quotes to back up his beliefs:
http://www.tithing-russkelly.com/id23.html
“The Code of Jewish Law says, “He who has barely sufficient for his own needs, is not obligated to give charity, for his own sustenance takes precedence over another’s.” The Jewish Mishnah contains other exemptions of poor persons. Unfortunately, it is all too common to find large churches with many poor who give above and beyond their means out of fear of the Old Covenant curse of Malachi 3:9. Expecting the poor to pay tithes from welfare and Social Security checks is a disgrace. Many poor who tithe are then forced to depend even more on welfare because the church does not give more back to the poor than it receives from them. Such treatment is oppression of the poor and is a modern scandal.”
Food for thought.