WHAT SHALL I TITHE? by A. R. Ogden

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 17, 1901

WHAT SHALL I TITHE?

By A. R. Ogden

A. R. OGDEN. (Valparaiso, Chile.)

JACOB said, “Of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” Gen. 28:22.

Many who pay faithfully a tithe of that which they themselves earn are sometimes troubled to know what to do when something falls into their hands as a gift or by inheritance,—something which they themselves have not actually earned.

The scripture quoted would seem to make it clear: “Of ALL that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” The cattle upon a thousand hills, all the gold and silver, are His, everything that comes to us is from God. “Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth.” Deut. 8:18.

Whether it is earned by actual labor or comes by inheritance or gift, it is the Lord who gives it. Therefore He asks for recognition by our rendering to Him His own—the tithe. It is to be used in support of His work. If we are willing to give the Lord a tenth of that which we earn by hard labor, how much more willingly we should render to Him a tenth of that which comes to us in an easier manner. We suggest the reading of the following scriptures on the tithing question: Lev. 27:30; Mal. 3:8-11; Matt. 23:23; 1 Cor. 10:31; Prov. 3:6.