Happy To, Not Have To

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

This may come as a culture shock to many, but tithing is not a New Testament principle, and you are not in any way bound to it. That's right, I said you are not biblically obligated to tithe. The tithe was the old covenant's way of taking care of the priestly tribe--it was Levi's inheritance (as they did not receive a portion of the land.) Nowhere in the New Testament are we told or even encouraged to tithe. But here we're given a replacement principle: the principle of cheerful giving. Notice, though, that this is not limited to giving to the church as a corporate organization. Throughout history, but especially in this era of grace, God has given us more than we could ever grasp. Is it really so much for us to show forth His love and blessings by being generous to one another? Of course not! God did away with the tithe because it's purpose had been fulfilled, and He didn't want us to associate giving with "having to". We ought to give because we're "able to" and because we "want to". Your choice is not one of are you going to obey or not obey; but of are you going to be grudging or generous.