Why Tithe?

Tithing, giving to the church. Giving back to God what He already blessed me with.

First, a bit of context for the reason I'm writing this post:
I was asked this by a friend of the family a few weeks ago, why on earth I would tithe, and it kind of left me speechless. I know I want to do it, this 10% goes right into my budget...it's a 'non-negotiable'...but why??? I couldn't really explain it, because I didn't really fully understand it. So, I'm going to try my darndest to somehow try to explain why I do this, and maybe try to fully understand it myself.

Second, a bit of scriptural background for this act of tithing:

Leviticus 27:30-33
" '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. If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it. The entire tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod—will be holy to the LORD. He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.' "

Malachi 3:10
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

Luke 11:42
"Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone."

Luke 18:9-14
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about^[a] himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Basic Definitions:
A 'tithe', as I understand it, is 10% of my income, of everything I receive or earn. Given to the church, this money is to go towards the upkeep of a church building, church programming, missions work, the pastor's salary, and other sundry areas that help the work of the church members and leaders.

Anything more than 10% given is what I would call a "freewill" offering. Above and beyond a requested 10%, this money might be for a special program, or a charity that I felt drawn to.

So, the question is...WHY? Why give away 10% of my money??
Below are four points...I don't know if they're the right four points or if they could be more succinct, but this is what I came up with:

1) Following God's Request
This comes specifically out of the Bible. In Leviticus, tithing is outlined as quoted above. Tithing was a custom put into place so that the priests had money to live, the temple had money to be restored with, and the poor could be helped from the ministry of the temple. This basic principle is still in effect today, thus God's request has not changed after thousands of years. Pastors, ministering to the spiritual needs of the church and the greater community, need money to live from. The church building, a house for many services and community programs, needs upkeep. Programs that are run throughout the week and the year need basic funding so as to be offered to people who can't necessarily afford them or who are searching for spiritual guidance. All these needs are to be met by members of the church, bringing their own possessions forward to be shared among the body of believers. God requested a tithe from His followers thousands of years ago. The needs of the church have not changed, and neither has His request. Therefore, I tithe in response to God's request.

2) Spiritual Growth of my Local and Global Community through a Larger Institution
There are certain spiritual outreach programs that are run through a large institution that take mega-bucks and mega-time to organize and host. When my tithe is combined with the tithing of all the other members of my church, these larger-scale programs are made possible. Without the meshing of many different people's tithes, these outreach programs wouldn't be possible. Strength in numbers, essentially. Each person in the church plays a different role, based on their different strengths or weaknesses, or 'gifts'. When my money can go to support specific people in their specific areas of strength, then essentially I am saving myself a bit of hassle by allowing the church to be the discerning middle-man. Say I am a supporter of missions, music programming, and campus outreach. By giving to one organization, the church, they will take my money and hopefully spend it wisely in all three of these areas. They have accountability to the entire church congregation, as well as to the government, so I can trust that my money will be distributed wisely. By way of various committees and boards, they have systems in place to evaluate programs for effectiveness and give spiritual guidance. My money can be more effectively used in the hands of an institution with such systems.

3) Support Spiritual Leaders of the Church
Where would a salary for a pastor come from, if not from the church congregation? We have political leaders, workplace leaders, household leadership, etc...but what about spiritually? Who do we turn to when we need to work through spiritual questions and tough times? Who do we go to for prayer? Often, we turn to the church pastor. Someone who has studied the Word of God, someone who we trust to be in constant communion with God and who we trust to give wise advice. But, in order for that pastor to be available to us and to other community members, we must support him. And that's where part of my tithe goes.

4) Helping the Helpless
One of the big reasons for tithing is to help the poor. Help the hurting. Help the widows and widowers. Help children who are struggling. Help families, help singles and couples, help those who are searching for God, help those who are just trying to connect with a loving community. It's for us, as representatives of Christ, the most loving man to ever live, to reach out to the people around us with genuine compassion. Whether that outreach be a community barbeque or a weekly Bible study. Whether that be sending a missionary across the world to work with new tribes or to disciple students. We do it, we sponsor these programs, because we care. About every person and nation out there. I, personally, want to participate in these programs. But I don't have endless amounts of time to devote to volunteering for these things, so I end up sponsoring someone else to take on this ministry. Even like it says in Luke 11, we need to couple our giving with genuine love for those around us, God-given love.

Is there a difference between giving the whole 10% directly to my church, versus giving 5% to my church and 5% to other Christian ministries that interest me?
I don't know the answer to this. I think, right now, I'm giving 75% of my tithe to the church and 25% elsewhere. Hopefully, I will be able to move to giving even more away to specific people and programs outside of the church without having the need to decrease my church giving. It's kind of neat, though, to think that God promises to open the floodgates of heaven with blessings as we give cheerfully. The more we give, the more we will be given to give. I pray often that God would give me a generous spirit, that I never hoard or want to keep my own money or possessions, but rather that I would be so unattached to them that I could give them up without a second thought, if it would bring glory to God and compassion to my neighbours.

Money vs. Time: When I tithe, I talk specifically about my monetary and material possessions. Do I need to extend this tithing to my time? Or, when I donate time, do I count this as part of my monetary tithe, and thus give less monetarily? Or, is it that my monetary gift is my tithe and my temporal gift is my freewill offering?
I, again, don't know if there's a right answer here. I think a 10% monetary tithe in addition to a 10% temporal tithe would leave me in a very cool, very giving, very God-centred way of life. Giving money is one thing. Disciplining yourself to giving 10% of your time to God is another thing altogether. And I think that's what I want to do...because, really, God has given me life, has given me this time to live on earth, so let's give my life back to Him and His work as a sacrifice. I'm here to serve Him, to love Him, to be His walking ambassador to the world, so giving Him my time should be my pleasure. That's easier said than done.