Do I Have to Tithe?

Word of Faith — a.k.a., Prosperity Gospel — preachers love to talk about tithing. That refers to a traditional practice of giving 10% of your income to your church. If you listen to them, most likely you will hear the same things I heard.

• “Tithing is the door that opens up the blessings of God.”
• “If you tithe, you will be blessed. If you don’t tithe, you will be cursed. It’s that simple.”
• “10% of your income belongs to God. Therefore, if you don’t tithe, you are robbing God.”
• “Every sinner I know who got saved started by tithing. Then they saw how God blessed them and gave their lives to Christ.”
• “God can’t bless that which is cursed. That’s why God isn’t answering your prayers. You’re not tithing; therefore, you are cursed.”

If you don’t mind my giving away the ending, all of that is crap. But I don’t expect you to take my word for it, so I’ll show you where that doctrine came from, and why it is both unbiblical and unchristian. After that, we can talk about what to do instead.

But first I want to make it clear I am not against tithing per se. Many people have given 10% of their income to the church their whole lives, and it has never been a hardship for them. It can be a good exercise in discipline and stewardship of the resources God gives you. I am…