Biblical principle of giving
When we recognize that God owns everything and all blessings come from Him, our role as managers, or stewards, becomes evident.

Part of being a good steward is giving back to God a portion of what He has entrusted to us.

It is not that God needs our money. Rather, giving serves as an external, material testimony that God owns both the material and the spiritual things of our lives and that He is the source of all our supply.

In the Old Testament the Hebrew people brought approximately 23 percent of their increase to the “Lord’s storehouse.”

The keepers of the storehouse, the Levites, in turn used what was given to care for the widows, the needy foreigners in the area, the orphans, and the Levites.

In the New Testament, no longer did the people bring their tithes and offerings to a physical storehouse. Instead, they gave of their increase in tithes, offerings, and alms to the fellowship of believers. In turn, the believers used the gifts for spreading the Gospel, the general and administrative support of the church, and to care for the poor, widows, orphans, and needy.

Today’s storehouse
Ideally, the church should serve as the storehouse in God’s economy today. When Christians obey Him and give to the church, God holds the leaders of the church responsible for the distribution of those funds (see Nehemiah 12:44-45, 13:5,13).

In today’s American society the Levites and priests (Numbers 18:24-26; 28-29) are equivalent to pastors and other church staff, evangelists, and missionaries.

The feeding of Hebrew widows and orphans (Deuteronomy 14:28-29) would be equivalent to widows and orphans being served in a local church.

The Gentile poor (Deuteronomy 14:28-29) would be equivalent to the unsaved people in the community where the church is located.

However, in truth, a majority of local churches do not minister fully in all the areas of ministry that exemplified the Old Testament storehouse.

Because giving to the Lord is an indicator of obedience to God's laws and principles, He is looking for the right attitude in giving.

If there were not a willingness to give back to the Lord a portion of what He has entrusted, then any giving will not make a difference.

So, since the tithe's purpose is to be a testimony of God's ownership, people should give bountifully and cheerfully. “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Giving other than to the local church
The church of today encompasses the whole brotherhood of believers, not just the individual church on the street corner.

When God speaks of His church, it is the corporate body of Christ. When a believer gives to the church, it is to every part of the body, not just the denominational portions or a physical facility.

Therefore, to the extent that a local church is lacking in specific areas of ministry, it would be acceptable for funds to be given to an individual ministry, a parachurch organization, or a missionary organization if they are “filling the gap” left open by the church.

In essence, the ministries that serve in God’s name, whether the local church or outside of the local church, who are fulfilling the standards set forth in God’s Word and whose motives are compatible with those standards, should be recipients of believers’ giving.

Nonetheless, during the past few years, a number of well-known ministers have come under fire because of deception and lavish lifestyles. Their followers gave millions to support ministry activities at home and abroad but found out later that portions of their contributions had been used to buy huge personal homes, extravagant cars, and other luxuries for ministry leaders.

Therefore, before giving the Lord’s money to any organization, whether Christian or secular, Christians must ask the following fundamental questions.

How an organization answers these questions should determine whether funds should be distributed to them. Just because an organization asks for funds does not necessarily mean that God is directing His people to give to that organization. Ask for God’s direction before giving. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

1. Who are the people asking for the funds? If you are not personally familiar with exactly what the organization does, get a list of references from that organization that can be verified through well-known groups. Also ask for a doctrinal statement and compare it to the truth of God’s Word. Is the ministry fruitful? Is the organization multiplying itself? Is it accomplishing its goals?
2. For what purpose will the funds be used? Ask for a projected budget, an audited financial statement, and a copy of the organization’s Form 990. Verify that funds are being used as indicated or specified.
3. How are the funds raised and managed? It’s wise to ask if a fund-raising group is involved and what percentage of the funds goes to that group. If more than 25 percent of the resources are being used for fund raising, be cautious.
   
   A good indication of financial management is the debt to income ratio and changes in overhead expenses from year to year.
   
   Definitely avoid giving to ministries that use high-pressure fund-raising techniques or gimmicks or to ministries whose leaders maintain lavish lifestyles. The laborer is worthy of his hire, but a true servant of Christ will have a servant’s attitude when it comes to material possessions.
4. Is God leading you to give to that organization (see 2 Corinthians 9:7)?

Conclusion
Although Christians should not be encouraged to redirect their giving from their local churches completely, there also should not be any legalism involved in how and to whom money is given.

So, if believers feel the need, and God's direction, to help ministries outside of their local churches, it would be hard to say that they are disobeying God's Word if they give as the Lord has directed them to give.

Remember that God is concerned more with the attitude in giving than with the actual gift or designation of it.

Psalms 24:1 declares, "The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains," and in 1 Corinthians 4:7, Paul asks, "And what do you have that you did not receive?"

God owns everything and all blessings come from Him. We are to be good stewards – managers – of the many blessings for which we should be thankful. Money isn’t our possession; it’s God’s possession, which we hold in trust.

Tithing

Giving is an external testimony of God’s ownership of everything in our lives. And tithing is one of the first standards of giving found in the Bible – Abraham tithed 430 years before the Law was given to Moses.

A farmer always keeps a portion of each harvest as seed stock to be planted the next season. If he didn’t, he would not be able to grow another crop. As Christians, our tithe is our seed stock (2 Corinthians 9:10).

Proverbs 3:9-10 says that we need to honor God by giving Him the first fruits of our produce (income or compensation). Therefore the first portion of our income belongs to God.

It doesn’t belong to anyone else—not even creditors.

A vow
God’s Word makes it clear, however, that a vow (promise) of any kind is not to be taken lightly. Once someone has given his or her word, it becomes a binding contract.

So, before agreeing to any terms, it is assumed that an individual has carefully considered the consequences.

For the current generation, it appears that this concept is infrequently taught and seldom applied. A vow in today’s world is often deemed to be something made under one set of circumstances and broken under another.

For example, a vow to pay a creditor is ignored when the purchased product loses its usefulness.

However, Psalm 37:21 says, “The wicked borrows and does not pay back, but the righteous is gracious and gives.”

Therefore, Christians must commit to pay back whatever they’ve borrowed, regardless of circumstances or how long it takes.

It really makes no difference whether it’s a personal note or a business note. Solomon said, “It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay” (Ecclesiastes 5:5).

If you make a vow to pay—you must pay. If debts are made—debts must be paid.

So, if Christians feel that they can either pay their tithe or pay their debts—not both—what does God expect them to do?

A matter of the heart
The principle of tithing is just that—a principle. God is looking for the right attitude in a person’s giving.

If there is not a true heart-felt willingness to give back to the Lord a portion of what He has entrusted to us, giving tithes upon tithes would be without purpose.

An option
For people who feel that they cannot afford to give the full tithe because they have too much debt, yet they are willing and want to tithe, perhaps there is an option that can satisfy both situations.

Because God expects us to remain true to biblical principles, if we have made prior vows (in the form of taking on a debt) to man before making a vow to tithe to God, God directs that the vow be maintained in order to present a good witness (see Proverbs 22:1).

In such cases, the tithe should come from the money not already pledged to creditors, but available to disperse.

However, a commitment to give to God would certainly take precedence over any payment to creditors for debts contracted after a pledge was made to tithe.

Conclusion
It is a matter of the heart in giving to God.

Christians should be looking for reasons to give rather than looking for ways not to give.

Even though they may feel that they cannot afford to pay the full tithe, they need to commit to give something to the Lord. Under no circumstances should they refuse to give anything to the Lord.

Perhaps those in debt could start with a smaller amount than 10 percent and remain faithful to that commitment, increasing it as God provides.

Or, until they have relieved themselves of some of their encumbering debt, they could provide some sort of volunteer service to the church or to people in need within the body of Christ.