to tithe or not to tithe...

A tithe (from Old English teogoþa "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a (usually) voluntary contribution or as a tax or levy, usually to support a Jewish or Christian religious organization. Today, tithes (or tithing) are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes could be paid in kind, such as agricultural products. Several European countries operate a formal process linked to the tax system allowing some churches to assess tithes.
When we, as Christians, study and talk about “Godly Giving” lots and lots of questions come into play. How you choose to answer these questions will go a long way to determine how you will respond to God’s call to give.
What percentage is the tithe?
This is the most often asked question I hear about giving. The best answer may at first seem like a “cop-out.” I kind of like the answer, “it depends.” Mike and I had a talk with Jeff and Ryan about this at lunch the other day.
According to the Bible, the word “tithe” literally means one tenth. This “tenth” is the minimum amount God expects from you as a believer as a testimony that you have surrendered to Him the whole. The tithe is the minimum amount God expects but you should not feel limited by this amount. God’s Word teaches that you should give whatever the Holy Spirit convicts you to give. (Jeff teaches that, too) If for you the tithe is 15%, give it. If it is 25%, give it. If for you the tithe is 50% then go for it. Just do it with the right heart.
But what if you want to start tithing and can’t see a way to reach the tenth. What do you do? Start wherever you can and build from there. God knows the attitude of your heart, if you are genuine. If you have the heart to tithe, but can’t, ask God to give you the means to tithe. If you have the means, but don’t tithe, ask God to give you the heart to let it go. God is the center of the tithe. He can give you both the heart and the means…just ask Him. (We dealt with this ourselves. Tithing comes much easier to Michael than it does to me. I very often get scared we will “need” that money. One of Mike’s spiritual gifts when we went through discovery was faithfulness. It was soooo right.

A short and true story below that I lifted offline:

The pastor of a large church did a survey and found out that his church’s giving patterns were pretty much average: twenty percent gave eighty percent of the money. Less than three percent of them tithed. One Sunday morning, he took the offering plate through the church himself. He opened every envelope and looked at every check and counted every dollar bill. Needless to say, this caused quite a commotion.
For the entire week after that service the church was abuzz. Some people were irritated, and everybody wondered what he was up to.
The following Sunday he gave a message entitled, “Are you more concerned about what men know than what God knows?” The point was, why be concerned about your pastor knowing how much you give? Why aren’t you concerned what God knows?
How much the tithe? It depends. It depends on your relationship with God.

Do I tithe on the net or the gross?
In Proverbs 3:9 you find that you are to honor God from the first fruits of your harvest (of the increase that you realize). Then in Leviticus 27:30 you find, “A tithe of everything belongs to the Lord.” Many interpret these verses to mean you are to tithe from the gross.
You also learned that when you tithe you gain God’s wisdom and God’s blessing. So, do you tithe on the net or the gross? I guess it depends upon whether you want God to bless the net or the gross? Maybe? These ideas are just things to ponder on, and to ask questions about. Although I am bringing this all up, I am certainly not the one to answer indepth questions. But, I CAN direct you to someone that will. If you want to post anonymous thoughts/ideas/questions, feel free to add to this.
I encourage you and your family to stretch your faith in this area. We are stretchin’ at the Smith household and we aren’t starving yet! (We have had to ask Misty to hold a check for a day or two though!)
Why Christians Do Not Tithe
1. Unbelief
2. Fear
3. Greed, Selfishness
4. Lack Of Right Teaching

The cure for the first three is teaching. So, more Christians do not tithe because there has not been enough correct teaching. To our shame, recent surveys reveal only a small percentage of "Christians" give at least ten percent of their income to God. People invent all kinds of excuses to not give at least ten percent of their money to God -- such as the epistles not teaching tithing. Is the virgin birth of Jesus taught in the epistles? (No, but the virgin birth is still true…so what’s your argument now?) How many times does God have to tell us something for us to believe it?
There is not much direct teaching in the New Testament concerning tithing. One reason may be because the Lord wants a love relationship with us, not just a legal obligation from us. However, that surely does not mean we should do less in a love relationship than they did in the Old Testament under the Law.

The money and TIME you give to Jesus can be the best indicators of how much you love Him.