Jesus Didn’t Tithe—And Nor Should You (Part 4)

If you’ve read my first three blogs, congrats!

You survived my (possibly heretical, definitely eyebrow-raising, and dad-joke-infested) series on tithing.

You are now officially a theological rebel—or at the very least, that person in Bible study who asks inconvenient questions and makes the group leader sweat.
Either way, welcome to the other side.

So, what now?

If I’ve done my job, you now realize that Biblical tithing, at least the way it’s preached today, wasn’t a thing for Jesus or the early church. And it’s not a thing for you today either.
Old Testament tithing was Israel’s taxation system, not a divine fundraising plan for the local church. So, if we’re still clinging to the Sacred 10% like it’s a spiritual invoice, we might be missing the point entirely.

The real question isn’t:

“Should Christians tithe?”

It’s:

“What does Kingdom giving actually look like?”

Contrary to popular belief, Jesus did not teach tithing. (Yes, He mentioned it in Matthew 23:23—but only to roast the Pharisees for their religious stupidity, not to affirm it.)

Jesus flipped tables in the temple (which, let’s be honest, is not a great move if you’re trying to run a fundraising campaign).

He told the rich young ruler to give away everything—not just 10%. Then He basically said, “Your wealth is a spiritual liability.”

That’s… not exactly Dave Ramsey-approved financial advice.

And then there’s the widow with her two cents Mark 12:41-44).

Most of us grew up thinking Jesus praised her for giving sacrificially.

Nope.

Jesus was horrified.

Jesus wasn’t celebrating her giving, He was exposing a system that was supposed to be helping her but was instead bleeding her dry.

I know this is a brand-new thought for a lot of people, but trust me—it changes how you read that passage. A verse earlier, Jesus warns about the teachers of the Law:

"They devour widows’ houses" (Mark 12:43).

Meanwhile, the Pharisees were out here meticulously tithing their spices, because, you know, God apparently really cared that exactly 10% of their dill made it into the offering plate.

But Jesus called them out for completely missing the point:

"You tithe mint and dill and cumin but neglect the weightier matters—justice, mercy, and faithfulness" (Matthew 23:23).

Translation: If your approach to giving isn’t making you more like Jesus, you’re doing it wrong.

So, if tithing isn’t the standard, what is?

Here’s the thing:
** The problem with tithing isn’t that it’s bad.
The problem is that you can do it without engaging your heart.**

And Jesus? He was far less interested in percentages and far more interested in your heart.

"Don’t let your right hand know what your left hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3).

This wasn’t an appeal to develop alien hands (BTW, it is a real medical conditiion), it was an invitation to sacred living.

Martin Luther (the Reformer, not the '60s civil rights leader) said:

"There are three conversions: the mind, the heart, and the wallet."

Oof, Marty.

He was pointing out an uncomfortable reality: How we handle money is a great reflection of Jesus’ Lordship in our lives.

And Jesus was all about curse reversal.

Poverty? That’s part of the fallout from the Fall.

Jesus? He came to remove the sting of the curse (1 Corinthians 15:55—death is the culmination of all things related ot the Fall).

That’s why He cared so much about widows, orphans, and the poor.

It’s also why the early church didn’t tithe, but they gave radically.

In Acts (see 2:45 for example), believers sold their property and shared everything in common.

Why? Because they were about Jesus’ curse reversal business.

Paul encouraged people to give cheerfully and without compulsion, because if it’s forced, it’s not generosity, it’s a tax.

(And let’s be real, if tithing was supposed to be a Christian command, Paul really dropped the ball. He wrote 13 letters and never once told Gentile believers to tithe. Instead, he talked about generosity, meeting needs, and giving freely out of love.)

This is where curse reversal comes in.

A healthy church isn’t just about keeping the lights on or making sure the pastor can afford a venti latte.
It should be about equipping you to bring Kingdom life into your home, your city, and the world.

A church aligned with the Kingdom is actively about breaking the curse by: teaching, empowering, and mobilizing people to go out and do the work of the Kingdom—feeding the hungry, restoring dignity, healing the broken, and helping people to discover their God-given purposes, including their role in all of the above.

Now that's quite the mission.  

If your church is doing this, then YES—support it!

Because when your church is living out the mission of Jesus, giving to it is an investment in the mission of reversing the curse.

But if your church is just about self-preservation, or worse, running a glorified “heaven-bound waiting room” instead of a Kingdom outpost, then maybe it's time to rethink where your resources are going.

Jesus didn’t come to build empires or pad ministry bank accounts.

He came to establish His Kingdom on earth.
This is why supporting Kingdom-focused churches matters.

Not because they need money, but because we need the mission they are carrying.

✔️ Let generosity be the goal, not a number.
✔️ Give where it actually matters. If your church is stewarding finances well, awesome! If not, don’t be afraid to invest in places where your giving directly impacts lives.
✔️ And most of all, give because you want to, not because you have to.

Because in the end, generosity is not a tax—it’s an act of love.

And love, my friends, has never been limited to 10%.

Jesus was clear:

"Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:4).

But here’s the kicker, giving doesn’t always come back in kind.

• Give for show? → You get your reward now (human praise).
• Give for God? → You get your reward later (heavenly treasure).

This isn’t about hoarding spiritual wealth, it’s about investing in eternity, which begins NOW.