Tithing...

[meangirl]

Do you? If so, how much of your income?

The reason I ask is that as Catholics, we do give to the church. But, not a percentage of our income or anything like that. My sister, however, belongs to some born again Christian church in Accokeek...and she had me drop off checks to them twice during December and January. When I saw the amounts...well...

 

[bresamil]

They WANT you to give at least 10% of your gross income. They get 10% of my expendable income which, sad to say, isn't much.

 

[Pandora]

The bible says 10% to the church, but to me, the church is the people and I give to the church, church, but I also give to various charitable organizations and include that in the 10 percent. That would be 10% of MY income; my husband gives to charity but not 10 percent.

My father (and 2A) both feel that the 10% is 10% directly to the church and the other monies shouldn't be included.

 

[rack'm]

Of all the things in religion, tithing is the one that I disagree with most.

I understand that the church uses the money for good......but I'll be the director of my charity.

 

[meangirl]

She says 10% isn't required and that the church doesn't "care" what you tithe... I find that hard to believe. They tithed, what is equivalent to me, a house payment, both months. She is almost fanatical about it and makes sure it is there by the first of the month. I just find it odd. :shrug:

 

[Kain99]

Point being... God doesn't care, what you tithe. Remember the woman in the Bible who gave a penny? God is not Bill Gates.

 

[MysticalMom]

Tithing is something I have always had a problem with. Though they still participate in our family traditions, my parents converted to Christianity a few years ago. The Southern Baptist church to be exact. And they faithfully tithe 10% of their $180,000 annual income to their church. I think $18,000 a year is a ridiculous amount of my inheritance to tithe away. And for what? :shrug: So their preacher and church gets richer. :shrug:

I don't get it.

 

[This_person]

She says 10% isn't required and that the church doesn't "care" what you tithe... I find that hard to believe. They tithed, what is equivalent to me, a house payment, both months. She is almost fanatical about it and makes sure it is there by the first of the month. I just find it odd. :shrug:

My father used to tell me charity begins at home. My personal belief is that people tithe what THEY feel is correct. If she's not coming to YOU for money to make her ends meet 'cuz she's giving too much to the church, why would you care what she tithes?

 

[This_person]

Tithing is something I have always had a problem with. Though they still participate in our family traditions, my parents converted to Christianity a few years ago. The Southern Baptist church to be exact. And they faithfully tithe 10% of their $180,000 annual income to their church. I think $18,000 a year is a ridiculous amount of my inheritance to tithe away. And for what? :shrug: So their preacher and church gets richer. :shrug:

I don't get it.

It's your money? Again, why isn't it okay for them to use the money they earn any way they choose?

 

[Bavarian]

Do you? If so, how much of your income?

The reason I ask is that as Catholics, we do give to the church. But, not a percentage of our income or anything like that. My sister, however, belongs to some born again Christian church in Accokeek...and she had me drop off checks to them twice during December and January. When I saw the amounts...well...

I would be more concerned in your sister losing her Faith.

 

[meangirl]

I would be more concerned in your sister losing her Faith.

I don't think so!

 

[blitz10]

I think the catholic religion has alot of law suits to pay off and why should i pay for that!!!

 

[Hessian]

Losing her Faith?

Phrased correctly: dropping the tenets/practices of one in exchange for one that is more Biblically sound. (Sola Scriptura)

Regarding the Tithe: We do not own anything. We came into this world with nothing, we leave with nothing- Period: we are merely stewards: entrusted with worldly goods until we are called home. Thus, we are giving back for God's use: 10% (by faith) to be used for His purposes. If we are faithful with what He has entrusted us,...He will entrust us with more.

If a church squanders it on lavish furniture, new parking lots, and pastor vacations & condos: leave that church: they do not have their priorities right.
Spending it on missionaries, orphans, people burned out of their homes, runaways, pregnant teens, chaplains in the military & prisons: That is money well spent because it is reaching out to those who need to feel that someone (the believers) care for them.

 

[jenbengen]

Tithing is something I have always had a problem with. Though they still participate in our family traditions, my parents converted to Christianity a few years ago. The Southern Baptist church to be exact. And they faithfully tithe 10% of their $180,000 annual income to their church. I think $18,000 a year is a ridiculous amount of my inheritance to tithe away. And for what? :shrug: So their preacher and church gets richer. :shrug:

I don't get it.

It has nothing to do with getting "richer". Our church spends a lot of money on events and activities for families and members to attend. All of this, along with rent, electricity, salaries, food, helping those in need, etc etc costs money! It's not so much the amount you give but whether you give generously compared to what else you use your money for.

 

[2ndAmendment]

Tithe means 10%.

Main Entry: 1tithe
Pronunciation: 'tI[th]
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): tithed; tith·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English teogothian, from teogotha tenth
transitive verb
1 : to pay or give a tenth part of especially for the support of the church
2 : to levy a tithe on
intransitive verb : to give a tenth of one's income as a tithe

The tithe is mentioned many places in the Bible. This is the first.

Leviticus 27:30'Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S; it is holy to the LORD.

You can see that the tithe is holy to God.

The Bible also says that you are robbing God when you don't tithe.

Malachi 3:8"Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings.

As to what Kain posted about the widow, context is everything. She didn't just tithe. She gave all she had.

Mark 12:41-44

41And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.

42A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.

43Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury;

44for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on."

It is not easy to tithe. I did not do it for a long time. I started giving more until now I more than tithe. It boils down to how much do you trust God. Do you trust Him with your finances? I know that I have more left over at the end of a month now than I did when I did not tithe. I have found that as I give I am given to. I have learned that you cannot out give God.

meangirl, it sounds like your sister is richly blessed and recognizes that all she has is really God's and is giving back a portion of what she has been given. I'm glad she is so blessed.

Each person must choose who they will serve, God or mammon, wealth/money. This is what Jesus said.

Matthew 6:16-34

16"Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

17"But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face

18so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

20"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;

21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.

23"But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth.

25"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

26"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

27"And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

28"And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,

29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

30"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!

31"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'

32"For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Don't give out of obligation. Give out of love. I love and trust God, so I give. If others choose not to give or only give a portion, that is between them and God.

May God richly bless all of you; may you recognize His blessings; may you return to God out of your blessings.

 

[PAgirl76]

I don't see anything wrong with giving money to the church. I usually give 10% and if God blesses me with extra money I will give more or if I know of somebody who is is need of money or food I will give it to them. It is an awesome feeling to be able to help somebody in their time of need and when you do it from the heart and expect nothing in return that is usually when God blesses you!! We serve an awesome God. I feel sorry for those Pastors who take advantage of the body of Christ and use the money for their own gain and not towards the Kingdom of God Blesses to you all.

 

[tater]

Oops! I thought it said titthing

 

[Homer J]

Don't give out of obligation. Give out of love. I love and trust God, so I give. If others choose not to give or only give a portion, that is between them and God.

Well said 2A.

 

[SamSpade]

I know that several years ago I read about a church that expected a 5% contribution from its members - and that it did not have to be to THEM - but to charity. In turn, the church itself gave 5% of its income away. I thought that was a tremendous example.

The church that I was in for many years not only believed in 10% of gross - you have to submit your pay stub so they could verify you were *doing* it. And 10% was the minimum allowed. Further, once a year - or more often as the situation arose, they required a "special missions contribution" to which they told you what the minimum 'multiplier' would be - as in, take your typical weekly contribution and 'multiply' it by this number, and that number was usually a number between 15 and 20. So if you gave 100 a week, your SMC would be between 1500 and 2000. Also every other form of money you got was tithed.

In addition, all throughout the year there were numerous events, retreats, and so on for which your dollars were required, and attendance was mandatory. You had to give for birthdays, volunteer your time for moves and other events. And without fail, the church leadership ALWAYS got your support in terms of babysitting, housecleaning, yard work and any other kind of "support" the paid staff desired.

I think eventually I reached the end of my rope when I realized that at least 33% of my income went for *something* with the church - whether paying for food for Bible Talk, for the tenth 'retreat' this year, for some performance the church was doing to raise money for "missions". We learned much later that "missions" contributions rarely left the local church - in their mind, "missions" also included the local staff.

While cases of incredible abuse weren't rampant, it disturbed me to learn of the bennies of being on staff. Some of their wireless bills alone were more than what I could give in a month. There was very little accountability. It bothered me to know I was eating mac and cheese and driving a POS while staff drove around in brand new sedans. I lived with five other guys in a tiny flat while my evangelist had a rec room twice the size of our home. The lead evangelist sent his kids to elite private schools and had private coaches for their athletic activities. I got up at the crack of dawn to work at the church and didn't leave until sundown - staff got there around 9:30 and left at 3:30.

I don't know why I put up with it for so long. My parents put up with it for YEARS later, always in denial of the waste. Finally, some of came to surface - they'd learn of finances where a single couple might spend more than 1000 a month just in phone bills. They decided on massive MASSIVE accountability for the staff, and appointed church boards to govern the spending. So while these boards weren't "biblical" - I don't know a person on the planet to whom you can entrust MILLIONS of dollars a year and not have them waste a lot of it.

So to this day - I give as I see need. I volunteer as I can. I give where the organization is open enough to show where the money is spent. I don't think it's too much to give hundreds of dollars so that a family can eat - but I think it's outrageous to support an organization or charity where less than half your money actually goes to the people and the rest is swallowed up in administration. If you think your money is well spent preaching the Word around the globe, good on you. I was giving money so that preachers could hold conferences in Paris - and then take a week off for vacation - with their family. Not what I'm sacrificing for.

 

[itsbob]

The fun(d) of organized religion..

WHere does your money go? How much does your church take in a year? DO they have records you can look at to see where the money is, or where it has gone? I know, you give money with faith, and you have to have faith that is going to a good cause.

The church buys more property, another painting, a new fleet of cars for their leadership, oh and a small percentage actually goes out to help feloow human beings. I believe my 10% would be put to better use going to local or national charities, where you know the money is being used for good. The Red Cross, Hospice... St Jude's.. At least I know my money won't be supporting some pedophile in his old age.

Maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way, maybe I shouldn't be talking out against religion, maybe I should jump on the band wagon like the rest of the "God fearing Evangelists". Apparetnly there is a lot of money in it, tax free money, imagine the life style I could live.

Too bad I'm a decent person and can't take advantage of my fellow man like that.