10% of EVERYthing?!?
Tithing in the New Economy
By Kent d Curry and Glenda Moehlenpah
February 28, 2000
Money! Money! Money! America’s new economy seems to be
saturating everyone with a career and an Internet connection in greenbacks!
Workers today have more freedom and opportunities to make money than the
previous generation could even dream. It’s not just the regular paycheck, but
it’s a 401(k) plan with matching monies from the employer. It’s not just
mutual funds, but individual stocks and day trading. It’s not just taking a
job, but finding one where stock options are de rigueur.
Yet, no matter where these earnings occur, one scriptural
truth affects them all—Christians must pay tithes.
Tithing is first mentioned in Genesis 14:20, when Abraham
gave Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the most high God, a tithe of all
his spoils. This was around 1900 B.C.
Later scripture grows insistent. "Will a man rob
God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, How have we robbed thee? In tithes and
offerings. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in
mine house, and test me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not
open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing, that there
shall not be room enough to receive it." (Malachi 3:8, 10)
Tithes have traditionally been set at 10% of all earnings.
Some, but not all, believe gifts need not be tithed. Some preach that the tithe
is simply to rebuke the devourer; blessings come from offerings, which are above
and beyond the tithe. Still, it’s not as simple as it once seemed. Here’s
why:
- Joe is investing five percent of his gross pay into his company’s
401(k) program, which is a mutual fund. Since Joe pay tithes on gross
and there's an equal company match, he believes he wouldn't owe tithes
on his final 40l(k) total (much larger now due to the booming stock
market), because he’s already paid tithes once and he believes the
match is a gift.
- Sally transfers $200 each month into a mutual fund from her paycheck
(which is tithed faithfully). Thus, she wouldn't tithe when she
withdrew or closed out her mutual fund because that was already
tithed, yes?
- Clay buys 100 shares of an individual stock from money he’s
already tithed. Then, he makes about $20 a share by selling it.
Realizing the windfall, and not wanting to spend it frivolously, he
sets up an IRA account with the $2,000 gain. Where’s the tithing
point?
These might seem like dorm room hypotheticals, except they’re
not. They’re real possibilities for many workers today. True, most of us
aren’t nearing retirement, but most of us are investing through methods many
of our parents never dreamed possible. Just because it’s different, doesn’t
mean we should be sloppy with God’s money.
To tackle this issue, I turned to a childhood friend,
Glenda Moehlenpah. She’s a CPA, worked as an accountant at Price Waterhouse
and in manufacturing companies here and abroad, has great respect for scripture
and - most importantly - can talk about these issues in layman’s language. She
doesn’t claim to be an expert on tithing, but I thought her explanations were
clear, full of common sense, and scriptural.
After outlining the issue with the above hypotheticals,
here’s what she had to say.
"I've heard different teaching on the subject, and a
lot of silence, and then some stuff I disagree with," she started.
"Here goes in a nutshell..."
Tithing on Paychecks
"I've always tithed on the gross (before deductions
of any sort). I've heard others say that you should tithe on the net (after
Social Security deductions), that way you will still tithe when you get your
Social Security Benefits. I can see the point, but find it easier to tithe on
gross. (Nice clean numbers). Besides, the benefit that you receive from Social
Security has virtually no relation to what you put into Social Security."
"Yes, I plan to tithe on eventual benefits from
Social Security. Whether or not I actually "reduce" the tithe by the
difference between what I put in and the actual benefit remains to be
determined. Most probably, I’ll tithe on the whole benefit."
Stock/Mutual Funds
"I've also tithed on dividends and interest, even if
I'm reinvesting them in a mutual fund. I didn't always do that, but it is an
"increase" and is determinable every year because you have to report
dividends and interest on your tax returns anyway."
"And I've tithed on any gains (offset by losses) from
sales of investments. From the example above, Sally buys into a mutual fund for
$200. After 10 years, she then sells it for $1,000. She’s had a gain of $800,
and I would say she should then tithe on the $800 increase. Again, this is also
how your gain is calculated for your tax returns."
"If Sally invests in two mutual funds (or stocks),
and at the same time, one sells for a loss, and the other sells for a gain, well
my thoughts (this is where I might be wrong) are that Sally nets the losses
against the gains and tithes on the net increase. So basically if Sally picks
winners, she pays tithes. If Sally picks losers, then she loses her money, but
doesn’t pay tithes on her losses. I haven't tithed on unrealized appreciation
in values, since if the whole thing drops afterwards, there's no refunding of
tithes!"
"Another example might be if you buy 100 shares of
XYZ Corp for $100. Then the value goes up to $1,000. You have a ‘gain’ of
$900, but it’s not a realized gain unless you sell it. So it’s called
"unrealized appreciation."
"Then say you hold on to the stock, the market drops,
and the value goes back down to $100. You have no gain or loss now. By waiting
to tithe until you actually have a realized gain, then you know your true
gain."
401(k) and Retirement Plans
"So far, I've not tithed on any dividends or interest
or increases from sales in retirement (or tax deferred or tax-free) vehicles.
This may be contradictory, but the way I look at it, my basis is what I put into
it. When I pull anything out, that's when I consider it to be
"increase," and I'll tithe at that time on the difference between what
I put in (out of my paycheck, on which I tithed) and what I get out."
"In Joe’s example above, I’d say that he should
tithe on the difference between what he contributed out of his paycheck (on
which he had tithed) and what he receives when he retires. Anything above his
contributions is increase (including increases from the stock market and matches
from the company)."
"As for the example of Clay, I’d say he should
tithe on the $2,000 gain when he realizes the gain by selling the 100 shares.
Then, whenever he does pull his money from the IRA account, he’s tithed on
part of it already."
"If I worked for one of those rare companies that
still offer retirement plans without employee contributions, I’d consider
those retirement monies as "income" to me, and therefore I’d tithe
on that."
Gifts
"If I receive a gift, which is truly a gift, and not
some sort of earnings, I don't pay tithes on those gifts; although I've heard
‘increase is increase,’ and you should tithe on any increase."
"On the other hand, ‘gifts’ of matching
contributions to 401(k) plans, I would consider to be compensation, and not a
gift, and therefore would tithe on those. Although, I'm deferring the tithe
(rightly or wrongly) until I withdraw and utilize the monies."
"The way I look at it, you have a chance of losing
anything that’s invested in the market, even if it’s through a 401(k) plan.
Therefore, when I know that I’m withdrawing the money, and that there is still
some value to it, I’ll tithe on it."
With This, I Disagree...
"I’ve heard it said that if you stop working and
are "living off of your savings," that you should then tithe on what
you spend. With this, I disagree."
"If I’ve saved (tithed on my income when I earned
it), invested and let it grow (tithed on the interest or dividends as I earned
them), sold the investment at a gain (tithed on the gain), then I don’t think
I should also tithe on that same money when I finally do get around to spending
it."
Full Disclosure
"I'll admit to changing over the years. I think we
can get pretty hung up on tithing to the penny. (The Pharisees tithed on spices,
of all things!) I used to tithe to the penny. Now I write a rounded-off check,
at least to the dollar."
"Finally, just think, if over the years you
contribute $5,000 to a 401(k) plan (but have tithed on the $5,000, since you
paid tithe on the gross), and when the time comes (if the Lord tarries and you
pick winners), you withdraw your $1 million, what's it gonna matter to tithe
again on the $5,000 as part of the tithe for the $1 million?"
"You can't outgive God anyway, and if you over-tithe,
well then so be it."
Hmmm. It almost sounds simple.
Maybe it was easier to tithe in the good old days
when folks just dealt with a paycheck and then a Social Security check. However,
these people never had the baseline financial opportunities professionals do
today. These expanded financial opportunities require a greater responsibility
to return that first 10% to the Lord. It’s a small price to pay, especially
considering it’s His to begin with.
ninetyandnine.com
© Kent d Curry and Glenda Moehlenpah, 2000
--------
Kent d Curry is an Executive Editor of ninetyandnine.com. Glenda
Moehlenpah is not. But, inexplicably, they’re still friends.
Have an opinion on an article? Let us know how you feel! Click feedback
& fill us in.
| 
