I know a lot of poor preachers. I don’t mean poor relationship-wise (many of them are killing it in that area), but financially. Many of them haven’t saved for retirement, many are living paycheck to paycheck, and many don’t even own their own home. Several are also one-income families, which means whatever the church gives has to feed every member of that household.
I don’t want to wade into that debate; it’s far too personal for me to objectify from afar. I don’t even have much experience with that specific problem. Hillside has taken care of me for seventeen years. Any time I’ve needed anything, I don’t even have to ask—it’s already been provided.
But the problem exists, so when I see passages like Deuteronomy 14:29, which talks about a specific tithe for the “alien, the orphan, and the widow,” and then lumps the Levite in among them, it gets to me.
You could make the argument that God isn’t doing this on purpose. In other passages, He outlines provisions for the Levites specifically.
But it’s hard to miss the point here. Anyone who doesn’t have the means to support themselves or those who must rely on the compassion of others are given access to this tithe for the poor.
Contextually, this goes in contrast to the tithe of the feasts talked about just before. In most of the years, families will save from their own funds to take their pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Every third year, however, they are to think and save for the poor.
The point has never been to alleviate poverty. Jesus Himself said that we will “always have the poor.”
Instead, the idea is to shift priorities. Do we think about others who depend on us? Do we consider those among us who have nothing?
Seen in that way, this law could be understood as a precursor to the giving from among individuals seen in Acts 4. The outpouring of compassion given so that “none would have any lack” is a natural byproduct of their salvation. Once they understand what they have been given, it only makes sense to give to others.
Ironically, one of the common arguments against giving is that we will say we don’t have much to give. “It’s not in the budget,” we’ll argue, or “we don’t have it handy.”
These verses nuke that complaint by mandating this tithe in the Law. Moreover, it connects future prosperity to our compassion for others. If we will bless others, God will bless us.
Is that a one-to-one promise that God will give us a dollar for every dollar we give? Of course not, but it does show that without compassion shown to others, we can’t really expect compassion to be shown to us, can we?