Do Taxes Cover Part of the Tithe?

“Are our federal and state taxes that go to help the poor and other welfare programs similar to the Old Testament tithe? If so, how should that play into our giving strategy?”
    It’s not really accurate to say that our Federal and state taxes are similar to the Old Testament tithe. Most of our taxes, while we may not agree how all of the money is spent or with the efficiency of its use, goes towards benefits and services that we receive ourselves. For example, we drive on the roads that are built and maintained by our tax dollars. We enjoy security afforded by police and fire, as well as the nation’s military. Only 13% of our federal tax dollars are used for safety net measures for the poor, such as welfare, food stamps and government housing (that figure is doubled when including Medicaid). The remainder of all tax dollars are supposedly used for things that we utilize ourselves, directly or indirectly.
    The Old Testament tithe was required in the law to support and maintain the Temple worship system throughout Israel. There were twelve tribes in Israel, one of which was the Levite tribe (priests and Temple workers). In order for the Levites and their families to be able to live and devote themselves to the Temple system, the other eleven tribes were required to give a tithe. That tithe was used both for expenses related to the Temple and local worship centers themselves, as well as support for the Levites and their families. In reality, there were three types of tithes required in the Old Testament, adding up to about 28% (because of how the tithes were calculated).
    While the Temple and State were not technically separate in Israel’s pure Theocracy, the King garnered taxes separate from the Temple and storehouse tithes for state needs, including infrastructure, building and maintaining a military and city walls for defense, and other civil services, such as water supply and government administration. Under King Solomon, for example, the people complained of the taxes being too high. So even in Old Testament Israel, there were both tithes and taxes.
    The poor were supported in the Old Testament in a number of ways, but the emphasis was on local needs being supported in local communities. The reason for this seems to be so that the people could maintain relationships and accountability with those receiving aid, so that only those with genuine needs were getting it, and there was a natural peer pressure on all those who were able to work, to support themselves and their families. The safety net support for those unable to work was taken care of in a number of ways, very little of it through the levitical tithe.
    First, families were expected to support those in their own family who had disabilities, their elderly parents and grandparents, and others who had reasons for being unable to work. Second, all landowners were required to leave a portion of the harvest in their fields so that the poor could harvest for themselves in the evening. Third, disabled people and poor people would sit at the Temple gates (village gates for cities other than Jerusalem) and members of the community and Temple worshipers would voluntarily give to them face-to-face to support their needs (not considered a part of the tithe). Fourth, the Levites would share a portion of one of the tithes with those that had special needs that were not fulfilled with the above measures.
    So while a portion of what the Israelites were required to give was used to help support the poor (as is the case in the church today), it was not the main thrust of the tithe and would have been a small percentage of how the tithe was used. The majority of support for the poor was met in other ways described above and the majority of the tithe was used to support the Old Testament worship system.
    As far as a person’s giving strategy and how taxes fit in, I think we should realize that we have been given a system in America that has enabled us to live well beyond the lifestyle of not only Old Testament Israel, but every society in history and every other culture around the world. The taxes we pay subsidize that system that has enabled us to enjoy the wealth we’ve been given. In that sense, our tax dollars benefit us more than anyone else. In my giving, I do not consider the taxes I pay as part of my giving strategy any more than I would consider my mortgage or other bills I pay. I give based on my gross income. While I am not legalistic with tithing, I see it as a standard given to us through God’s people in the Old Testament. If the Israelites, who had far less than we, gave 28% of their income as part of their worship (and paid taxes beyond that), I don’t see tithing as overly generous. I think that if we as Christ-followers are giving to God out of gratitude for what He has given us, and are passionate about the work He wants to do through our gifts, we will eagerly give generously and always look for ways to give more, rather than reasons to give less.