The check arrives, or the account transfers, and it does not feel like the windfalls you see in movies. It feels heavy. Someone you loved is gone, and part of what they built with their years of work has landed in your hands. Now a quiet question rises up: should you tithe on it? Should you give from money a parent or grandparent left you, and if so, how much, and when? If you have felt both the pull to be generous and the fear of doing the wrong thing with a sacred gift, you are in good company. Let us take both the Bible and the math seriously, and walk through this with care.
"Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."
Proverbs 3:9-10 (KJV)
That word firstfruits is the key. In the ancient world, the firstfruits were the very first and best of the harvest, given to God before the farmer knew whether the rest of the crop would even come in. It was an act of trust and thanksgiving, honoring the Lord with the first portion rather than the leftovers. The question of the inheritance turns on one phrase in that verse: the firstfruits of all thine increase. An inheritance is, quite plainly, increase. So the real question is not whether Scripture is silent, but how the principle of firstfruits giving applies to a gift that came to you through someone's death rather than through your own labor.
It helps to notice what an inheritance is and is not. It is not wages. You did not earn it by the sweat of your brow this month. It is not a bonus for good behavior, and it is certainly not a reward for faith. It is a transfer of wealth from someone who has died to someone still living. And yet, in the plain sense of Proverbs 3:9, it increases what you have. Your net worth is larger this year than last because of it. In that sense it is increase, the same way a gift, a legal settlement, or the sale of a home is increase.
Some Christians draw a distinction here. They reason that the giver very likely already tithed on this money across a lifetime of faithful giving, so tithing again feels like taxing the same dollar twice. That is a sincere and thoughtful point, and it is worth sitting with. But firstfruits giving in Scripture is never really about the dollar's history. It is about your heart's response to receiving. The farmer did not ask whether last year's seed had already been dedicated. He gave the first of this year's increase as fresh worship. Giving from an inheritance is less an accounting adjustment and more a way of saying thank You to God for the person, the years, and the provision.
None of this makes the decision automatic. It simply frames it honestly. You are not being asked to obey a rule buried in the fine print. You are being invited to respond, as a steward, to a genuine increase in your life, with the same trust the firstfruits always expressed.
Here we come to a place where faithful, Bible-loving Christians land in different spots, and we should treat that difference charitably rather than pick a fight. One view holds that the tithe, the tenth, is a fixed baseline that carries forward from the Old Testament into Christian practice. It points to the strong language of the prophet Malachi.
"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."
Malachi 3:10 (KJV)
Read carefully and in context, that promise was spoken to the nation of Israel under the covenant God made with them, and it was largely about food for the temple and the poor. It is a real and beautiful text, but we must not stretch it into a guarantee that giving ten percent will make you rich. That would be prosperity thinking, and it is not what the passage means. Malachi is calling a people back to faithfulness, not selling them a return on investment.
The other view is often called grace giving. It teaches that under the new covenant, Christians are not bound to a legal percentage, but are freed to give generously from the heart. Its anchor is Paul's counsel to the Corinthian church.
"Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver."
2 Corinthians 9:7 (KJV)
Notice how personal that is. Each person purposes in his own heart. Not grudgingly, as if a bill were due. Not of necessity, as if a rule forced it. The measure God delights in is cheerfulness, a gladness in giving. For many believers, the tithe of ten percent still serves as a wise and honest starting point, a floor rather than a ceiling. For others, the right amount from an inheritance might be far more than a tenth, or given in a different shape entirely. The grace-giving conviction does not lower the bar of generosity. If anything, it raises it, because love gives more freely than law ever demands.
So which is it for you? Rather than declaring one side wrong, hold the two truths together. Give in a way you can do cheerfully, and let generosity, not the bare minimum, be your aim. If a strict tenth helps you honor God with clarity, use it. If your heart moves you to purpose a larger portion, follow that. The Lord loves the cheerful giver, whatever the percentage on the page.
Money math is clean. Grief is not. When the dollars in question came from your mother's estate or your grandfather's careful saving, every decision carries a second layer that a spreadsheet cannot capture. Giving some of it away can feel, in a raw moment, like giving away a piece of them. Keeping all of it can feel greedy. Spending it can feel like betrayal. These feelings are real, and Scripture never asks you to pretend they are not there.
The first practical counsel, then, is almost never financial. It is this: do not rush. A large inheritance does not need a decision this week. Many wise Christians deliberately wait a season, often several months, before making any major move with inherited money. They let the fog of grief begin to lift. They pray. They talk with a trusted pastor or a mature believer who is not going to benefit from the outcome. The book of Proverbs commends this again and again, that in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. A gift given in haste while your emotions are raw can be as unwise as a gift never given at all.
It also helps to name what giving actually does for the griever. Turning a portion of the money outward, toward a church, a mission, a scholarship, or a neighbor in need, can transform the inheritance from a painful reminder into a living memorial. Many families find that funding something their loved one cared about becomes part of how they heal. The giving is not a way to earn anything or to buy peace with God. It is a way to let the love that person poured into you keep flowing through you into the world.
Once your heart is settled, the how-to is refreshingly concrete. There are three main ways people give from an inheritance, and they are not mutually exclusive.
The first is giving off the top. As soon as the money is truly yours and the estate is settled, you set aside your giving portion first, before you make any other plans for the rest. This mirrors the firstfruits pattern exactly. It guards you against the slow drift where a clear intention to give quietly shrinks over the months as other wants appear. If you have decided on a tenth, or a fifth, or whatever you have purposed, moving it first makes the decision real.
The second is giving over time. Instead of one large gift, you commit to giving a set amount from the inheritance each year for several years. This can be wise for large sums, because it lets you support ministries steadily rather than dumping money they cannot absorb well in a single year. It can also be more tax-aware, and it keeps generosity as an ongoing practice rather than a one-time event. The risk to watch is that time can cool intention, so it helps to automate the giving or make a written plan.
The third is honoring the giver's wishes. Sometimes the person who left you the money made their hopes clear, whether in the will itself or in years of conversation. Perhaps they loved a particular church, supported a mission overseas, or always wanted to help a grandchild through school. Weaving their wishes into your giving is itself an act of stewardship and honor.
Many people combine these. They give a firstfruits portion off the top immediately, direct part of it toward a cause the loved one cherished, and set up a smaller recurring gift for the years ahead. There is no single right architecture. There is only the honest question of what lets you honor the Lord and steward the gift with a clear conscience.
Here is a truth that anxious, tender-hearted Christians sometimes need to hear plainly: you are not required to give away the entire inheritance to be faithful. The same Bible that calls you to generosity also honors saving, providing, and passing wealth along.
"A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just."
Proverbs 13:22 (KJV)
That verse assumes that a good person accumulates and preserves wealth deliberately, precisely so it can bless the next generations. An inheritance is that very thing in motion. So it is entirely faithful to use part of what you receive to strengthen your own household. Paying off high-interest debt, building an emergency fund, saving for your children, or funding your retirement are all good and God-honoring stewardship. In fact, getting your own house in order often increases your future capacity to give.
A simple and sane way to think about it is to divide the inheritance into portions with different purposes. Give a firstfruits portion first as worship. Use a portion to shore up your financial foundation, meaning debt, emergency savings, and other pressing needs. Then steward the remainder with patience, whether that means investing it, saving it for a specific goal, or holding it while you keep praying about future generosity. The point is that giving and stewarding are partners. One does not cancel the other.
Notice what that split does over time. The giving portion goes out immediately as worship and blessing to others. The foundation portion removes the drag of debt and the fear of emergencies. And the stewarded remainder, invested patiently, can grow into a far larger capacity to give and to bless your own children's children down the road. This is not prosperity gospel. Money is not a reward for faith, and returns are never guaranteed. It is simply ordinary, wise stewardship of a real gift.
Money facts matter, so let us be accurate. In the United States, the person who receives an inheritance generally does not pay a federal inheritance tax, and most inherited cash and property are not treated as taxable income to you. There are important wrinkles. A handful of states levy their own inheritance tax, and certain inherited accounts, such as a traditional IRA, do create taxable income as you withdraw from them. Selling an inherited asset later can trigger capital gains based on its value when you received it.
None of that changes the heart question of what you want to give, but it does affect the mechanics and the timing. This is exactly the kind of situation where sitting down with a qualified tax professional or a fee-only financial planner is worth the cost. Understanding what is taxable, and when, helps you give and steward wisely rather than being surprised later. Treat this article as biblical and educational encouragement, not as tax or financial advice for your specific situation.
We should end where the heart matters most. It is tempting, especially when a large sum lands in your lap, to slide into a bargaining posture with God. If I give this much, surely He will bless me back with more. That instinct is understandable, and it is exactly what Scripture warns against. The Lord loves a cheerful giver, not a calculating one. Giving from an inheritance is worship and thanksgiving. It is not a deposit into a heavenly account that pays interest in cash.
Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive, and He meant blessing far richer than money. The blessing is the freedom of an open hand. It is the joy of watching a gift do good beyond yourself. It is the quiet confidence that comes from trusting God with what He has entrusted to you. Faithful people still face hard times, and giving does not buy an exemption from them. But a generous heart, holding money loosely and God tightly, is one of the surest signs that your treasure is truly in the right place.
So should you tithe on an inheritance you receive? The honest answer is that Scripture invites you to honor the Lord with the firstfruits of this increase, and to purpose in your own heart what to give, cheerfully and generously, whether that is a tenth or more. Grieve first. Pray. Seek counsel. Give off the top or over time. Honor the wishes of the one who loved you enough to leave it. And then steward the rest without guilt, as a good person building something to bless the generations still to come.
There is no verse that names inheritance and commands a tithe on it specifically. The nearest principle is Proverbs 3:9, which tells you to honor the Lord with the firstfruits of all your increase, and an inheritance is genuine increase. So the spirit of Scripture strongly commends giving from it, even where the letter does not spell out a percentage.
Sincere believers disagree here. Some hold that the tithe carries forward as a fixed ten percent baseline, pointing to passages like Malachi 3:10. Others teach grace giving, where 2 Corinthians 9:7 frees each person to purpose in their own heart what to give. Both groups agree that generous, cheerful, regular giving pleases God.
In the United States there is no federal inheritance tax paid by the person who receives the money, and most inherited cash and property are not counted as taxable income to you. Some inherited accounts, like a traditional IRA you draw down, do create taxable income when you withdraw. This is a good reason to talk with a tax professional, and it does not change the heart question of what you want to give.
Either can be faithful. Giving off the top right away guards you from slowly talking yourself out of generosity. Giving over several years lets you grieve, plan wisely, and support ministries steadily. The wrong move is to rush a huge decision while your emotions are raw, or to indefinitely postpone giving you already sense you should do.
Honoring their wishes is part of stewarding the gift well. If they asked you to support a church, a mission, or a family need, weigh that seriously alongside your own giving. A God-honoring plan can often do both, funding what they loved and expressing your own thanksgiving.
No. Scripture praises the good man who leaves an inheritance to his children's children, which assumes wealth can be saved and passed on. Providing for your family, paying off debt, and building an emergency fund are all faithful uses. Giving and stewarding are partners, not rivals.
One Scripture-grounded money idea each week, with the practical math to go with it. Join free.
