A number of places in the Old and New Testaments make reference to giving a tenth of our income to advance the work of God. It is hard to get real numbers of how many people actually give 10% or more of their gross annual income to the church but best estimates place this in the 8 -12% range of those attending church. In other words, only a small percentage of Christians actually tithe.
Now, I don’t believe we should make a law out of tithing, only a standard. I fall into the camp of Randy Alcorn who believes tithing is the training wheels of learning to be a generous giver. You start out with 10% and increase it from there. A tithe should be our minimum starting point.
But, “God loves a cheerful giver," you say in reply! Amen! I agree. And I think we should cheerfully tithe. I am not going to let you off so easy on this one because it can change your life.
Wherever you are right now, make a plan to begin to tithe 10% of your gross annual income. That means to give God the first, right off the top. Make adjustments in your budget to be able to continue this practice. It will be a little frightening at first, yet as you adjust, it will become a great joy to see what God can do with the 90% that remains. I would certainly rather honor God and invite Him to help me with my finances than to forget God and depend fully on myself. Now that is a scarier thought to me than tithing. If you decide to begin to tithe, pray and ask God for the strength to be faithful.
