Is 10% Enough? Why the Tithe is a Floor, Not a Ceiling

GivMoar, Episode 3 — watch the episode below, or read on.

The Picture You Inherited

Have you ever heard that behavior’s “caught,” not “taught”? I bet you probably ran into that while raising your kids. Well, you’ve built your financial behaviors for the last 40 years doing it the way you’ve been doing it. Have you stopped and wondered why? What’s your first thought when I say the word “money”? Is it a joyous thought? Is it stress? If we’re not careful, we can adopt a way of thinking about money that isn’t very well informed by Scripture. How to handle money and how much to give was probably modeled to you by someone. You probably experienced it and absorbed it before you started acting on it. Why did you build up a large 401(k) balance? Was it just the thing you were supposed to do? Why did you give 10% of your paycheck to your church? Did you dive deep into it, or was it the product of the environment you were in?

We live in a consumeristic culture where it’s genuinely rare to have a give-first mindset, especially in retirement. Have you stopped to think about what a novel concept retirement itself is? It’s a result of the industrial revolution — it’s not a part of the covenant promises of God. We all know retiring to a life of golf and sailing is cliché — but retiring to a new vocation isn’t usually top of mind. If we want to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, we need to change the air we breathe every day. We need to “catch” it. I can’t preach it to you and you change.

The Renewed Mind

Paul says in Romans 12:2:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2, ESV)

Certainly this applies to how we are saved, and it applies directly to our response to the gospel. In our response to the gospel, sometimes it seems like we get transactional. When we’re a living sacrifice, doesn’t that include our giving? This gets uncomfortable when we talk about money, and I have seen some fear in my clients’ eyes when I give them a much more scholarly sounding version of “let go and let God” when it comes to their retirement savings. But I’m not advocating for foolishness or not counting the cost. I’m advocating for our view to be transformed so that it isn’t one of lack but of abundance. Israel’s covenant with God in Malachi’s time had specific blessings and curses for covenant obedience — and one of the laws was requiring tithing. But in the new covenant we are called to excel in everything — faith, speech, knowledge, earnestness, love, and yes, also giving!

I’ve been blessed to see many Christians mature over my Christian life and career. I’ve seen people go from misers and worriers to generous givers, and what changed first was their heart. And their heart was changed by the Word of God. So if you want to become a giver, live in the Word.

What the Bible Says About How Much

The Bible is not silent about giving. Proverbs 3:9 teaches giving from the firstfruits of your produce. Giving should be proportional, like Paul told the Corinthian church. It should be decided in your heart and directed by cheer. The Macedonian church was poor and begged for the honor of giving. Paul brings this up to the relatively wealthy church at Corinth — and it could easily be us, the church at Everytown, United States of America. You are the wealthiest generation of Christians in history. You know more affluence than King David did. You have indoor plumbing, air conditioning, memory foam mattresses, penicillin, the internal combustion engine, battery-powered everything, all the world’s known knowledge in your pocket, fast cars, long lives, great healthcare, freedom of speech, a government that recognizes rights to personal property, and more blessings than I could even list. It’s ridiculous how rich we are. What an amazing blessing from a God who loves to give good gifts to His children.

And we’re going to deploy 10% of what He’s given us back out into the world? It just feels like a tiny fraction. Going back to the Old Testament tithe, it sure seems like 10% is a floor for giving. Certainly not a ceiling.

Proportional to What?

So if giving should be proportional — what should it be proportional to? Your prosperity stopped arriving as a paycheck (aside from Social Security, or if you’re a lucky pension haver). 10% of your income in retirement could be a rounding error compared to your net worth in retirement. I’ve seen people justify their giving by saying they give 10% of their income — well, their adjusted gross income — well, their net income — well… their net income after taxes. Brother or sister, if you’re trying to justify your giving by going through a similar thought process, may I lovingly rebuke you and ask you to check your heart?

While you’re in your accumulating years, a percent of income for giving makes a lot of sense. Some people don’t save much for retirement, too, and it’s okay to stay here for your whole life. But for someone who has saved and is making the switch from accumulation to decumulation, 10% is a great floor. Consider a hypothetical example: if you’re retiring with two million dollars in your retirement portfolio, you need about $90,000 a year to live off, and you’re sticking with a 10%-of-your-income giving strategy (without using any net-income-after-tax loopholes), then you’d be giving less than one half of one percent of your total invested assets away each year. And you’d be giving more than most people in the country do. (Fewer than half of U.S. households give to charity at all in a given year, according to Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy — and among those who do, giving typically runs 2–3% of income.) And from what I’ve seen, without good tax planning you could be writing checks to the IRS that are double, triple, or quadruple the amount you give every year — because pre-tax balances mean RMDs, and RMDs on a compounding portfolio climb the brackets in your 80s and 90s and leave a tax time bomb.

Does that sound like burying your treasure in the sand? I know that the parable of the talents is about so much more than money — but it’s about money too! You are a steward of what God has entrusted to you, and you shouldn’t be afraid of losing it all. That mentality is what actually leads to losing it. Deciding first how much you want to spend on yourself is a question that follows after this one, and I’m planning to discuss that in a later episode.

What to Do About It

Well, first, you should live in the Word. This is the single most important prescription for every Christian. You want to know what God says? He said it, and He doesn’t change. The canon of Scripture is closed. If you want to hear the word of God, read the Bible. If you want to hear the audible voice of God, read the Bible out loud. It’s all there.

Second, if you’re not committed to percent giving already — start there. Force it. I’m convinced the tithe is the starting place for Christians. Give 10% of your gross income to your local church. If you can’t do 10, start with 2 or 5. It doesn’t matter how much; it just matters that you do it. If you’re already giving a percent but want to know how much more to give, it starts getting more complicated — and a lot more fun.

Giving is the most fun you’ll ever have with money. Blessing ministries that need it, surprising widows and orphans, caring for those that minister in the Word: these are all things with an insanely high return on investment.

Thirdly, pray a lot. Just kidding — prayer is actually second, after reading the Word, but this is a money show and I had to get to the numbers part quickly. Talk with your Lord. He loves you, He cares about you, and you will never outgive the One who gave His only Son to become poor so you could become rich. He has given us so much, and when we understand the depth of our sin and the riches of His grace, we burst out in thankful living. GivMoar rests on a Giver, not a quota. Rest in Him.

Next time, we’ll be talking about why I think it’s sometimes hard for us to give to our local churches as much as we should. Thanks for reading — and if you’d rather watch, subscribe to GivMoar on YouTube.

Soli Deo Gloria!

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Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended as legal, tax, or investment advice. Please consult with a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation. Investment advisory services offered through Demland Wealth LLC, a state-registered investment advisor in Ohio & Indiana.