Taxing, Tipping, or Tithing – Day 6: The Tithe Is the Floor, Not the Ceiling

We have spent the week establishing why we tithe. Today we need to talk about where tithing takes us — because where the gospel leads, 10% is just the starting line.  

Scripture of the Day

"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 (NIV)

   

The widow in Mark 12 did not give a tithe. She gave everything. Jesus did not correct her. He did not say, "Ma'am, you've exceeded the required percentage." He celebrated her. Because she was not giving from a formula — she was giving from a transformed heart. She understood something that most of us spend a lifetime learning: when you truly trust God, the hand opens naturally and fully.  

Abram is our model for the pre-law principle of tithing — the faith response of a tenth. But Jesus is the standard for our lives. And Jesus gave everything — His very life, poured out completely. Romans 12:1 calls us to offer our entire bodies as living sacrifices. The trajectory of the gospel is not toward a comfortable, carefully calculated percentage. It is toward radical, open-handed, extravagant generosity.  

The tithe is a starting place. A commitment. A covenant. It is the discipline that trains the heart toward greater generosity. But the ceiling is not 10%. The ceiling is the cross — where Someone gave 100% so that we could be free to give with abandon. Tithing is where we begin. Worship is where we end. And the journey from one to the other is the most exciting financial journey of your life.  

Reflection Question

If the tithe is the floor, what is God calling you toward beyond it? Is there a specific area of your time, talent, or treasure where He is gently asking for more than the minimum right now?   

Prayer

Lord, thank You for the clear and merciful starting point of the tithe. It is a gift — a fence that shows me where to begin. But don't let me be satisfied with the minimum. Give me the heart of the widow — willing to give freely, holding nothing back, trusting You with everything I have and everything I am. Amen.   

In His grace,
The Brook Church Miami