p. 98 | WHAT IS A TITHE? by G. B. Thompson

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 12, 1901

WHAT IS A TITHE?

By G. B. Thompson

G. B. Thompson, in N. Y. Indicator

Some of our good brethren and sisters seem perplexed to know what constitutes a faithful tithe, whether they should tithe the gross earnings, or deduct certain expenses.

It would seem that a little careful thought would make this matter plain. It is like this: In tithing we simply take the Lord in as a partner in our business. He becomes a member of the firm, so to speak. If you are a farmer, the Lord furnishes the farm; for the land is His. He provides all the horses, cattle, flocks, and fowls; for they, too, belong unto Him. Ps. 24:1; 50:8-12. He provides the material from which all the farming implements are made. He gives them the dew, the rain, and the sunshine to make the crops grow, besides furnishing the seed, and feeding the teams as well as ourselves, giving life and energy to all. All this, and much more, the Lord provides, as the senior member of the firm. Surely, we can not afford to leave Him out of our business. Now, for all this He simply says: I reserve only the one tenth as holy unto myself, to be used in paying the servants that I have chosen to publish my gospel of salvation to a lost race. I give you the other nine tenths as your share, only asking that you make such freewill offerings from it as my Spirit may lead you to do. Surely, our God is a reasonable God, and nothing but covetousness, which is idolatry, would lead us to withhold the share that belongs to Him.

Suppose we were in partnership with a neighbor in some business, he furnishing all the capital, and reserving only the tenth of the income for himself. What would you think of the professed Christian who would fail to give even this, claiming that he did not know how to get at the tenth, or that he could not afford to give so much? Would you regard such a person a true Christian, and believe that he had a clear title to a mansion in the sky? But is our title any clearer because we take it from the Lord instead of the neighbor? I hope all will carefully weigh this point.

The process of determining just how much is the Lord's share is similar to that by which persons in business determine how much constitutes each other's share. It may be a little difficult at times, but that serves all the more to remind us that the Lord is in the business, and this is one great blessing of the tithing system; it reminds us constantly of the Lord.

“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's: it is holy unto the Lord.”