Does the Bible teach a tithe on income or on net worth?
Income from the promised land yes, net worth no, but neither of these should stop us from giving generously. The Bible teaches that the tithe applied to crops and animals produced in the promised land, not to all income in any time and place. At the same time, the Bible never teaches a tithe on net worth. But to Christians in an age of unprecedented prosperity, these fine distinctions almost seem absurd. In a sense, the distinction between income and net worth is artificial, because God owns it all in any case and has put all of it in our hands to see what we will do with it. We often find ways to give God the obligatory tip while at the same time hanging onto all we can. But to do this is to miss the point. All our wealth belongs to him. And what is more, he has saved us from judgment by the death and resurrection of Jesus, and he has a permanent inheritance stored up for those who trust him. Instead of trying to create artificial standards for giving from our net worth and assuming t
