Why tithing isn’t really about money
A reflection on trust, provision, and why your giving matters to God.
“A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.”
Leviticus 27:30
Our church—like many small churches—is facing financial challenges. We’re having hard conversations about staffing, about what we can afford, and about who or what we might lose.
These are the sometimes grim realities of running a church, but it bothers me that these conversations are centered around money. Because I don’t think the problem is financial. I think it’s spiritual.
Here's the thing: I have come to believe that if we all understood tithing the way I’ve come to understand it, we wouldn’t be in this mess. If we all lived into the truth of God's provision and God's abundance and God's faithfulness, our church would have more than enough.
Tithing is about faith
Tithing is about faith—faith that God will provide, and faith that what He provides is and will always be enough.
So let's talk about what it means for God to provide.
The Bible never said God would provide us with money. There's a reason that in the Lord’s Prayer, the only tangible, worldly thing we ask for ourselves is our daily bread.
That’s what God promises: sustenance for today. Manna in the wilderness. When the Israelites tried to gather more than they needed for the day, it rotted.
Hoarding reveals a lack of trust in God to provide tomorrow. So does fretting about your retirement or your savings.
Do you have food on the table tonight? Then God has done exactly what he has always promised.
God provides daily bread—literal food, what we need to live another day. Today, most of us acquire that food with money, and so we confuse the system with the source.
God isn’t providing through your bank account. His provision isn’t your paycheck or your credit score. Food is what God provides; money is how he provides it.
The food on your table tonight is God’s provision. That’s it. And that’s enough.
What giving really means
So if God will always provide what we truly need, where does tithing come in? Certainly God has no use for our money, but in our society, it is often how he provides for us.
Tithing is not a payment for services rendered. It’s not a way of saying: God has given to me, so I will give in return.
Rather, tithing is a gesture of faith. It is a way of saying: I trust You, Lord. I believe in You. I take You at Your word.
It is a way of saying: Lord, everything I have is a blessing from you, and I know you will continue to provide. It is a way of saying: Thank you.
And God pays attention. When you take the firstfruits of your crop or your livestock—in our case, the first of our income—and give it to him, he notices.
Give, and give a little more
Giving money back to God through tithing is the practice, but from God’s point of view, it’s not enough to just write a monthly donation into your budget.
There is nothing wrong with starting small when it comes to tithing. What’s important is that the tithe, whatever the amount, feels like a step too far.
Yes, your giving must be just a little uncomfortable. It needs to be more than you feel is “safe” for you to give. That’s the key.
This is not about dollar amounts or percentages, but about your relationship with money and your relationship with God.
Because if you only give what feels safe, what are you really saying to God?
Jesus said, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?” We could ask the same about giving. If you only give what doesn’t stretch you, what credit is that to you?
If you’re giving only what feels comfortable, you are in essence placing God as an equal among your other bills and expenses. Blessing God becomes checking a box, and we should never reduce our relationship with God to such a transactional nature.
Give in a way that reflects trust. Give in a way that feels a little risky. Not because God needs your money—but because your faith needs the exercise.
To follow the law, or fulfill it
We treat tithing like the ancient Israelites treated the law. When Jesus came, he did not abolish the law, the Torah—he fulfilled it through love.
Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.
Matthew 22:37–40
Love both transcends the law and ensures faithful compliance with the law in one fell swoop. In the same way, we fulfill the spirit of the tithe by recognizing this truth: Everything we have came from God, everything we receive belongs to him already, and he will never stop providing what we need every day.
Instead of treating our tithing like we are following God’s commands—which we technically are—we should instead treat tithing like an abundant display of our thankfulness for all God’s blessings. We should give joyfully, not fearfully, because we know he will provide.
We can surrender our need for security, because our security is in him.
So when money comes to us—because that’s how we get our daily bread today—the first portion of it should go back to God. Not because we have to, but because we get to. Because we want to.
This isn’t a fundraising pitch. It’s not a call to generosity. It’s a test of your faith.
It’s a reminder that what we have today is enough. Because if we have our daily bread, we have everything God has promised us.
And so, because he has given us everything we truly need, we give to him a little more than we think we can.