TITHES AND FIRSTFRUITS
by Fr. Dimitri Cozby
"Honor the Lord with your substance, and with the firstfruitsof all your produce." (Proverbs 3:9)
In ancient Israel, the Church of the Old Testament, the Law of Mosesinstituted the "tithe," also called the offering of the "first-fruits.""Tithe" is merely the Old English word for "tenth."Israel's tithe was an assessment of one-tenth of all produce. Usually thisportion was rendered from the first harvested of the crop, hence the titheof "firstfruits." The proceeds were devoted to the maintenanceof the Temple, and support of the priesthood, and the sustenance of thepoor (Num. 18:24, Deut. 12:11, and 26:12).
These activities are still necessary parts of Church life. Parishes needsuitable places for worship, education, and fellowship; we are still responsiblefor our priest's livelihood; and the Lord continually reminds us of ourobligation to the needy. Therefore, the practice of good stewardship, representedby the tithe, retains its importance.
The motive behind the Old Testament tithe, however, was not purely pragmatic.For the ancient Hebrews tithing was never merely an efficient way to raisemoney. Rather, they understood that their relationship with God requiredthem to dedicate a substantial portion of the fruit of their labor to Hispurposes.
Our basic understanding as Orthodox Christians, derived from the OldTestament, is that everything comes from God. All that we have or hope topossess, beginning with life itself, is His gift. We acknowledge this factin our spiritual life through prayer and fasting and through our struggleto follow His commandments. With regard to our material blessings, we confessthat He is their true source by returning a portion to Him, to be used forHis purposes in this world. These works include the maintenance of worship,the support of those called to His special service, and aid for the poor.By thus giving a portion of our wealth for His purposes, we sanctify theremainder. Through offering a part, we bring the whole of our lives intoharmony with God's will.
The Old Testament Law embodied this admission of God's sovereignty inthe tithe. Nothing in this is changed by the coming of Christ. Tithing isnot a purely Old Testament observance revived by Protestants and, therefore,a thing we Orthodox Christians need not worry about. It is true that manyOld Testament practices are now understood in a spiritual way fulfilled,transformed, or displaced by Christ's coming, death, and Resurrection. Itis also true that, in recent times, some Protestants have stressed tithingas the norm of giving. But in reality, neither of these objections appliesto the tithe or denies its "validity."
Our Lord criticized the way in which His opponents tithed, but in sodoing, He confirmed the tithe itself: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,hypocrites! For you tithe your mint, dill and cumin, but have omitted theweightier matters of the law judgment, mercy and faith. These you oughtto have done, without omitting the others." (Matthew 23:23)
Likewise, one of the earliest witnesses to Holy Tradition, The Teachingof the Twelve Apostles (sometimes called The Didache), appliesthe firstfruits to the Church. "Every firstfruit of the produce ofthe wine-vat and of the threshing-floor, of cattle and flocks, you willtake and give as the firstfruit to your prophets; for they are your chiefpriests...If you prepare food, take and give the firstfruit according tothe commandment. Likewise, when you open a jar of wine or oil, take andgive the firstfruit to the prophets. Take also the firstfruit of money andclothing and every possession, as it may seem right to you, and give accordingto the commandment."
Saint Irenaeus, writing toward the end of the second century, notes thatChrist Himself "gave directions to His disciples to offer the firstfruitsof His own created things not as if He stood in need of them, but that theymight be themselves neither unfruitful nor ungrateful."
Saint John Chrysostom contends that the tithe is more binding on us thanon the Jews. In one of his sermons, he notes that under the Old Testamenttithing was the norm. Among Christians, however, it has become a cause foramazement; we exclaim in wonder, "Why so-and-so tithes!" SaintJohn finds this a sad reflection on our piety and ends with the warning,"If it was a danger to neglect the tithe then, imagine how seriousit must be now!"
As we said, the Old Testament saints did not see the tithe merely asa way for organizing fundraising for the Temple and clergy, but as partof their relationship with God. Similarly, we cannot regard our giving merelyas providing for our parish's material needs. We must appreciate the spiritualimportance of tithing, as the return to the Lord of a portion of His blessingsthrough which we sanctify the remainder for our own use. Thus we acknowledgethe Lord's claim upon the whole of our life and affirm that the focus ofour existence is not this world but the Kingdom to come.
The tithe, one-tenth, is the ideal of stewardship set forth in Scripturein the Old Testament tithe, and in Tradition, represented by The Didache,Saint Irenaeus, and Saint John Chrysostom. At first, for those not usedto the idea of tithing, this amount may seem staggering. The best way tobegin is to adopt a lower percentage and then increase it over time. First,we should accept the underlying principle behind tithing: That we shouldnot give an arbitrary amount, but that our contribution should representa proportion, a percentage, of our income. Once we establish a certain percentage(for example 3-5%) as our starting point, we can then increase it by onepercent a year until we reach the tithe.
From the beginning, however, we must adopt the idea that we give a percentageof our treasure; we cannot base it on impulse, giving "a little something"from what we "have left over." Instead, our offering should represent"the firstfruits of our produce" offered because we feel the needto "honor the Lord with our substance," because we want to showour gratitude to Him for His blessings, and because we acknowledge our partin His work of redeeming the world.
(Father Dimitri is Rector of St. Anthony Orthodox Church in San Antonio,Texas. Reprinted from The Dawn, Diocese of the South)
Related Article:
The Challenege of Tithing
