Do Christians have to tithe, to give a tenth of our income?  Should we tithe on our gross income, or only what’s left after taxes?  Do we have to give all of our tithe to the church, or can we use it for other charitable purposes?  Behind all of these questions lies one central concern:  how much do we have to we give to God, so we can keep the rest of it for ourselves?

How different was the attitude of God’s Old Testament people.  Instead of counting out their pennies to see how little they were required to give, their hearts stirred them to give (Exodus 35:21).  They had hearts that were willing to give (Exodus 35:22).  Moreover, their hearts stirred them to use their skills for God’s glory (Exodus 35:26; 36:2).

And what was the result?  Moses didn’t have to conduct a capital campaign.  He didn’t have to ask his elders to do an “every member canvass” to persuade them to increase their giving.  No, he had to put out exactly the opposite message.  The people brought more than enough to finish the project, so Moses had to tell them to stop giving so much (Exodus 36:5-6).

So maybe we all need to take a good look in the mirror.  Instead of asking, “How much do I have to give,” we should ask, “How much of my time, talent, and treasure can I give?  What can I do today to glorify God and bless other people?”  How much could we accomplish if we gave so much that people asked us to stop?  How much could God accomplish through us if we gave ourselves completely to Him?

Exodus 36:2-7 (ESV)

² And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. ³ And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, ⁴ so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, ⁵ and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do.” ⁶ So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, ⁷ for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.