Christian LivingTier 2AgreeStarted by Matthew Ward - July 11, 2025 - 8 comments
Giving 10%: Only to the church or split with other organizations?
Discussing:
“Giving 10% of your income is a requirement for Christians.”
Thread starter's perspective:
I believe Christian generosity shouldn’t be limited strictly to the local church. For example, if someone gives 5% of their income to their church and 5% to other organizations or directly to people in need, I feel that still honors the heart behind biblical generosity.
That said, I know some hold the view that the first 10% (the tithe) should specifically go to the church, and anything beyond that is considered additional giving. I don’t personally agree, but I’m curious to hear from others who see it differently.
What are your thoughts? Are there specific Bible verses or principles you’d point to in support of either side?
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DT
945
The tithe was only one part of the normal giving in the Old Covenant. If you were to follow all the giving and offering rules in the Law, the total percentage would be somewhere in the 20-30% range. As followers of Jesus, we live in the New Covenant, not the Old, so the rules of tithing and giving do not hold.
Still, Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that our righteousness is to exceed that of the Pharisees (Matthew 5:20) and the Pharisees were very good at giving. If we say, "oh, the old laws of tithe and giving do not apply to us now" and then use that as an excuse to NOT give, we are completely missing the point of what kingdom righteousness is. A heart that has been transformed by Christ should see giving as something we joyfully do, as much as possible. There is no law, but a truly transformed heart gives freely.
Now, whether to give to the church or other institutions, the church should be a primary center of our giving. It is the place of our spiritual nourishment in the word, sacraments, and fellowship and we have pastors who give so much of their time and energy to feed the flock through the study of the word, prayer, and spiritual care. To not want to support those who are our spiritual caretakers shows a heart that may be a bit too individualistic about our faith. We pay subscriptions for services we enjoy in so many areas of our lives, but to then not want to give to our church, which gives so much to us? Our giving reflects our values, and if we do not give to our church, do we really have a heart for it? I gladly give to the church; it is the body and the bride of Christ, an identity that no other institution can claim. God so arranged the body in His good will, and He put us in our churches to love, serve, and give.
RC
635
I think it should go to whom ever needs it. As long as it is charity that's what matters more in my view. As long as these charities are moral of course and have credible spending habits.
SW
751
I think we need to consider that the early church didn't have some sort of "tithe 10%" rule, at least as far as scripture tells us - rather Acts tells us that we saw folk selling everything they had and giving it to the apostles for distribution, which it is made clear was a voluntary thing when Peter tells Sapphira that she and Ananias were free to keep what they wanted, and their crime was lying about what they'd handed over. The epistles talk a lot about generosity and cheerful giving, but aside from Paul's telling us that elders who preach deserve to be financially supported there doesn't seem to be any hard and fast ruling about how we should financially support our local congregation.
BS
648
I think it’s important to donate the 10% to the church because our money is supposed to be what supports all operations. I also don’t firmly believe in 10% of treasure - time, treasure, and talent are all worthy tithes as not everyone can (realistically) afford a 10% tithe and not each of us is bold enough to be the woman who donates both coins she owns.
As for the glorified body, I don’t reckon much to the “after” cuz the Boss said not to
AR
1.0k
I believe that any donation to the church should be entirely voluntary. While I do think that the tithe can be a part of christianity, it should be pushed to give directly to trusted organisations and charities, not necessarily to the church. Although in an ideal situation, the church itself would be responsible for spreading the wealth across multiple different things, we live in a time when even the clergy aren't above taking for themselves. If a christian is demanded to give to a church that they do not trust to donate to causes they deem worthy, and instead cycle it back into the organisation, they should be well within their right not to give it to them.
