Can we discuss tithing?

[Nakia]

I would like to hear your thoughts on tithing. Do you tithe in the literal sense (as in 10% of your income)? What about tithing of your time? Does your church often discuss tithing? I am very familiar with the scripture in Malachi about tithing, but I would like to be pointed to any other scripture that references tithing. Thanks!!

 

ETA: I would also like to know if you give your entire tithe to your church or if you give part of your tithe to other organizations as well.

[Carol in Cal.]

That means that everyone is supposed to give as God has prospered them. For some, that is 10% and for others it is more or less.

 

The Malachi passage is so misused, IMO. It was for a specific situation, and for people who were under the tithing law still. I wish that those who use it would balance it with that other passage, also for a specific situation, where the people were called on to donate toward either the building of the first temple or the first tabernacle (I forget which) and they got so many donations that they told people that they would not accept any more. That passage is about as relevant as the Malachi one.

 

There is a really funny song on You tube where someone sings that if 10% is enough for God, it also should be enough for Uncle Sam. I thought it was very funny, but it made me think about trying to match my donations with my income taxes. Someone told me once that in Germany automatically everyone who is registered with a church gives 10% of their income taxes to that church through the government taxation system. There has to be a happy medium, I think!

 

About 15 years ago I read that most charitable contributions go to men. I thought about this a lot, and for one year was very intentional about donating in such a way that half of the actual cash was paid to men and half to women. It was surprisingly, enlighteninly hard, and I have never done it again.

 

I believe that God loves a cheerful giver, and that giving grows from our gratitude toward Him and our Godly compassion for others. I believe that we should set a background level of proportionate giving to church, and then add other contributions both to church and elsewhere as we are moved. Both are necessary, and neither by itself is adequate--all planned background giving is too cerebral and can get legalistic, and all 'as I am moved' gets too much like 'go ahead, entertain me, and maybe I will throw you something'.

[Heather in Neverland]

I believe in being a cheerful giver. Sometimes that means 10%, sometimes it means more or less. And I don't always give in the form of a check in the offering plate. For instance, last month we gave a donation to sponsor some kids to go to church camp this summer who couldn't otherwise afford it. And we often will give some of our tithes to charitable organizations. Our only stipulation is that it has to be a christian organization that is committed to spreading the gospel in addition to humanitarian aid.

[plansrme]

and apply literally. I would really love to know why many Evangelical Christian pastors who wouldn't dream of advising us to stone to death the adulterers in our midst, or forego dishes that combine milk and meat, insist that this bit of the Old Testament survives as a literal commandment.

 

I do not feel any obligation to give my entire tithe (or not-tithe) to my local church and donate a substantial portion to other Christian organizations.

 

Yes, our church discusses tithing a lot.

 

Terri

[OnTheBrink]

Our church doesn't talk about money much at all, except at the quarterly business meetings. On the rare occasions the topic comes up as part of the Scripture the pastor is preaching on, but there is never a push for giving. The only thing I've heard about giving is that God wants giving to be cheerful. And, we must have some pretty cheerful folks, because despite the economic times and despite the fact we have several men without jobs right now, giving has increased this year. We're 9 years from paying off the mortgage on the building, and the building was built 5 years ago.

 

IMO, tithing doesn't cover time. I think time spent is part of service and I think every church member should be serving in some way, even it's just a little bit (thinking here of moms of littles or the elderly, who may not have the physical means to do a lot).

[Alice]

We tithe 10% to the church. We also give to other organizations but it's above and beyond that 10%. We don't personally count time.

 

Our pastor hardly every mentions tithing, I can't think of a time where he has. And I'm glad that our church is not at all legalistic about it. We are comfortable with our decisions but I don't think that it's the only way to do it or necessarily the "right" way.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Giving of time, energy, resources, service, etc is a matter of what is in one's heart and what is possible under the circumstances. This is the case according to the scriptures and I'm perfectly happy with it. Some people can do a lot more than others even if it seems their situations are similar. Giving is between God and the person. A lot of families work together in order to give more but differently also (for example, a family member supporting another who may be able to put more time into the ministry work...I will gladly work a little to make sure my daughter can volunteer since she is both able and zealous to do so, for example).

 

As for in our religion, it is rarely mentioned at all unless mentioned more broadly including time, energy, resources, etc. And when mentioned, it is always about doing what you can, simply being mindful about it. NEVER is a collection plate passed around. People give or don't give as they please and privately (there are boxes available to use as one pleases).

Edited April 17, 2009 by 2J5M9K

[Mama Anna]

I'll likely have to duck some tomatoes, but our present practice is that our tithe is 10% of our gross income, including interest income and cash gifts. Offerings come above that. We give our full tithe to the church that we are presently members of, giving offerings to missions, charities, other churches, etc. as we feel led. If we have to leave a church for some reason (generally a move), our tithe will continue going there until we are officially accepted as members of another church.

 

Thankfully, dh and I are in agreement on this - some of it comes from my convictions and some from his. I find that it is good to have things so well defined in my own mind because then I have no question when I prep the monthly budget as to what goes where.

 

I do not keep track of my time well enough to know whether or not I am "tithing" it but since I believe that I am simply a steward of all that God has blessed me with (finances, time, body, talents, etc.), I tend to spend a large amount of time in ministry - either through our church or in my own life.

 

Now, if only I could "steward" all that Easter chocolate a little bit more wisely . . . !:tongue_smilie:

 

I find it interesting that in . . . is it Leviticus or Deuteronomy? . . . when the Israelites are commanded to tithe to the Levites in order to support them, the Levites are also commanded to tithe to the Aaronic priesthood. I have taken this to mean that it doesn't matter what position we hold - whether we are in vocational ministry or not (and we have been, in the past) - we need to tithe.

 

My thoughts, as requested. :)

 

(Now, to duck the tomatoes!)

 

Mama Anna

[PineFarmMom]

I believe in being a cheerful giver.

 

That is what we believe. After prayer and study on this topic, we came to the conclusion that since the main thing the NT talks about is that each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. I grew up with the idea that you HAD to give your 10%...we struggled over that was net or gross, etc. We became involved in a fantastic Bible church that really got us into God's Word. The pastor didn't believe "tithing" was a NT command. After we looked at the scriptures, we realized we wanted to be able to give cheerfully and that we couldn't see anything that led us to the strict tithing model either. There have been times we have given way more than 10% and times we have given nothing. There have been times we've given our $$ to a brother or sister who was in need. There have been times we have felt the Lord lead us to give to someone or an organization without explanation. We give to our church regularly, but I can't say it's always 10%. God has had me give curriculum to people who I knew needed it...one time he had me give curriculum to someone I didn't even know. I see these as giving to the Lord as He gives to that person or organization. I realize others may not agree with that. We spent some time struggling over this issue, and that's what we've come to.

[Amber in SJ]

We tithe 10% of our gross income (which isn't very much lately) and then we make such offerings as we feel moved to make.

 

We don't count time as part of our tithing, but rather as the service we owe to our fellow man. For example this Saturday is a "Humanitarian Super Saturday," where we will assemble hygeine kits, make t-shirt dresses, schoolbooks, quilts, trauma dolls, knitted hats and leper bandages. These items are distributed locally & all lover the world where these is need. Our church has a completely lay ministry and none of the church buildings carry a mortgage.

 

I believe strongly in that scripture in Malachi & I am praying for the windows of heaven to open up for us during these tough economic times.

 

Amber in SJ

[eternalknot]

I grew up in a Buddhist home. I assumed the contributions my grandparents were making to their local wat and also send money in their name to a longtime family friend (monk). Together, these exceed 10% of my income but I feel a philosophical obligation to share my earnings with those who earn less than I do (especially those who sacrifice financial security to follow spiritual callings). And a filial obligation, as well.

 

I now live in a Catholic home. I contribute very little cash to the direct support of my church. Instead I donate volunteer hours and physical items to the parish, as needs arise. I reserve cash contributions for the Catholic school and local organizations supported by my parish. The church actually gets more out of me, and I feel better about knowing where the support is going. Or not going, as the case may be. Win, win.

 

My priest is relatively new to our parish. During his first six months here 80% of his sermons involved attempts to guilt our parish (which is high-income) into contributing more. He inherited a $6.5 million parish loan out for the physical building of our church, which he wanted to pay off in a year's time. Every week for months, he made sure to add in to his sermon that one of two things needed to happen: (1) a handful of families needed to make lump sum donations, or (2) each registered family need contribute only $3000 to pay off the parish loan "in time".

 

It was a huge turn-off. Not so much his request, which was valid IMO, rather his tone and weekly shamefests rooted in bad doctrinal and Scripture interpretations. We paid off our loan before the priest's self-imposed deadline, but he still leaves many of us feeling like all we are are deep pockets. He has grand plans for many new and improved parish programs. His vision is "more, now" whereas mine is "slow and steady" ... just different philosophies regarding the growth of a nascent parish with regard to community socio-economics; I have nothing personal against the guy. To his credit, he does believe in full disclosure of the parish finances, which are readily available upon request and are shared annually via church bulletin.

 

So yes, the WHOLE church talks about ALL aspects of tithing LOL.