Money, Mammon & Tithe
- James Collazo
- May 24, 2022
- 13 min read
Updated: Nov 10
Introduction
In his second letter, the apostle Peter declares: "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life . . . For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love" (2 Pet. 1:3, 5–7). Each of these virtues strikes the heart of stewardship—the holy task of faithfully caring for what God entrusts to us. Scripture makes it clear: we do not own the world, because "the earth is the Lord's and everything in it" (Ps. 24:1). From creation itself, when God commanded humanity to "fill the earth and subdue it" (Gen. 1:28), he appointed us as managers under his authority.
Therefore, our stewardship begins with creation care, which we demonstrate by maintaining clean and sustainable residences. Yet money tests stewardship more than anything else. Christians and non-Christians alike struggle here. Some cannot manage their finances due to poverty, while others, living in abundance, spend without restraint. In biblical Greek, through Aramaic, the word for personal property entrusted to an individual is mamōnas (G3126), from which the term "mammon" originates. Matthew used this word when he recorded Jesus' warning: "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money [i.e., mammon]" (Matt. 6:24).
Poverty & Abundance
Christians today often hold firm opinions about poverty and abundance, and many of those opinions contradict Scripture. Jesus confronted this mindset when he saw a poor widow and said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on" (Mark 12:43–44). Yet believers did not always think this way, especially in the early church. Jesus spoke his most forceful words about the netherworld in Matthew:
Then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me." They also will answer, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?" He will reply, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me" (Matt. 25:41–45).
Let us hear the words of the fourth-century Greek archbishop John Chrysostom (AD 347–407), who lifted his voice with a piercing question:
When Christ is famishing, do you so revel in luxury? . . For the mere having of silver dishes indeed, this even is not in keeping with a soul devoted to wisdom, but is altogether a piece of luxury; but the making unclean vessels also of silver, is this then luxury? . . . Another, made after the image of God, is perishing of cold; and do you furnish yourself with such things as these? O the senseless pride! What more would a madman have done? Do you pay such honor to your excrements as to receive them in silver? (Homily 7 on Colossians [cf. 2:16–19]).
The general theme of both statements is that, as Christians, we have a moral imperative to alleviate poverty. God counts it as sin—depraved indifference—when a believer with abundance refuses to share with someone in need. Many churchgoers misapply Jesus' words to his disciples, specifically Judas Iscariot: "The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me" (Matt. 26:11). They interpret this as Jesus teaching the apparent futility of alleviating poverty. Yet his emphasis did not fall on people with low incomes but on himself. He was testifying about his imminent crucifixion and warning his disciples not to get sidetracked.
Applied today, this principle shows that social justice is essential, but kingdom concerns—especially salvation—carry even greater weight. Still, Christians must help others receive justice and necessary aid so those burdens do not keep the needy from coming to know Jesus. The Lord made this point in Matthew 25, equating care for the poor with loving God and neglect of the poor with denying him. Jesus' statement about the poor always remaining with us was a challenge, referring to Deuteronomy 15:11: "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore, I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land."
In other words, you cannot claim to love God while rejecting people made in his image. In his first letter, John wrote, "Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen" (John 4:20). Refusing to alleviate poverty equals denying God himself. Yes, you will go to hell if you refuse to alleviate poverty while claiming to be a Christian. If you have abundant wealth or possessions, God has blessed you so that you can also bless others. Even under the harsh demands of the Law of Moses, God required the Israelites to leave the corners of their fields unharvested so the poor would always have food to eat (Lev. 19:9, 23:22).
Money: Tithe or Not to Tithe?
Many churches today teach that tithing—giving ten percent of one's income to the local church—is a necessary expectation for faithful Christian living. In some communities, leaders present it as a requirement for membership or as a measure of obedience to God. But how did this practice originate, and does Scripture truly mandate it? A careful examination of the biblical, historical, and theological record exposes a sharper truth—one that confronts legalism while boldly affirming the lasting power of generosity and faithful stewardship.
In the Old Testament, God commanded tithing as an explicit covenantal obligation for the Israelites. The Hebrew word for tithe, maaser (H4643), denotes a tenth portion—yet this portion did not cover all forms of wealth or income. While gold and other forms of currency existed in ancient Israel (e.g., Gen. 17:12), God required tithes only from agricultural produce and livestock. The Israelites lived in an agrarian society, and the tithe marked their sacred covenant with God, binding them to honor him through the land he had entrusted to them.
Notably, the Israelites did not give just one tithe, but three. The "first tithe" (Hebrew: maaser rishon, H4643, H7223) supported the Levites and priests, who had no land inheritance of their own (Num. 18:21–32). The "second tithe" (Hebrew: maaser sheni, H4643, H8145) went toward celebration—brought to Jerusalem and consumed in the presence of the Lord during the annual feasts (Deut. 14:22–27). If travel required it, this second tithe could temporarily convert to money, but only to purchase food upon arrival in Jerusalem. The third, or "poor tithe" (Hebrew: maaser ani, H4643, H6041), collected every third year, served the poor, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow (Deut. 26:12). These three tithes—each designated for a specific group and purpose—amounted to roughly 23–30 percent annually, not counting additional offerings and sacrifices. At the end of each seven-year Sabbath cycle, the Israelites destroyed any unconsumed tithes rather than hoarding them, serving as a solemn reminder that God demands obedience and faithfulness over accumulation. That stewardship requires discipline, justice, and reverence for his covenant.
In post-Temple Judaism, particularly after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, rabbinic leaders reinterpreted the tithe system to apply to all forms of income, since the original agricultural framework no longer existed. Some regarded this as a necessary adaptation; others questioned whether the practice remained scripturally grounded. Rabbinic texts, such as the Tosefta (Taanit 9), reflect the growing expectation of tithing money. Yet dissenting voices insisted that this practice belonged to rabbinic tradition rather than the Law of Moses (Teshuvot Maharil 152), a reminder that faithful obedience must align with God's covenant, not human innovation.
Unlike the Old Testament system, the early church did not impose tithing as a legal requirement. The church fathers spoke often about giving, but they called believers to voluntary generosity, not rigid percentages. Irenaeus of Lyon (c. AD 130–201), writing in the second century, contrasted the tithe of the Law of Moses with Christ's higher call "to share all our possessions with the poor" (Against Heresies 4.13). Likewise, Tertullian of Carthage (c. AD 155–c. 220) declared:
Each month, if a believer desires, they make a small donation, provided it is their choice and they are able, for there is no compulsion; all is voluntary. These gifts, in a sense, serve as a deposit fund for piety. Therefore, they are not taken and spent on feasts, drinking bouts, or eating houses, but to support and bury poor people, to supply the wants of boys and girls destitute of means and parents, and old persons confined now to the house; those who have been shipwrecked; and if there happen to be any in the mines, or banished to the islands, or shut up in the prisons, for nothing but their faith to the mission of God's church, they become the nurslings of their confession (Apology 39).
By the sixth century, Roman Catholic bishops adopted the rabbinic example of a monetary tithe, requiring all parishioners to comply (Council of Tours, 567; Second Council of Macon, 585). The Catholic Church enforced this doctrine with uncompromising authority at the Council of Trent, declaring:
Wherefore, the holy synod enjoins on all, of whatsoever rank and condition they are, to whom it belongs to pay tithes, that they subsequently pay in full the tithes, to which they are bound in Law, to the cathedral church, or whatsoever other churches, or persons, they are lawfully due. And those who either withhold or hinder them from being paid shall be excommunicated or absolved from this crime until full restitution has been made (Sess. 25).
This decision responded to Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther (1497–1560), who said, "But the other commandments of Moses, which are not [implanted in everyone] by nature, the Gentiles do not hold. Nor do these pertain to the Gentiles, such as the tithe and others equally fine which I wish we had too" (in his sermon, "How Christians Should Regard Moses," p. 7). Despite what many churches demand today, the clear witness of historical Christian teaching forbids compulsory tithing as a direct violation of Scripture.
We Do Not Pay to Pray
Despite the Council of Trent, the Catholic Church no longer requires tithes. Unfortunately, many Protestant churches today teach a "theology of success." This phenomenon appears in the prosperity gospel (also known as "health and wealth," "name it and claim it," and "blab it and grab it"). Classical Pentecostalism emphasizes tithing as a spiritual practice akin to fasting, rather than a legal requirement. However, Charismatic movements go a step further by pressuring believers to give as if money guarantees divine favor. Leaders frame tithing as a transaction with God and present themselves as heirs to the ancient Montanist movement, urging their followers to view giving as an investment in worldly blessings.
This distortion has spread into broader Christendom, fostering a "pay-to-pray" mentality that shames the poor and undermines the true purpose of giving. God never required the poor to tithe; he allowed giving according to means (Lev. 5:11–13, 14:21). Insisting on a flat ten percent ignores equity—$110,000 versus $25,000 does not carry the same weight. Prosperity preachers twist God's words, claiming he fills the gap with blessings as if he were a corporate bank. They brazenly misinterpret God's words in the prophet Malachi:
Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, "How are we robbing you?" In tithes and offerings. . . . Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it (Mal. 3:8, 10).
The "storehouse tithe" applied only to Israelites under the Law of Moses. While the temple still stood in Jerusalem, the "storehouse" referred exclusively to the temple storeroom for agricultural tithes, never to a local synagogue. Claims equating the local church with the Jerusalem temple are false, and there is no connection between Levites and modern clergy, because Levites were a family lineage, not a trained professional class.
In the New Testament, both Jesus and Paul make it clear that God's temple is no longer a physical building, but the spiritual body of believers. Jesus declared, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days" (John 2:19), referring to his own body rather than the Jerusalem temple. Paul reiterates this truth, teaching that "you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you" (1 Cor. 3:16) and warning that "if anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him" (1 Cor. 3:17). He expands the idea in his first letter to the Corinthians, emphasizing that each believer's body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). These passages underscore that God's presence is no longer tied to a building or a system of tithes; it resides within the community of faith—actual giving flows from the Spirit-led heart of believers, not from a mandated legalistic percentage.
Consider also Melchizedek, the "priest of God Most High," to whom Abraham tithed a portion of his spoils of war (Gen. 14:17–24). Although Hebrew and English renderings indicate a tenth, the material in question consisted of property captured from another, neither income nor money. Prosperity preachers latch onto this story mainly because Hebrews (7:1–10) mentions Melchizedek, assuming the author intended to establish a universal requirement for tithing, grounded in a figure who both preceded and superseded the Law of Moses. Yet the author of Hebrews emphasizes that Jesus' priesthood comes before and surpasses that of Levi and his descendants. Nowhere in the letter does it instruct Christians to tithe, despite Abraham giving a tenth of his spoils to Melchizedek. Prosperity preachers brazenly "read in" (eisegete) a typological mandate that the text never intended, twisting sacred Scripture to enforce worldly gain rather than reveal divine truth.
When Jesus rebuked the Pharisees about tithing (Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42), he was not instructing Christians to give a tenth. Under the Law, tithing applied to everyone in Israel, but Jesus was not teaching a new universal rule for his followers. He scolded the Pharisees for focusing on minor details while overlooking justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Tithing was just the lens he used to expose their hearts. Abraham gave a tenth to Melchizedek, sure—but that was a one-time act, not a command for everyone. Jesus made it clear: God values justice and mercy above ritual, and any act of devotion is meaningless if it masks a hardened heart.
Conclusion
We must heed the plain reading of Scripture, not complex systems that burden believers with needless legalism. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for adding requirements beyond the law: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices . . . But you have neglected the more important matters—justice, mercy, and faithfulness" (Matt. 23:23). His words addressed Jewish leaders still under the Law, not Christian Gentiles.
Jesus teaches that stewardship of material things demonstrates reliability in matters of greater significance (Matt. 6:19–20; Luke 16:11). His death on the cross fulfilled the legal demands of the Law of Moses (Col. 2:13–14; Gal. 3:10–14). Paul affirms that giving must be voluntary and joyful: "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart . . . for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:6–7), and warns that the love of money leads to ruin (1 Tim. 6:10).
God requires his faithful to care for the poor, but he sets no exact percentage. Christians preserve the Old Testament tithe typology by intentionally setting aside resources for poverty alleviation rather than self-serving ministry. The obligation to give to the poor honors conscience and freedom in Christ. In conclusion, let us remember Paul's example of the generous Macedonians:
And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own (2 Cor. 8:1–3).
Prayer
Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of heaven and earth. Your gracious hand provides for all creatures and sustains all life. Teach us gratitude, faithfulness, and good stewardship of your gifts as we abide in obedience and proclaim your glory. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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