Arthur Burk on Tithing

Arthur Burk brings up a number of interesting observations on tithing in one of his teaching CDs. He raises some good questions on how we come to tithe regularly on Sunday, who do we tithe to, and how the tithes should be used, etc. He challenges us to examine the Biblical models of tithing and to find creative ways in our own tithing within our own culture.

Arthur accurately points out that in 1 Cor. 16:1-2, the collection is for a gift to Jerusalem (2 Cor. 8,9), and not so much about a church tradition of collecting tithe regularly on "the first day of the week". Many tend to believe this is a model for churches to collect tithes regularly every Sunday. Arthur calls this a "mythology", and that there is no direct or indirect teaching in the Bible on how to give to the local church on an ongoing basis.

I tend to agree with Arthur on this. However, we should never read the Scripture and adopt blindly what has been done or not done in Biblical times to our day and age. Just because the Bible has no direct formula for giving to the church / God on a regular basis does not mean that we should abandon any routine or structure that has been put in place, and has been effective in church administration. Perhaps in our culture, it serves the church and the congregation better to have a regular weekly collection ... but perhaps not. I believe what Arthur really wants us to do is to examine whether we truly understand what tithes are for. So he continues ....

In 1 Cor. 9, the focus is on the sacrifice of Paul and his willingness to give up his rights he could have expected from the Corinthians. It is a picture of a leader who does not want to impose any extra burden on his people. Arthur again is correct that there is no mandatory requirement of the Corinthians to pay for Paul's ministry, even though this is his right, or applying to today's setting, for the congregation to pay for the church's ministries / pastor salaries, etc.

In Mal. 3:10, I agree with Arthur in his observation of the erroneous interpretation by many pastors in promising financial blessings that will follow if one were to tithe. Although no pastor will explicitly mention financial blessings, the problem is that blessings, in many other forms, even through suffering, are rarely mentioned, if at all! It is so true that in reality, as Arthur mentions, many sincere, obedient believers who tithe and yet see no difference, absolutely no benefits in their financial situations. "Tithing is not a one step cure for financial problems."

The most interesting part of Arthur's teaching for me is the observation he makes from Deut 12:17, and 14:22-29. Here tithes are for the giver ... mostly! In fact, 2/3 of the tithes goes back to the giver and 1/3 of the tithes goes to aliens, fatherless, and widows. Unlike Arthur, I am not so much interested in the allocation of the tithes and their uses but on the principles behind. In these two passages, the phrase "eat ... in the presence of the LORD your God" is repeated 3 times. It seems that tithes serve as an instrument for God's people to be in God's presence through the meals, so that they may revere Him and to rejoice in His goodness. This is surely quite different from how we understand what tithing is supposed to be! It is not for the salary of the priests, or the building, etc.

So what does it mean for us Christians nowadays? Our culture is so different from that of biblical times, and we need to reflect on what has been said above. We have nice church buildings, we have numerous programs and ministries, we have pastors and staff, etc., and none of these can exist without a system of management for the congregation to help maintain it. Christ died for the Church and whether she is effective or not in her ministries is not a deciding factor on whether we should support our local church or not. So even though there does not seem to be a model of regular collection in the Bible, we want to follow Christ's example to care and love the Church.

As to the question of whether we should use our tithes solely for the local church, I tend to agree with Arthur that blindly writing a cheque every week surely misses the point. Tithing to expect God to bless us more, even not in financial terms, is another big bad message from the pulpit! If we use our tithe so that we can truly be priests to the world (Exo. 19:5,6), and be agents of redemption of this world, then to me, it doesn't really matter whether this is done through the giving to the church, or for charities, or for a dinner with our neighbors (whether they are saved or not), or a book (secular or not) for ourselves that encourages us to greater intimacy with God and thus service to the world, etc. I hope this captures the essence of what Arthur is trying to say about the creative use of our tithes!

Arthur's website can be accessed here.