Brad from Chicago recently called into "The Ramsey Show" with a question that made personal finance expert Dave Ramsey visibly uncomfortable: Should you ever borrow money to tithe?

The answer came back swift and certain. "No, I would never borrow money," Ramsey said. "There's a lot of indications in Scripture not to borrow money. And so to borrow money and go against one Scripture in order to keep another Scripture is oxymoronic."

It's About Net Increase, Not Tax Forms

Brad's situation was pretty straightforward. His business had a strong year, but after buying equipment with cash in December, he found himself low on liquidity. He wanted to give 10% but wasn't sure how to calculate it or whether he should even give this year.

Ramsey broke down his approach. The tithe should come from your "net increase," he explained. That's not your gross revenue or even your taxable income, but your actual profit. "Purchasing equipment lowers your net profit, does it not?" Ramsey pointed out.

He put it in concrete terms. "If I spend a million dollars on a piece of equipment, I don't have the million dollars anymore. Regardless of what the IRS says, they don't get to enter into the discussion on my spiritual walk. For God's sakes, really."

Ramsey said he personally tithes based on his cash flow before taxes, not what the IRS calls income. Depreciation schedules and accounting strategies don't change the spiritual principle in his view.

Co-host Ken Coleman jumped in to emphasize the concept of giving first. "The principle of tithing is about the first fruits," he said. But he also raised concerns about business owners who overspend and leave nothing to give. "The tithe is on what you pay yourself."

When In Doubt, Give More

Here's where things got interesting. Ramsey admitted he deliberately gives more than the traditional 10% requirement as a hedge. "When in doubt, I overgive because when I get up there, I don't want to be wrong," he said.

Both Ramsey and Coleman were quick to clarify that giving shouldn't become a legalistic scorecard. "A tither is not a better Christian than a non-tither," Ramsey said. "We're all sinners saved by grace."

The conversation wrapped up with Ramsey praising Brad's intentions. "Good on you for loving your faith walk and your God enough that you even care about the answer to the subject," he said. "And good on you for being generous."

The takeaway seems to be that tithing is more about principle than precision. Calculate it based on what you actually have, not accounting fictions. Don't borrow to give. And if you're genuinely uncertain about the math, err on the side of giving more rather than less.