p. 44 | The Lord's Tithe by James White

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 31, 1879

The Lord's Tithe.

By James White

The Lord's tithe is not a sacrifice on our part, neither is it a gift to him. All is the Lord's. We are his workmanship. We, and all we have, are the Lord's. The gift is on the part of the Lord. He gives us nine-tenths, and reserves only a tenth to himself. With this view of the subject, we should feel the force of the words of the prophet, “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.” Mal. 3:8.

Those who appropriate to themselves the Lord's tithe, rob God, and have reason to tremble before his word, “Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.” Verse 9. Rather than to rob God, and fall under his curse, we should rejoice before him that it is our privilege to obey and receive the blessing. “Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground.” Verses 10, 11.

A double blessing is here promised to the obedient and faithful; first, the rebuke of the devourer, such as the grasshopper, the caterpillar, the weevil, and the chintz-bug, so that the ground may bring forth abundance for man and beast; and, second, the very windows of heaven will be opened to them, and spiritual blessings will be poured out to overflowing. And as surely as the blessing to the obedient is two-fold, the curse upon them who rob God of his tithe, will be the withholding of both temporal and spiritual blessings.

“Abraham,” the father of the faithful, “gave a tenth part of all.” Heb. 7:1, 2. And Jacob vowed to the Lord, “Of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” Gen. 28:20-22. God's claim of the tithe is patriarchal, and no more Jewish than Christian. It is indorsed by Christ when he charges the scribes and Pharisees with omitting judgment, mercy, and faith, while strictly tithing such small products as mint, anise, and cummin. “These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” Matt. 23:23.

“In the time of Moses, when everything was more definitely regulated by law, this system was very plainly enforced. Thus the Lord says: ‘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.’ ‘And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.’ Lev. 27:30, 32. All the tithe of the land, whether it grew from that which was sown, as wheat, corn, and potatoes, or was that which the tree brought forth, as apples, pears, and peaches, was to be given to the Lord. So also a tithe of the herd, that is, of the cattle, and of the flock, was to be the Lord’s. One-tenth of all that they raised or made in any manner was to be given for the support of the priests. If a farmer raised one hundred bushels of wheat, ten of these were the Lord’s. If he raised ten sheep, one was the Lord’s; or ten oxen, one was the Lord’s. If he made ten dollars, one was the Lord’s. One-tenth of all his income from every source was required.”

But here the questions arise in some minds, Does the word income mean the gross income of all that comes into one’s hands, as the product of all his sales? or, does it mean the net income, or the real increase, after the payment of hired help, or interest on notes and mortgages upon the very lands which the farmer cultivates?

It is said by some that the following statement on page 34 of the pamphlet entitled, “Systematic Benevolence, or the Bible Plan of Supporting the Ministry,” declares that a tenth of all that comes into one’s hands should be set apart as the Lord’s tithe, before deducting such expenses as the payment of hired help and interest money on lands:— “How much ought I to give for the support of the gospel? After carefully viewing the subject from all points, we answer, A tithe of all our income. This does not mean a tenth of our annual increase of property after the cost of food and clothing, and other expenses, are paid, but that nine parts of our income are to meet all these expenses, while a tithe of our income is the Lord’s, to be sacredly devoted to the support of the ministry.”

It is urged by these that the words, “and other expenses,” in the phrase, “after the cost of food and clothing, and other expenses, are paid,” embraces all expenses, including hired help, and interest paid on lands cultivated. But we see no necessity for this construction. It means other expenses like food and clothing, such as arise from giving our children educational advantages, or from sickness. The reader will please let the words “income,” “increase,” “and other expenses,” on page 34, be explained by the words, “we make,” in the following taken from page 15 of the same book: “The Lord graciously gives us nine-tenths of all that we make.”

We will here suppose an extreme case, to show that it is impossible for some men to give one-tenth of all that comes into their hands. One does a business where $10,000 comes into his hands annually for sales. He makes a profit of ten per cent, therefore he earns only $1,000. A tithe of what comes into his hands is just $1,000, a sum equal to all his earnings. In this case, where are the nine-tenths for the support of his family? The Lord requires no such inconsistencies. This brother earns $1,000 in his business, after the payment of hired help and, perhaps, interest money. One hundred is the Lord’s, and nine hundred are his.

Therefore, the declaration on page 15 of the book referred to in the foregoing, “One-tenth, therefore, of all our income and increase is the Lord’s,” means, a tithe of what we earn, after the payment of hired help, and interest or rents on land cultivated, with the addition of a tithe of that increase, which, under the providence of God, comes into our hands. J. W.