I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently.
A staff member of the local church I attend was casting vision for the tithe on Sunday and mentioned “tithing the first 10% of your increase.”
Something about that didn’t sit well with me.
It’s biblical language:
You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.
Deuteronomy 14:22 NKJV
The word “increase” is noteworthy. I don’t think most people in our congregation would say they’re “increasing” financially in any real sense (growing, gaining, making greater in size).
(I don’t need to explain the mechanics of why that is to anyone on Nostr lol)
When we casually use phrases like “10% of your increase,” there’s a risk it comes across as patronizing to those who are barely scraping by — not because of poor stewardship, but because of systemic economic realities that erode their provision.
My concern is that without greater clarity around terms like tithe, increase, provision, etc., the church risks saying things it can’t really defend — and unintentionally placing burdens on people it’s meant to encourage.
Any thoughts on this,
