I just finished reading a great post by James about how tithing can increase your income.
And it got me thinking about my own personal story of when I started tithing and the things that followed.
Starting to tithe
I don’t exactly remember when I started to tithe – probably about 7-8 years ago. But I do remember getting a new job that was nearly double my previous income and thinking, “Wow, so this is the result of tithing.”
It was a helpful lesson to me since I was, like most, skeptical about the whole thing. I had heard about all the scandals with TV preachers and kind of grew up with a cynical attitude towards giving to the church.
Somewhere along the line I decided to “take a chance” and try it out.
We have had a couple times over the years where God has wanted us to stretch our giving. The times were faith-tests that have proved extremely valuable to us.
I remember a time when we realized, due to an error on my part, that we hadn’t been tithing the correct amount.
Once I finally figured it out how much it was supposed to be, I quickly realized that if we did that our expenses would be greater than our income. That’s never a good thing 😉
I remember praying with my wife and telling God that if He really can do what His word says, then it will all work out. We went ahead and started tithing the correct amount, not knowing where the rest of the money was going to come from to pay the bills. I am not exaggerating at all when I say that the NEXT DAY, my boss called me into her office to tell me about a completely unexpected raise that she was giving me. The raises normally only came once a year and this was way off the schedule. Guess how much it was for. Yep, it was almost the exact amount of the difference. I must say that experience was a strong encouragement for my faith.
I have a similar story Bob. We hadn’t tithed regularly until earlier this year. When we started tithing, that same month I started receiving an income from my blog. Guess how much it was for? Almost exactly that I had tithed that month, plus a little extra!
We just need to remember that God doesn’t need our money (its already his), its more about us being faithful stewards of what he has given us, so that in return he can bless us (not always monetary).
Great post. I have really found that when we are faithful with our tithing, God really blesses us and continues to make things happen for us financially and spiritually.
Plus, tithing helps me stay grounded when it comes to money. I am fairly driven when it comes to success and building a future for my family. Tithing helps me remember each month that everything we have is from God. God owns all my money and I am just a steward of it.
Thanks for the great post.
Kevin
Excellent post. I grew up in a family that tithed regularly and my parents taught me that it was a priority. However, when I left the nest I stopped tithing. I guess I thought I could live vicariously through my parents blessings. Wrong! Many years passed I was began to tithe occasionally. I could see the difference. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I started tithing faithfully. My husband and I make it a priority and God meets all of our needs “according to His riches in glory!”
@Everyone
it is interesting to me that so many people seem to go through a phase where they test the waters with tithing to see if it really does work. We all seem to learn our lesson that God meant what He said and that it really is true…
Bob
I am so glad I came across this post! I have come to a crossroads in my life. I have always felt tithing was the right thing to do but never tried to do it on a regular basis. I have been praying about it. And then the other day a lightbulb went on-I have been struggling with my finances for years-I have been to financial planners, talked with close friends, and am always praying for God to show me the way. I finally realized-although I have been asking for God’s guidance, I haven’t actually turned it over to Him-I have been holding on to it! I have tried everything BUT tithing! I am excited for Sunday to come!
Its true and I’ve been testing the waters myself. I started faithfully teithing last month. Things have not gone well yet but I heard an encouraging sermon and am still hopeful. All there posts are very encouraging.
I think tithing works much like getting out of debt. God blesses those that show that they can handle His blessings His way.
Great post Bob!
When my wife and I started tithing two years ago, we were barely making ends meet. Over the course of the next year and a half, every time it looked like our expenses were too high to meet, I would get a surprise bonus that met or exceeded the shortfall.
It also helped both of us adjust our priorities and get over our obsession with ‘stuff’.
God is true to his word.
I have to agree that tithing is a must. My husband and I always tithe our money but this past year I have been convicted to “tithe” my time and my energy as well. God wants our firstfruits, this means that even if you do not have enough to go around he wants you to give it to him FIRST, and then as promised he will provide for our needs. We live in a “hustle and bustle world” where it seems that we never have enough time to finish everthing we want to do. What do you think would happen if we started tithing our time? What if we gave him the firstfruits of our day. Instead of getting that extra hour of sleep in the morning,what if we got up early and spent time in sudy and prayer with God? I think tithing could be applied to many areas in life.
I want to speak out against tithing. Tithing is not a Biblical command. We are called to give everything to God. Sure he’ll allow us to keep what we need, but too often the idea of a tithe limits believers and their giving. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says that “God love a cheerful giver”, and that “each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity;”. There is no amount that is a necessity for giving.
Personally, I like the wisdom that John Wesley shared on the topic of money. We should… 1. Make all we can 2. Save all we can (being frugal) and 3. Give all we can.
I respectfully disagree that we are not “called to give everything to God” because everything is already His. We can’t give God anything. We are only stewards of what is already His, and He asks us to bring forth a portion of what He has already blessed us with. Some may debate whether Christians are bound to the Old testament laws of giving a tenth because we receive salvation by Christ’s grace, but there is no debate that the Lord rewards obedience and complete faith that He will bless us with all that we need even if we give a tenth.
@Success Professor
First let me say that have always loved that John Wesley quote as well… I appreciate your perspective on this, I know there is quite a debate in the Christian community about tithing.
I personally do believe it is a biblical command, there are tons of verses in the old testament about tithing, so there isn’t much debate about that. But some people say it doesn’t pertain to the new covenant, since it is only referred to a couple times in the new testament.
I kind of try not to get hung up over the whole thing, it isn’t a deal-breaker. You can still go to Heaven without doing it, but from my personal experience, I have been a lot more blessed as a result of doing it…
Right on! 🙂
After many years of tithing I THANK GOD for freedom! Tithing was under the Law. Notice even JESUS tells us that tithing was the law:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.”
HE says”” . . . weightier provisions OF THE LAW: . . .”
YES, there are many scriptures about tithing. Most who teach it teach it incorrectly. They combine tithing and firstfruits, which are separate. Notice scriptures have tithing and firstfruits in them together using the word AND. Simple English comprehension tells us that the use of the conjunction AND means that they are two separate things.
The two most famous versus used are in Genesis 14 and Malachi. Most people who teach Genesis 14 DON’T READ THE WHOLE CHAPTER. Abram didn’t ONLY give a tenth but he gave EVERYTHING! Also, people were a part of the spoils that he received. THERE WAS NO TITHING ON PEOPLE! Additionally, what Abram gave was NOT from any of his own possessions. It ONLY came from the spoils of that particular battle.
Question #1: If tithing starts with Abram, then after his encounter with Melchizedek whom else does he give his tithes?
Question #2: The story of Melchizedek was the second of three instances where Abram receives an increase financially. The other two are from Pharaoh and Abimelech. Please explain why there is NO RECORD of (Abram) Abraham tithing at either instance? Pharaoh was BEFORE Melchizedek and Abimelech was AFTER Melchizedek.
Question #3: If Abraham was the “father of tithing” why is there no record of Isaac tithing?
Question #4: In Genesis 28:20-22 when Jacob, whose name means supplanter & trickster, “barters” with GOD (“If GOD will . . . I will surely give a tenth to you.”) does he EVER make good on his vow?
Question #5: Since tithing ONLY makes references to animals and agriculture why do people make tithing money today? This question exist because everyone DID NOT have animals or agriculture in the Old Testament. There were many different professions throughout the Israelites: Carpenters, Dyers, Lumberjacks, and etc. (look at all the people & professions that built the Tabernacle and the Temple).
Question #6: If tithing is so important, why is there no record of JESUS tithing?
Malachi chapter 3 is used as the other promoter of tithing. If you read the ENTIRE book of Malachi you will see that GOD is talking to the Levites and the High Priest NOT the tribes of Israel. Israelites gave their tithes (animals and agriculture) to the Levites – who were not allowed to own anything – who then gave a tithe from the tithes. They were the ones that had stopped tithing! As leaders they were leading the people astray! GOD was rebuking them for their actions and the lack there of! Please read the ENTIRE book.
Also, “storehouse” comes from the word owtsar. This word is used for: treasure, storehouse, treasury, magazine of weapons (GOD’s armory), store – supplies of food or drink, and storehouses – of GOD for rain, snow, hail, wind, or sea.
Please also read Acts 15:1-29. (28) This frees all gentiles: For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things (29) That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. Notice no mention of tithing!
For all of those that have been misinformed and told that animals and agriculture represented money I urge you to do some personal research throughout the bible. Just remember, currency existed as a measurement (Temple Shekel), the prodigal son’s inheritance was not in animals and agriculture, JESUS’ story of the talents (currency) was not about agriculture and animals, the woman that gave the most when she gave the mite, the money changers in the Temple, Joseph and Potiphar, Judas sold JESUS for 40 pieces of Silver, Peter and the fish, no money to buy food to feed the 5000, and there are more that YOU are familiar with but just didn’t make the connection.
I mention ALL of this not to be ANTI-GIVING but show that we are not bound to give a CERTAIN amount. GOD has given us freedom to give less or MORE than the tenth (which by the way actually means one of every ten, therefore if a person has anything other than a multiple of 10 they don’t give or ONLY give 1 per 10; i.e. 1 – 19 = 1, 20 – 29 = 2, 30 – 39 = 3, etc.)!
We are NOT cursed, committing a sin, or any other misinterpretation that is an oratorical exercise in twisting GOD’s Word! The word currency come from the word current. This shows movement! We should allow money to “move” through us as GOD moves money to us. This should include our local church and other good causes, which show good stewardship in their finances, to further the Works of GOD. Most importantly we should not only be open to giving but seek GOD as to the amount, when, where, and how!
I have struggled with this issue of tithing. I have always tithed and never experienced much financial prosperity. When I asked God about this, he said to me, “Are you trying to live under the law or by grace?” I was tithing out of fear. Although, I am a natural giver, I believe that I was tithing under compulsion and the new testament tells us not to do that. If any one has true revelation about this, please let me know. I have been seeking God in a strong way in regard to this. I love God so much and I want to be obedient. I’m tired of pastors putting fear into people about tithing.
Hi Jaquie, I had a revelation about tithing – after a message at church. I realised that it was about opening my hand as an act of trusting Father God with all the details. Pretty amazing things happened – but I haven’t been able to shake the fear of poverty and the wolves are back at the door. I choked and didn’t go with it. I’m a single parent of a single parent… I have my reasons/excuses. Anyway, even though He has been faithful and I have enjoyed His ‘economy’ while struggling through, I have not got this ground beneath my feet. I have come around again – some years later to see that I have to stop controlling my financial conditions and let the River flow!
Hi Jacquie
I completely understand where you are coming from. I have had similar experiences regarding tithing. If we are to do it begrudgingly or out of fear or in the case of, ill scratch your back you scratch mine – Then i think tithing is more of a curse for the individual as they don’t have a merry heart in doing so which in affect causes regret and frustration.
There’s so many atheists and immoral people that know nothing of God and even worse go out of their way to ridicule him ie Richard Dawkins – That seem to get all the big breaks and kick the biggest goals.
The majority of wealthy prosperous people i know, have no idea about God!? Why is this so? I find this frustrating and perplexing. I have asked God this question many times… I have yet to receive an answer.
For me at this point in time, is to try and achieve the enlightenment to give what you can with a merry heart. A giver of gladness is a far better tither than the tither who feels obligated in giving the 10%
I don’t know what the answer is, i personally would love to get rid of that stronghold that prevents me from giving 10% with gladness – This would be a massive break through for me. I’m still waiting and praying for it. Its very tough to say the least.
I have experienced the same. We cannot out give God. God has Super Bank and will provide all that ask and believe.
I pray that God shows you the light, i pray that He teaches you to pray before you read the Bible so that you will understand it and not interpret whatever you have read in a way that suites you and your lifestyle.
May God Bless you with wisdom.
God is a wonderful God as you know very well and he never forces anyone to do anything they dont want to do, God gave each and everyone of us a choice to either want to be like him or not and he gave us the Bible (our manual), He has actually made our lives easy by giving us a “manual” to live by and we have chosen to make it difficult by trying to do it by ourselves. its like buying a new gadget, it takes you longer to get it working if you try putting it together yourself but if you read the manual and go by what the manual says then life is easier as you get the gadet working in no time and there is no element of fear that you might be doing it wrong because if something does go wrong then you have a strong case to say “hey, i connected this the way the manual says and its still not working”… and so to get to the point… your bible will tell you what you have to do in order for your life on earth to be easy and have a guarantee that you will be with God at the end and in the Bible God makes promises and you and He even said “test me, and see if i shant keep my promise to you”, this is like him saying, if this doesnt work i will give you your money back, with no questions asked.
Also know that your pastors are human too, pray for them because they can also make the mistake of forcing you to do things that you really dont want to do, the thing is that pastors jobs are really hard as they dont want to accountable for your sins at the end, they are just like parents teaching their children about life.
I have a fixed income and i,m going to be paying $385 dollars in rent starting in May and would like to have my own computer if i tithe 10% of my total income i’ll be lucky to even pay my bills.
Hey John
I understand the fear when you look at your bank account and see the limits. Can I challenge you to not be limited by what you see but instead strengthened by who God Is and says. Pay your rent and tithe the proper amount. Ask God to provide a computer or the money for one and for the remainder of your bills. Put Him first. I promise you your faith will be strengthened by the experience. Trust Him He is worthy.
Don’t worry because God did say to test Him in this that he will open the windows of Heaven and pour out blessings that you will not be able to contain it. My pastor had challenged me to give $100.00 monthly towards the building fund and I honestly was very offended because I was making less than 11.00 and hour and I still had to pay rent , gas, and food , phone bill and car insurance. I gave grudgingly at first but somehow God was able to meet all of my needs. I did this for about 5 months and then I got a job that paid me $ 18.00 and hour.!!!
I liked what Randy Alcorn said in his book “Money, Possessions & Eternity”. He speaks about people who say we are no longer under the OT laws of giving 10% (plus a further 10% + 10% each three years) BUT if we are under grace, saved by grace & empowered by grace, shouldn’t we be giving more? If the law was our “training wheels” before grace, should not tithing be our training wheels before giving more than 10%?
It sat right with me…
I totally agree with tithing your “first”, even more; our most precious thing, TIME!! Do you realize for most people they would rather give you money than their time? I started tithing my time to God. This means, FIRST thing when my feet hit the floor, I go straight to my chair and read my bible, study that chapter and pray for him to lead me through that day. Everything falls in place from there!
I’m very confused about tithing and how it relates to my financial situation. I am trying to get out of debt, which I also feel is a biblical directive. I also help my elderly parents out with $250 each month. If I tithe the full 10% each month, plus provide offerings on nonpay weeks, I don’t have enough to pay the debts that I am trying to pay off. I can’t make the minium payments and I’m charged late fees and overlimit fees which only increase the amount of debt that I have. I want to give the Lord my all !
to Dee:
things have been pretty hopeless to me too, not in the financial side, but my personal life purpose, i think it is more damaging. I am depressed, but I read that “God is not interested in fixing your problems, but in building your character…” When I pray and nothing improved, I convince myself by the above quote.
My bishop instructed me in the tithing law about 6 months ago, and I began to tithe each month. I must admit trepedation at first of handing over 10 percent of my earnings to the bishop, but I felt it was God’s will. After reading Numbers 18, I knew it was the right thing to do.
The way I see it, tithing has been a win-win situation for everybody.
1. For me, I’ve had better health and more money since submitting myself to God’s law of tithing.
2. My Bishop has been a blessing to me and has helped my spiritual walk greatly. Numbers 18 tells us that God desires only the best for those who submit themselves to his service. Thru his members tithes, my bishop has the finest of just about everything at his fingertips, and I know God has blessed him for a reason, and I am happy for him. Again, it is God’s will for the priest to enjoy the best as their just due for serving him.
Dear Converted Tither,
Why is it that your Bishop “has the finest of just about everything at his fingertips?” Are you speaking of material things such as cars, houses, clothes, ect.? Is your Bishop a true Bishop? Is all members covered under his blessings or is there significant lack in your church amongst the members? Research the bible and know what and how to recognize a true bishop for yourself.
Pilar,
While think it is important not to get legalistic – we started from our take home pay amount and then moved up to our earnings before taxes. My logic was that before the government started pulling taxes out of our paychecks people would have been tithing first on the amount they made and then paying taxes later.
A quick shout out for tithing. My wife and I tithe and are prompt in providing offerings to individuals within our christian family too. We do so because of the “test” God proposes to us and we do so with love–not just because we are told our income will be protected. Yes, we have seen tithing as a part of the fence around us that protects us and family.
We are mindful that enemies (those jealous of or covetous of what we possess) are very capable of attacking us in the celestial places — accusing us, etc. Faithfulness in our tithes and offerings are an insurance policy protecting us against these threats. Providing a gift in the form of sacrifice once problems arise is too late. Tithing “puts God to the test” and He is faithful to protect us. Hallelujah!
Well, I mentioned this in the forum area, but I am currently unemployed, and have been for about 2 months. My wife and I talked about tithing when I was first let go ( my wife is a stay at home mom, so no additional income there ) and we agreed to continue to support a missionary family and our Compassion International child as our tithe. But beyond that, we don’t give any more.
I just qualified for unemployment insurance, which isn’t much, but it helps. My question for all of you is….. should a person tithe when they are unemployed? Does that even matter ( I think of the “widow’s mite” )?
if you tithe God will see that your bills get paid.Oooh I just love him so much.Try him
Great testimony. I want to start tithing as well. Right now I don’t have the money to tithe as per our earnings we should tithe AED 1007.70 being 10% of our total earnings. But this month I am left with only 1,124/- in my account after the bank recovers payment for my loans. What should I do – I don’t have any groceries in the house and I have borrowed from friends who are asking their money back everyday and I don’t know what to do? Do I give everything to God or should I use this money to buy groceries and settle atleast a few debts that I have
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Every bit helps to keep things going in the right direction!
We could use all the information on tithing we can get! (Links, Tapes,
Videos, Statistics.)
In particular where tithing has a positive effect on the economy! Through
individual, companies and so on examples.
We also could use some help in getting the word “Tithing” in all Religions,
or the equivalents.
For example: in English Christians say tithing.
In Arab (Muslims) Zekiat or sadaka.
In Russia – desatina,
In Jewish – deka, and so on.
What ever other suggestions or information you may have, would also be very
appreciated!
Best Wishes
Val G
[email protected]
I’m going to be the only detractor here it seems. I decided to start tithing, and I did, FAITHFULLY, for a little over a year. God said, “test Me now in this and see.” So, I did. And. And. No significant difference that either my husband or I could see.
I’m not a shopper, not a spender, but little by little my bank account went down, down, down. In fact, it was just this past week after a lot of anguish that I decided to discontinue tithing. It was a hard decision, but on God’s directive, I tested Him. How long is the test supposed to last? I don’t know, but I would think that I would have noticed SOMETHING different during this time. I feel sad about this.
It is wrong to pick and choose which Mosaic laws to enforce in a church. A tenth must be given, but it’s okay to not be under the rest? Didn’t Paul say if we are under the law, we are under the curse if we break even one, but we are now under the law of grace through Christ. Plus, this was a tenth to support the Levites, sort of like taxation. Our government already taxes us, so add another tenth or more and times can be very tough for us and cause us to go without necessities. We are to take care of the needs of our families first, get out from under debt, then give what we deem in our hearts – but not zero.
I’m a Christian and do not judge anyone who tithes. My thought is the many people who are rich and have never tithed. Movie stars and porn pushers and drug dealers, casino owners and gamblers,etc.
Money can come without tithing and God gives to the wicked riches as we all can see he does. Nebuchadnezzar was a pagan yet God gave him the kingdom of Babylon. I have a Christian sister who did not believe in tithing yet never had money problems. I know God is a debtor to no man and whatever we give to others will come back to us.
But the idea that in order to get money we must give God money doesn’t make sense to me since as I said many wicked are rich.
So basically I cannot believe that I a born again Christian MUST give to be blessed YET a wicked sinner can have money without being saved and have billions.
Why do Christians have to give and sinners don’t to get money?
It doesn’t make sense.
Linda,
Thanks for your honest post. In fact I rejoice that you have some problems with tithing and have the nerve to express them with examples here. Don’t forget that God’s blessings are not just monetary and that many people without money problems are just as unable to buy the joy that is missing in the lives of the Christians who have expressed their delight in tithing above. You confirm God’s word when you bring forth the example of Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan possessing all the kingdom of Babylon. It would seem that God’s sunshine and rain falls as abundantly on the wicked as it does on the just, but follow the story of King Neb and remember that he lost his mind in spite of a word from God to repent from his arrogance (something that often accompanies an abundance of cash). Apostle Paul vigorously fought the Jews who were trying to preach that new Christians be circumcised because it wasn’t the skin that counted, but the heart. Tithing is the demonstration of our faith (see James–faith without acts is vain). A pastor I know likes to think of our good acts as the ‘exhaust’ we emit as Christians who understand that we were saved by the blood of Christ. So you don’t have to tithe, but refraining from it, consider the opportunity you lose to express faith in He in whom you now believe! You say it doesn’t make sense that a sinner can have money without being saved, but even God’s ‘foolishness’ is more wise than wisdom as perceived by men. May God bless you and may Jesus save those pagans whose wealth he has allowed, but who do not yet confess his blood! (Like he did for us before we knew Him!)
Suz,
Don’t be sad. When God accepted to deliver the Hebrews out of Egypt via Moses, first things got worse for them. (They were told to make bricks without straw, and complained to Mose who was certainly put to the test.) Apostle Paul commands us to be joyful, even in tribulation. If you have only begun tithing, it is a walk in the direction of God and will be opposed by evil forces. Consider your total life in Christ and don’t give up the battle. Watch your heart too–as apostle Paul says, God loves a joyful giver. Stay the course because God doesn’t forget like we do. He always delivers!
to tithe or not to tithe that is the question?
we christians get so caught up in trivialities, do you not see God deals with all differently for some it is needed to tithe for others it is not, but the one thing we as christians cannot escape is the commands to GIVE.
so give what you can, when you can, where you can and don’t worry,
regarding pastors some are proffesing what they feel is the gospel and so are exhorting you, others are pushing guilt for greed? but no this all of them if not living by faith are using a gift to god to pay there mortgage,
Also what about the 3rd year tithe when all the tithe was given to the poor and widow’s does your pastor/church practice and promote this?
so we can all take part of GODs word and suit our own agenda.
The question isn’t what do you think? Do ? or Practice ? or what does pastor say (doesn’t he have a name, i mean do you say to evangelist hi Reinhard or hi evangelist? or hi prophet? these are titles and pastor is a title, like father?)
The question is take it to God read the word study the history of tithing etc, realise that we a called to give but freely, and those who don’t care for family are worst than infedels etc, so give as the lord leads why be lead by the spirit in every area of your life but giving, you may keep it all one week give loads away the next,
So to all of you relax what you do is personal, but for me the bible says he’s my rock high tower redeemer, saaviour, lord, and surrounds me like a shield,
and after all i didn’t come with tithes when i was saved did i, i came just as i am a bum with nothing of worth, and he was there for me, as he’s there for all of you have peace none tithers and tithers alike your giving doesn’t increase or decrease blessing, your saved after all through him not your works,
So to finish give give give, but don’t give to your own destruction, or so you can’t pay bills, feed kids, look after self (basic needs), if you need to slim down your needless spending do that to give more, seperate need from greed, and then be free don’t let the enemy or the word taken out of context strike you with fear.
Also try reading the bible yourself, it will change your life x in love paul
Tithing. I have to say that it has opened the doors for God to bless us.
It’s something that my husband and I have started doing consistantly since about august/october. We are in the middle of a storm in our marriage and with our finances. We have moved from a 2 bedroom apartment to 1 bedroom efficency studio. I felt the need to tithe to trust God. My husband agreed, I think for him it was more out of knowing it was the right thing to do. I had been very scared to do so because many weeks we were lucky to have gas for our cars, let alone food for the week.
God didn’t give us a bonus, we didn’t see gifts of money. What we have seen is that we always have food now, be it family sending us home with food or family meals, wednesday nights is youth and we serve them dinner so we’re taken care of there.
I had to go to the doctors and they said that I had a credit, and the other one it was $10 less than I thought, just the amount that I had to squeeze from elsewhere.
A creditor called, the amount we owed was dropped from $90 to $25. This month I was put in a postition at work that has the potiential to bring in promotion/raise.
But most of all, He has given me a clarity of mind. I am able to see more of where all the money needs to go.
I remember when my baby gal was born i was confused of how i will manage to tithe and at the same time open an account for my baby to be saving every month for her education but God is faithfull out of know where i got a raise in my salary.
I am a born again Christian, and my love for God and others is unquestionable. I am in debt, and I live only with the bare necessities, and my wife and 4 kids suffer from my debts. I have tested God with my giving over and over, and I end up further and further in debt. If I give, half the time the check bounces, or if I give cash, other bills go unpaid and I get more late fees and go further into debt. I finally have stopped trying to give money to the church and I am barely able to meet my monthly expenses. I give my time and use my gifts to help others in the church when I can. That is all I have and it is all I can do.
If I give financially, my family literally goes hungry or suffers some other way. I have a good paying full time job and a not so good paying part time job. I work at least 70 hours a week to try and keep up. It still is not enough to pay for all the debt I have incurred. I am so tired all the time and this debt is so heavy. I have been crying out to God and all I get is silence in this matter. I pray for others and he answers almost immediately. I don’t understand, I am oppressed, and I don’t see how to get over this. I lay it at God’s feet, and then the phone rings, it’s another debt collector wanting paid now and I have to take it all back again. I only have 7500.00 in credit card debt, but between the house, car, utilities and the everyday living expenses, I just don’t make enough.
My house roof leaks and it is literally rotting away. I have mold all over the ceilings, most of the windows are cracked and it gets very cold at night. I can’t afford to live in a cheaper house, because my house is about the cheapest there is. Most of my faucets leak, I might be able to fix them, but I don’t have the money to fix them. Half of my electrical wiring is unplugged because of shorts in the wiring. The vehicle that my wife drives is falling apart and I can barely keep it running. If God were to hand me a 100k tomorrow, I might be able to fix up the place to make it livable. I am eventually going to have to get a loan to fix some of these things, but how am I suppose to pay for it? And yet, God commands me to tithe, how am I to ever give cheerfully when I am literally taking food out of my children’s mouth and giving it away? My faith is so stretched when it comes to my finances, and yet I know my Jesus lives from my past experiences. I do not understand why he wants to keep me so oppressed, what good am I to him this way?
Ryan, you’ve been through a lot – and continue to go through a lot. You’ll be in my thoughts and prayers. I don’t have all the answers, but I believe God will give you the answers you seek with time. God bless!
Read battlefield of the mind by joyce meyer
it may have answers to your questions, it has helped me and my faith is being tested and the building of my character!
Hi Ryan ,
God loves you. Just to share with you I am close to understanding the pain you felt. My dad was an baby that was sold to another family for good luck. He was never in a loving environment and joined secret society which landed him in jail. It was hard for him to get a job after that. My mum was from a broken home with a lot of internal trifle. My parents got together but never had a proper wedding ceremony , just a registration of marriage with a fren as witness. My dad’s foster family jeered at them and never want to fund the marriage ceremony. This happened in Singapore in 1970+ , a little country which is booming economically. My mum was emotionally wrecked and tried committing suicide by drinking some poison while pregnant with me. She was admitted to hospital and doc say she might lose me. My dad being a avid gambler was guilty and kneel down at the hospital and prayed for both our safety. He wasn’t a Christian then but he knew how to pray from a pastor while in jail. My mum and I was saved. That became the 1st miracle. But after I was born she doesn’t have the money to pay delivery fee and the doc threw away my file and she walked out of the hospital w/o paying a cent. 2nd miracle. But even after that we were not allowed to stay in my paternal grandparents house as they hated us then and insulted us and tried to get us out of the house. We slept out in streets , in bus interchange , with me as a baby in my parents arms. Lots of borrowing of money from everyone they knew just to get by another day. My mum was from a wealthier family and she took her treasured pearl powder , 1 of the thing left in her possession and wanted to sell to my father’s aunt ( to get some money) who accused her of having stolen this item as there is no way she can get her hands on such an expensive item. Later they managed to rent a 1 room apartment , when they ran out of milk powder they tried to feed me porridge when I was 1 month old and I nearly choked. They cried. My dad cried even today when he told me how it sear his heart to see me choked then. After staying there for some time, there is a catholic nun that went door to door to give out daily necessities. she chanced upon our door and immediately took note and give us more , I was given and fed the best milk powder that was in the supermarket. Miracle again. She also gave a little money every time she replenish our food supplies. Hearing that retrospectively , that is when I know God will not abandon anyone of us. After receiving so many blessing in form of food and money , my parents decided to leave and they thanked the nun there. My mum also got to know Roman Catholics are quite loving. She didn’t kmow who the Lord is then ..lol! we moved and shifted many places , most of the time due to eviction as not able to pay rent. Sometimes , they would carry bags of clothes and sit in park till morning while i was a toddler. My parents also engaged the help of nannies. I had 8, but I think some of them are not paid. My dad worked odd jobs but it was still hard to have a permeant roof over out head. One day my dad saw a newspaper which a church is employing a caretaker. He went for the interview and was employed. The pastor mentioned a year later he chose my dad out of many candidates as the Holy spirit moved him. Life got better , I enrolled into the kindergarten in the church and got free education. We stayed for a year and when I completed my pre school , the principle spoke to my dad as she wanted to refer me to a good primary school and with the recommendation letter she wrote I walk into one of the top school in Singapore. My parent then got an apartment and they had my younger brother. My dad started his business and it was failing and there are lots of trouble and my parents quarrel daily. All these were compelling reasons for me to drop school and be rebellious. But ironically ,studying became my solace and I made in to the university. During my critical years in u iversity it was the Asian financial crisis and my dad lost lots of money , my mum keep wanting divorce and my brother was rebellious. I was the only breadwinner of the house , earning from tuition and had to support my tuition fee, the housing loan of family and have to appear everything is normal while I am in campus. Going home to se my electricity get terminate and we have to consume evrything im the fridge quickly and getting wierd eyeful from neighbours. Sometimes just to get the electricity get restored i would used up,all i saved from my work to,pay off the debt. After graduation I couldn’t find a job for about a year as it was the SARS period , debt mount in family. Later I got a debt collecting job in a bank through help from a fren and our financial situation turned around. Yet I wasn’t happy in the job as I really wanted to do something more meaningful but in the financial line. I prepare myself all the time and take courses. Guess what , God had arranged for a job for me and I ended up working in a top tier investment bank . I moved further away from God during that time in my ‘success’ but now I began to understand that I can’t built God around me , I need to built my life around God. God gave me all the wisdom to know how to make a living and to live a life abundantly. So why am I writing my life story here ? I just want to say , no matter how hard , God is there with you. Fear not. By not having fear you are having faith. Keep praying and in times like this draw closer to God then ever before even cos from my little understanding – He is only what all of us have. Work with what you have. I am not a seasoned tither ( and has no right to say anything about tithing ) but if you give cos you love God , I think there is a joy in your hearts that will shout and gve you peace. Go about your work the best you can. Praise and worship Him all the more. And go about your work the best you can and in all your ways consider him ,his opinion and pray to him. If you tithe or give it shows that God co owns what you have hence your estate be taken care of. My experiences is that God loves us so much and can’t wait to give us all the provision and more. Be patient. Big tribulation big glory , small tribulation small glory , and His strength is made perfect in your weakness. I hoped my long winded sharing can help in anyway, feel free to drop me an email anytime.
Isaiah 41:10
Ryan,
Be strong! You look like a real locomotive and your family is blessed to have you as a dad when so many others give up under the same odds as you have been facing. Still others have no jobs. I live outside of the U.S. right now so have difficulty keeping track with the typical American lifestyle though I was born and raised in the U.S. I heard the podcast for 60 Minutes last week and was struck by the ‘new homeless’ who are living in motels or with neighbors because they were kicked out of their houses (Florida). So I’m not going to say that you should be satisfied that you have 2 jobs while others have none. It is also too easy for me to say simply for you to ‘hang in there,’ though I do wish you only victory in your struggle. I would rather remind you of something Apostle Paul was told by God when he complained to God about an infirmity. Paul said that three times he prayed to God to take away that thorn and God responded, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” So Paul decided to boast in his infirmities so that the power of Christ would rest upon him. (2 Cor 12:7-10)
I do not know how long your financial challenges will last Ryan, but I believe that because of your own testimony about Jesus living that you will quickly be delivered from the weight of that burden. I hope these words may give you some consolation in the meantime. With Love!
I have to totally agree that giving is very important. I recently started increasing my giving and immediately started noticing increase in all areas of my life. I now give 10% from the increase after my taxes ( federal, state and Soc sec only). I use Luke 20:25 as my guide “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God What is God’s. However I always end up giving a little more 10%. Since then I have never been short on a bill or lack for anything. I usually end up with more at the end of the month than anticipated. Sometimes blessings come so in abundance It ‘s overwheming and exciting! In a very short time I started getting bonuses on my job, extra hours , unexpected increase on my tax refund and good sales savings at stores. The bottom line is..if you give from your heart, love others, GOD and yourself, then your life will change for the better! Just remember if you reap sparingly you will reap sparingly and if you sow bountifully you will also sow bountifully.
Ryan
My husband and I have been where you are now. My husband lost his job in early 2007. He finally found another job, but it paid less than half of what he’d been making before. By June 2008 our house was foreclosed on. We moved to another state where cost of living was much lower and we would be closer to family. We were both able to find jobs there even though they didn’t pay much. We just rented a very tiny old house about 1/4 the size of what we’d had before. We thought it would be temporary until we got back on our feet. However, the factory where my husband had gotten a job soon closed after being there 50+ yrs. and I also ended up getting laid off. Neither of us could even qualify for unemployment benefits. My husband ended up doing some contracting work & I found a waitressing job at a small cafe & we were just barely scraping by. Then the cafe closed & much of the contracting work he had been doing was being put off because of people not having the money to pay for stuff. In Oct. 2009 we sold his truck that was paid for in order to catch up with the payments on my car that we had fallen behind on. But that ended up being a poor decision, as we soon fell behind again & my car ended up getting repossessed in Feb. 2010. So now we had no vehicle at all and barely any money coming in. Now my husband and I considered ourselves Christians, but we were not real good about regular church attendance. We went once in a while & took the kids to VBS & stuff like that, but did not faithfully attend. During all of this, there was an older couple that we had gotten to know & always invited us to church, but we only went ocassionally. When the church started doing Free dinners on Friday nights in order to help out the community…well, we were barely eating as it was so of course we took advantage of any opportunity for a free meal! The older couple that could see we were having a rough time, usually set aside any leftovers & gave them to me to take home which would feed us for another 2-3 days. Once they realized we’d lost the car they started offering to give us rides if we would come to church with them on Sundays. So we started going regularly, and I started going to a weekly womens bible study. I started spending all my time ‘stuck at home’ praying and reading my bible. We got a small tax refund and was able to buy an old car for $600. Of course it was always breaking down & costing us money for repairs. By June we couldn’t even pay our rent. Fortunately our landlord was a very understanding Christian couple that did not evict us, but gave us some opportunities to do some work on the house in exchange for some of the rent & patiently waited for my husband to find more work. The last time the car broke down, we had a yard sale to come up with the money to fix what we’d been told the problem was. We had the money in two days & paid for the repair, but the car still wouldn’t stay running. By this time my husband had gotten in touch with an old boss from a job he’d left 12 yrs. earlier in another town. They told him they would be happy to give him a job if he could just get there. We didn’t know what to do when the car repair didn’t work, we were counting on him getting to that job. We had no food in the house & electric was due to be shut off in 4 days. We had $18 to our name and had already sold everything we could possibly find to get money for the car repair. I was just praying day and night. I really didn’t see any other option. I knew God was the only one that could help us at that point. The next morning the older couple came down to our house to check on us & told us they had another friend that had a car he needed to sell & they wanted to buy it for us. This was completely out of the blue, we had not even talked to anyone since we found out about the problems with the car. All we’d done was pray & I totally believe that God sent them & put their other friend in the position of needing to sell his car. When they told us what they wanted to do, my husband & I both practically burst into tears & couldn’t believe it. They bought the car for us, paid for us to get the tags on it & for the 1st month of insurance. They filled it up with gas & bought us some groceries. My husband left the next morning to go start his new job about 200 miles away. His boss paid for him to stay in a motel while the kids & I stayed behind until we could save up enough money to move. It took us a few months, we paid our landlord for the back rent we still owed, paid the utility bills, & saved up enough for us to be able to move. We also paid back all the amounts they had paid for the car etc.
Ryan do you spend every minute thinking of what YOU can do to take care of your family & get yourself out of this debt? My husband really struggled with this too…always feeling like HE needed to be the one to take care of us and get us out of this situation. Always thinking that if HE just worked harder etc. then things would work out. Get those thoughts out of your head! God knows your desires, your wants, & your needs…he wants us to realize how much we need & depend on him. Instead try putting all your own ideas and thoughts about how you’re going to take care of your family out of your mind & just focus on praising GOD & trusting that He will provide. God has a way of taking care of things that’s beyond what we can do for ourselves. His ways are better than ours. In our situation help ended up coming from other people…offering to do something for us that we could never have imagined. The day things changed for us is the day we found out the car repair that we just spent all our money on was still not going to get the car running. My husband spent several hours (in the rain) trying everything he could possibly think of trying to get that car running. He finally came to me practically in tears & told me there was nothing else he could do, he’d tried everything. We were both so scared knowing we had no money for groceries or electric bill. He just came to me & took my hands and told me ‘It’s in Gods hands now, there is nothing else I can do. All we can do now is hope that God has a plan because I’m all out of plans’. Now my husband is a survivalist type…in 14 yrs. of marriage I’ve never heard him say he doesn’t know what to do, he always has an answer & is always positive that he can handle any situation. He always has a plan & a back up plan, always knows a way to fix just about anything. I can’t imagine what it took for him to come & tell me that he couldn’t do anything about our situation, to admit that he was helpless and God was the only one that could do anything for us. But, that is the moment that everything changed.
We ended up finding an incredible deal on a new home. It was a brand new home that a man had built, but then ended up passing away after living in it for only a couple months. His kids decided to rent it out. We were amazed…honestly for this nice new home I know that they could be renting it for several hundred dollars more than what they’re asking. Even the deposit they requested was only half of what everyone else with old run down homes was asking for. And the really crazy thing is that I had a whole list of houses to go look at, but my husband ended up having to work on the day we planned to go look at them. By the time we actually got a chance to go look…this house was the only one that was still available! I truly feel that this is where God intented for us to be. I believe he ‘let’ us struggle through all these bad situations for the last 4 yrs. just waiting for us to turn to him. When we finally realized that HE was our only hope & just put all our effort into praying, reading the Bible & trusting him…it’s amazing how quickly he worked things out for us. And even way better than we ever imagined. We moved into our new home 2 days before Christmas & had a wonderful Christmas. I still wake up every morning, look around at this beautiful new home, and I’m absolutely amazed…in September we were on the verge of being homeless with absolutely nothing not even able to feed our kids, by Christmas we were moving in this beautiful new home! I knew God would help us & provide for us if we just kept praying & believing in Faith, but I never expected all this! We have now joined a church here in our new town which we faithfully attend every Sunday & tithing is absolutely included in our new budget! My husband works in construction so this winter has been rough, there’s been a lot of days that he couldn’t work due to the weather & therefore didn’t get a full paycheck, but we just keep praying and something has always come through so that we somehow end up with enough to pay all the bills & still buy groceries. We are trying out a new budget so that we can start getting an emergency fund built up. I’m still just amazed at how the Lord has blessed us after 4 very long difficult years. I hope we don’t ever again start thinking that we can ‘just do it our way’ and take care of ourselves without Gods help.
Rhonda-
Your testimony & faith has blessed me….thank you for sharing! Ryan-you are in my prayers.
Ryan – you and your family are in my prayers. Please remember that it is not always for us to understand God’s plan for us. We are, however, to be obedient to Him and His Word and I feel confident that your obedience as evidenced in your post will pay huge dividends. Please consider the plight of Job and how richly God eventually blessed Job for his faithfulness.
Rhonda – Your testimony brought tears to my eyes. It never fails to amaze me how loving and faithful is our awesome God.
I was not raised in a Christian family and most everything I’ve learned about God and His Word I’ve learned as an adult. I spent many years going to church and studying the Word on a sporadic basis at best. Some months ago, wanting to avoid personally experiencing Revelation 3:16, I made the decision to stop paying lip service to my pursuit of God and really begin to “walk the walk”. Part of that decision was a commitment to tithe and give. I also “adopted” a child through World Vision. Admittedly, before this decision was made I was doing ok financially, though I never seemed to have any money left over after bills, etc. Since making the decision to faithfully tithe I haven’t received any monetary “rewards” per se but I have begun to understand (accept) that I am simply a steward of God’s wealth and as such I am responsible for handling God’s wealth in a way that is pleasing to God. I now find that I have the honor and blessing of helping to advance God’s kingdom thru tithes plus I am blesssed to be able to help others thru offerings. After giving to God and paying the same old bills I’ve always had, I now find that I have some money left over, praise God.
I would like to pose a question to any one interested in responding. I remember a time when I was very young (5 or 6 years of age – I’m now almost 40) and I believe God was then trying to teach me the principle of tithing. I had a dollar bill and I remember having an “urge” to cover that dollar bill with some dirt at a little league baseball field and just leave it there. Over the next few days, I remember finding some money in multiple random places. I found several dollars worth of change in the front yard of my parents’ house that no one claimed and I remember finding a $10 dollar bill on a shelf in a Richway (way before “Target”, folks!) store. I gave the money to my mom and she turned it in to lost and found but no one claimed it so the store called my mom a few days later and told her to come get the $10 and she gave it to me. I also seem to remember finding some more change in my pants pockets that appeared from “nowhere”. Just the fact that I remember this seemingly insignificant incident from roughly 35 years ago now makes me believe that I received a lesson from our wonderful Father. Opinions?
Blessings to All!
I was just reading how Jesus rebuked the Jewish leaders for teaching people to give to the synagogue instead of helping out their parents. If my parents need money, is it right to tithe instead of giving that money to my parents?
I was pondering on the same thought and was lead that tithing can be many forms tithing to a church, etc and helping others who need it you might be a blessing to them in a way you may never have thought. Pray abt it:)
Let me answer your question with another question: How much do you trust HIm? Dont put Him in a box. He is bigger than your problem. He rebuked them because they were teaching the people to give for THEIR gain, not for God’s kingdom. The money that you do have is already His. How can you expect Him to give you more money to care of your bills, etc. when He cant trust you to put Him first? Anything that comes with no sacrifice is worthless to Him. He sacrificed His Son so we could be saved. What are you willing to sacrifice. “He’s saying to you, “Prove me now. Watch me work”
Mark 7:9-13
I was on line looking for answers. During different times in my life I have been convicted to tithe and I have done so and then I don’t and I have made lots of money and I have made none and I always give and I give to beyond my means. Right now I live in a house owned by a friend who is a hoarder, I filed for bankruptcy, and I have heart disease and lung disease. I receive social security and beg borrow where ever to try to live and to help my Goddaughter. God loves me so much. I spent some time sleeping in my car and lost my home and some wonderful people helped me get my dogs from Los Angeles to Boston, no they didn’t help the did it…I would have walked the streets with my dogs ….I alot of people know me and I help a lot of people ….I just can’t seem to help myself…anyway…today once again I was talking to someone who in answer to my statement said ….you must tithe. I have social security and right this minute I don’t have enough to pay what must be paid right now ….but I am willing to give a 10th ….my next question is where. I am a Christian I don’t have a church home and I don’t want one …. I know one or two pastors who I would give my tithe to…or I could put it in the box of a little church whose doors are always open and where people go to pray at anytime…or I could give it to help and rescue animals which is were I really want to give it … Ultimately I will ask God but I would like some feedback on what you guys think.
hi,
thanks a lot for this post Bob
I have a question for everyone
Can the tithe be gigen to someone in need or to someone God lead us to give or must the tithe be given only to the church or else?????
John,
Would you please clarify what the correct tithing is for a christian? Is it 10% of your gross salary or 10% of your net salary? Where exactly in the bible is the truth about tithing and explain why it would be gross versus net or visa versa. Thanks!
I have a pretty similar story; I will start from the beginning of mine. I am a newly saved Christian, previously I was thinking good works would get me there but once I was corrected a whole new world opened up to me and I quickly realized I needed to tithe. My boyfriends father always tithed even when making minimum wage with 4 children, and his mother never really approved. Using common sense I believe his father continued to tithe after their divorce and his mother did not. Their lives are polar opposites; he lives in a huge home and drives a nice car. His mom lives in a town house and doesn’t seem as happy. That was a big motivator for me, to be able to see the rewards not only by the items God had gifted his father with but the level of happiness in comparison.
As a completely single mother (I was a teen mother and have never received any additional support emotionally or financially) I definitely struggle financially. The thought of coming up with 10% of my earnings to give away was frightening. What will my daughter miss out on? How much faster could I get put of my parents house if I DIDN’T tithe? Most of all, just where in the world was I going to find this money!? I did my research and a lot of people said you can tithe “whatever God puts it in your heart” to, and that there were special exceptions to this rule, my case probably being one of them. However, I have NEVER set myself aside as different from anyone or accepted any charity simply because I am doing what I have to and LOVE to do, being a mom.
So, I sat down and wrote out my budget when everyone was out of the office on lunch. I looked at it and just thought “this is never going to work”. I went to the kitchen to make my lunch and just prayed about it. Well as I did my manager walked back in the building out of nowhere to borrow petty cash for lunch (he had gotten there and had to come all the way back) and as I handed it to him, with my budget of my previous pay still laying on my desk, he said “we wanted to let you know, we are giving you a raise. I should have told you this morning but I forgot”.
The raise was for just $3.00 weekly shy of what I had wanted to tithe. I see this money that comes into my account every week not as my own, but Gods. (I know all I have is His, I hope you understand what I’m trying to say) I have struggled a few times with actually tithing, but when I do it feels amazing and is rewarding. I am so lucky to be with a man who understands, supports and motivates me to not only tithe but follow Christ any way possible. This last Sunday I tithed and though “man, I’m nuts. My 21st birthday is this week and I could really use this money” but I thought it’s OK I bet those ad’s I posted on Craigslist will get responses. Low and behold, the very next morning they did :o) (That’s actually how I got here, do I need to tithe on “side jobs”?)
I love that you said if you are not a happy giver to pray about it and God will change this. That’s exactly what I did Sunday and I really was happy.
Thanks for allowing me to share my story! I can only hope it will help someone who is considering NOT tithing.
Hello,
I wanted to share my short testimony on tithing. About four months ago I was out of work and desperate for even a minimum wage job just to make ends meet. I prayed and told the Lord that when he provided me with a job I would promise to tithe whatever income I brought in. I later got a job through a friend. Two months passed and the end of my lease was up. I thought my mom and I would end up homeless as we did not even have money for a deposit for a place to stay. My mom ended up finding a place that she had lived in before and the women who worked at the lease office offered her a place with no deposit. Not only that the rent would be cheaper compared to those who have the same exact apartment.
Recently the Lord put it on my heart that I needed to move out of state. I received a call out of blue from my aunt who offered for me to move with her for free. Not only that, she bought me a computer and a new bed and is paying for my ticket to see her. THIS IS FROM JESUS HIMSELF. He receives all the glory. If your tithing and not seeing anything remember to first obey the Lord in all areas of your life. Give also from a cheerful heart and know the Lord is using the money to bless others.
Remember that the Lord is working even when you don’t SEE IT. Thirdly, remember if you are saved then you are Gods child and that HE IS IN CONTROL OF YOUR SITUATION just as he was with Joseph and Job.
ANGIE:
That was so nice of you to share your heart with Ryan that way. I am sure it gave him some strength. We are all gifts from God and we are to live off of each others strengths. There will always be someone who can put things in perspective for us as a reminder that “this too shall pass” and that “He will get us through with our faith intact”…You have inspired me…You made me cry, but you emerged in the end trimphantly…Thank you…God bless you and yours:)
Thanks so much for this post, God really doesn’t need our money. He just wants us to be a demonstration on his faithfulness to his word. Tithing only enters us into a covenant of blessings that is humanly imposible to understand. WE CAN’T LOSE. But so many christians act as if they are playing the lottery with God.
Why wouldn’t we want to let others see how great our God ……
All of you who received financial blessings, Praise God, but it had nothing to do with tithing. God has promised us that if we seek first the kingdom of God he would take care of you (paraphrased). When Jesus died and rose again He made all of the OT obsolete the sacrifices, concubines, and you guessed it the tithe. Don’t you find it puzzling that preachers teach the tithe but Jesus himself never tithed nor received a tithe. As Christians we are to live as Jesus did on the earth. He said be a cheerful giver. Your blessing is not in giving to get, but giving because he has blessed you to be able to give back. It’s not about how much but whether you gave from your heart.
Read Luke 18:9-14, this ought you get you thinking on what Jesus felt about today’s emphasis on tithing and the like.
Paul, Peter, Timothy, never addressed tithing and your local pastor shouldn’t either. But if you believe in what your local church is doing and it is good ground, GIVE but you have an obligation based on God’s word to take care of your family and it’s obligations as well. Use wisdom and don’t let anybody brow beat you into giving based on Malachi 3:10 it is no longer in effect.
And, lastly. Isn’t it interesting how we are taught to give to get blessed, and Abraham was blessed first then he gave. And guess what, there is only one documented account of Abraham giving a tithe. According to scripture he tithed only once. Isn’t that amazing?
Study to show thyself approved.
Amen, Amen, Amen
Giving ten percent of your income is a blessing to you and the person or people you give it to. It becomes a problem when you make it a law or demand. We are under grace and tithes was never money and no one pays tithes like they did in the Bible, they just gives ten percent of their money and the Bible has no examples of this. You are not sinning if you give ten percent and you are not cursed if you don’t, you are only cursed if you are trying to keep the Law. Gal. 3:9,10.
People! The reason why tithing is not working for you is probably because you are not tithing 10%!! You are suppose to tithe exactly 10%(or more) of your INCOME. Not your weekly paycheck. Once you start doing that, God will start pouring out the flood gates for you! You need to obey in that regard! And trust and believe, things will come together. You will never have to worry about the bills again! Just pay that 10% tithe!!
Does God really just bless based on the tithe alone? Perhaps there’s more to it?
I do not believe that tithing is mandatory under the new covenant but giving is! Giving is in our nature, the born again spirit is different to the spirit of satan that we had before we got saved. I take my hat off to people who tithe and yes, there are blessings that go with tithing but i dont think its about the %. I think its purely the law of sowing and reaping in action.
If we make tithing a law then i agree that w ehave to live under the whole law..the bible says the new covenant is much more glorious than the old. If we truly submit to the NT guidelines to giving (laid out in 2 Cor 8 &9) then i believe we find oursleves being more generous. 10% is cute but what if God is able to bring us to a place where we are giving 80%? If tithing is the “it law” of finances then does it mean im cursed if i give 20% of my income but refuse to acknowledge the the first 10% as a “tithe”?
Its true, we could all argue and disagree about tithing all we want but at the end of the day we should all individually live as the Holy Spirit directs us and not lay out “rules” for other people to live by. Yes the word of God should be the final authority and it clearly states that we are to give cheerfully and according to what we have, so that our abundance can supply other believers’ lack and when we lack their abundance should supply our lack. So has anyone ever gotten a donation from their local church that they faithfully “tithe” to when they were going through hard times then? Please lets keep our beliefs in line with God’s word and not just what makes us feel good. and if you tithe by choice then great, God is well pleased with you. But when you start telling people the reason they are not prospering is because they are not “tithing” then you are in error. You should encourage them to give a bit more and just trust God will meet their needs.
Amen Edith. I agree with you and the Holy Spirit has convicted me of the same thing that you are saying. Either you are trying to be justified under the law and you have fallen from grace or you live under the grace covenant. Jesus tells us not to give under compulsion but to give what we have purposed in our hearts. I always ask the Lord” What shall I give Lord and to whom, for everything on the earth belongs to you and I want to be a blessing and a cheerful giver” Too much manipulation going on in the Body of Christ with this issue. I always encourage everyone to just ask the Holy Spirit what you should give. Don’t focus on the reaping… just do it from your heart and focus on the sowing… God will fulfill what he says about reaping
thanks everyone for your posts. i decided that I am once and for all going to get the scivvy on tithing/giving. i used to belong to a church for 11 years, was very faithful then fell away from the church when my very abusive husband and I broke up and the church seemed to neglect me,so I walked away. that was 20 years ago, but as of last year I turned my life back to God 110%. i’ve been giving here and there, God has taught me so much but when I think of tithing i think of how we faithfully tithed every two weeks 10% of our pretax income for 11 years and we were always poor, in debt, never had a thing and were always struggling with money. so now i am wondering why that was.
one day last week it dawned on me, that I gave from fear, fear that the church elders would think we were bad if we didn’t tithe faithfully even though we were hungry and without most of the time. I mean tithing becomes the thing to do or everyone on the board will know you don’t and then you feel guilty… that’s how it goes it seems.
now i want to give from an open heart, realizing God is providing to us first, and we should trust and give back first to whatever way he sees fit. I do not belong to a church yet but am starting to give to different ministries. since i am self employed and work has been really awful the past year, due to the economy, i think i will start giving 5% regularly as i have bills that have to be paid or else! but i also just dunged out our closets and have about $2000 worth of clothes to take to the shelters here, so to me that feels good also. I gave clothes that I’d even rather like to keep but realize I don’t need them at all as badly as anyone else. as soon as I can I will increase to 10% because I believe we should tithe first fruits. since we aren’t all farmers and the world runs on money, first fruits now has monetary value instead of literal fruits and veggies and animals as in the old times. so i won’t give out of fear ever again. i will give out of a joyous heart and when I don’t have “enough” I will do it anyway, trusting God is greater than and above all, and does keep his word. I suppose I knew I used to give in fear, but never did anything about it. I was not a very grown up Christian then LOL.
My point is to NOT give out of fear. God wants us to trust,and it’s something I daily have to do myself, believe me as my human nature says “uh but you need this to pay bills off” but I can see God providing and I look forward to his blessings for my trust in him. I am still learning the truth about why we should tithe and to whom and all that, but just decided that it bothers me more to not tithe than to tithe. the anxiety I feel of not being faithful to the one who is faithful to me, hurts more than the silly money, which I know God doesn’t need, but does further his ministry to reach the lost and to help those in need. so its not fearing, i just know it’s something on my interior that says, it’s the wise thing to do, and it honors God. Seek wisdom and understanding above all else Proverbs says.
Besides if you think about it, God all through the old testament was furious with his people idolizing man-made gods and he got right ripped about it and was constantly angry with the people, and now in our day Money is the new god. seriously it is, and it’s so sick! so i don’t want to be part of that anymore either. I don’t want money to control me. That’s my take on it, hope it helps someone else out there.
I believe God wants our obedience most of all. I tithe in obedience to Him. I trust Him, He will not fail me. He will make a way. He is my provision and what I have is from Him. I know he will come through, He always has. Thank you everyone for the posts showing me I am not alone in my belief. If I give, He will give back.
I lived my life directionless. Since last few years me & my wife thithe regularly. God has blessed us abundantly . word by word bible is true. I have witnessed gods glory. God said he will curse the devourer for our sake if we follow the word of God and pay thithe. True. God is great all the time. Glory to Almighty God in the name of jesus our lord. Amen.
I live in a country where my belief is tiny minorty. But GOD gives me victory against all my enemies. Thank you jesus. I bow to you alone & give glory and praise to your name alone. Give me a rightious heart that fear of God is in me & I give more and more as thithe,offering,charity and to the poorest of the poor. Glory to God in the highest in the name of Jesus Christ our lord. Amen
I would like your opinion on tithing. I have always been giving to my church in growing up and in my life with my family. I really have not detailed out my “tithe” in the past mostly because I have had so many debts to pay off. These were debts not from our living lavishly, but our debts from me and my educational debts. I am just now finishing up paying off my education loans (my oldest son is in his last year of college, and I have another in college and 1 more to go) . You probably say whow! Why so long? I am an orthopaedic surgeon. I somewhat of a later start in my medical career and did not finish all my training and school until I was 37 so I really did not start earning a significant income until then. By then, I already had my 3 sons. I ended up moving a total of 4 times in my career primarily due to financial reasons (i.e. practice not doing well financially etc), and I am currently in a practice that I would anticipate staying forever until I retire unless something else changes.
Which bring me to my main question, would figure should one look at in deciding what amount to calculate to properly “tithe” in your weekly giving to your church? Should that calculation be based upon what one takes home after taxes and your insurance deductions are taken out? Or should it be on earned income before taxes and deductions are taken out? When I calculate what I take home, I take home about 48% of what I earn after taxes and income are taken out. I feel that this is the figure I should use for calculating my tithe to my church.
I do not feel that God expects me to base my tithe on money that I cannot count on me having because I already had to give it to the governtment or prividing for insurance for my family. i.e., I cannot give to the church money that I do not have. However, after those amounts, my true takehome money, that is the figure that I should count to calculating my tithe amount.
What is your thoughts on this?
Douglas,
Jesus wants you to give from your heart. When we accept Jesus as our personal saviour, we are covered by his blood under his GRACE, not the law. God does not want us to give under compulsion or fear, but from our heart in love. Ask the Holy Spirit how much you should give. Always let the Holy Spirit lead you.
I most definitely am a tither, but my husband on the other-hand is not and he is the only one working and my prayer is that he start trusting God with all of our finances. So i just pray that God will give him the mind to faithfully tithe.
I have a question. If we do tithe and then don’t have enough to pay bills, can we expect God to help us meet our financial obligations even if those obligations include debt that we shouldn’t have gotten into in the first place? I totally agree that it is all His, but we lived foolishly years ago and are still paying for it today. Our situation keeps getting worse because we keep adding to our debt when a car or furnace breaks down and when our son wants to come home from college for Christmas, etc. It like we are stuck now.
Do you believe God will help us by providing the money to recover from mistakes if we give him the tithe before we do anything else?
Terri I definitely believe God will help you out of your past mistakes if you tithe. I got myself into such a bad spot financially that I had to file bankruptcy. A few months after I filed My relationship with the LORD really took off (im not saying that the bankruptcy was the result of that, if I could do it over I would try to repay my debts) and I started to tithe. Within the first two months my paycheck increased 30-40 percent easily. To make it better a couple months after that I got hooked up with a job that should bring home six figures easy. I am currently a mechanic and im about to start this new job, put your faith in Him and he will provide!
Id like to pipe in if I may, even though I see this thread is older and may not be seen… I personally believe it is necessary to tithe. Maybe not because of the ‘law’ but look at the world. It’s up to us to keep the word of God spreading. It’s up to us to take care of our brothers and sisters. It’s up to us to do the charities and and reach those who otherwise would not be reached. Everything costs money. I would be careful about your choice of church. If you are in a church which is putting millions into stereo equipment and creating a mega church which is there primarily for a Christian rock concert, I am sorry but there are Christian rock concerts we can attend on the side. A church should be using it’s money to spread the word of God, to teach, to counsel, to give to the needy within its own community and then outside of it (take care of your own first)….soup kitchens, free clothing, fixing homes with roof damage and helping people eat and keep their heat on…THAT IS WHAT A CHURCH SHOULD BE DOING WITH YOUR TITHING! So A.) Find a true church which is doing as God instructed ( read the bible to find out what HE instructed of the church) and B.) TITHE to THAT church! Your tithe is what makes all of the above possible and also pays the bills of the clergy teaching and guiding. God doesn’t just make up rules without good cause. He doesn’t tell us to tithe just because He wants to see if we will obey Him or not ….He has practical reasoning behind His laws and commands. For those of you who want to balk at legalities….I have this to say…where do you draw the line on NOT obeying God just because it may or may not have been under the law? Should we now kill? Steal? Cheat? Jesus came to fulfill the law NOT to abolish it. And because you are now under grace go out and show your obedience out of love and not fear. Because He loves us enough to die, surely we can love Him enough to obey.
Angela, I agree with you about being careful who you tithe to. I’ve experienced both sides of tithing. Before belonging to a seeker-friendly church who cared only about growing numbers and a great band, God would direct me where to give, and it was always to minstries that provided for the poor and needy and spread the gospel, and the Lord blessed me greatly during that time. I always had more than enough and had a very successful business.
I decided to join a church who were more concerned with growing numbers and having a great band than the people’s needs. They pushed the issue of tithing and even had you sign a contract that you would tithe if you wanted to be a member. So I faithfully tithed to them but felt awful every time I wrote that check and never had enough to give to the ministries who helped the needy. But I was doing it out of obligation, not from my heart.
Eventually I got ill and lost my ability to work and my ability to tithe. When I turned to the church I had tithed to for help, they turned me away, which was so hurtful. I think it’s more important to help people in need and to spread the gospel than to support a church who cares more about the music than the people. I learned my lesson in the harshest way possible.
I am slowly starting to give again to the ministries I did previously, and my physical health and ability to work are slowly recovering. I will never give to a church that doesn’t help people in need again. As the body of Christ, that is what we are called to do. And sometimes I can’t give as much as I would like, but God is still providing for me because what I do give is from the heart. I don’t believe God wants us to not be able to pay our bills or to be stressed about giving. Commit to giving $5 a month. Then let it grow from there. That’s what I did, and I”m seeing how faithful my God is to His Word.
I am a regular tithe giver . In fact first thing I do when I get my salary is to withdraw tithe from ATM. Tithe before every thing . I calculate my monthly expenses with remaining balance amount only . I lost my job few months due to office politics . I am an Indian & majority community treats & see me only as second class citizen ..They say my name is strange . In spite I perform my duty effectively with out compromising work ethics , principals and morals .. I once caught my general manager by wrong foot . You know he was involved in malpractice & I reported to higher authorities with all evidence . Obviously I lost my Job. You under stand the owners & top management are only concerned about profit and business . Now me & my family are going through a rough phase .. People call me an idiot for being honest . They say I am an out dated thinker and not flashy . I keep loosing jobs because I work for the company & not for a bunch of thieves . When wrong is done by any group of people or individual I raise my objection. I work in security department . It is a noble profession & I can not be a crook or cheat. Business for me is to prevent any untoward incidence during my course of duty. I want to die a happy man with out any guilt feeling .. They consider this rebellion , insubordination , and lack of team spirit. They frame me negatively and say I am doing it all because even though I am an Indian I am a traitor. Yes this man is christian . You know religion is the last asylum of a scoundrel . I tell them look I am not the kind of christian who lives under the influence of liquor & drugs and go to church every Sunday with indecent dressing .
I honor my God , I give him glory – I fear him & bow to him alone . I will stand by my ethics , honesty and principles . I will not support bad people just because they are majority , better organised and have more unity . God Almighty is the one who protects me & no body can touch me . There will come a time when God Almighty will reward me . Lord will prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies . Times & tides will pass away but lord God Almighty is the same yesterday , today & for ever. I am poor and am unable to pay tithe today because I don’t have a Job . But God has put in me a heart that fears God & Follow righteousness . That is the greatest blessing from God . With it will come every thing .He has opened the windows of heaven for me .Lord is my shepherd & I shall not want . He who dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty . God will take me and my family out of this crisis soon & I will pay double the tithe I was paying before because he is going to give me a great Job. Resist the devil & it will flee from you . GOD is going to give me the best Job ever & I Levi Lepsi Manuel will continue to help the poor & give cheerfully for the spread of Gospel . LORD WILL PREPARE A TABLE BEFORE ME IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMIES .
I have started to dislike the American version of Christianity . Flashy styles and dressings , Rock & Roll musics , Inviting VVIPs to the front seat , All about business , money , money & money . A total make believe world . Prayer meetings are conducted like fashion shows . In India also there are many , many pastors those are wolfs in sheep covering . Making money is there only concern . God has not called them but they forcefully entered this profession because they could not find a Job . My own opinion is that – God may forgive criminals , murderers and smugglers ,. But people who try to cheat and make money taking Gods name will never be forgiven . If we feel hungry we may steel one piece of bread & eat but filling your pocket with stolen bread after math is wrong . In India there are good pastors and priests but very few . Every priest and pastors want to visit & preach in America , Swiss , Paris , Berlin , London , Dubai etc no body wants to go to Uganda , Congo ,Somalia , Ethiopia , Pakistan , Afghanistan etc. Stop giving a single penny to pastors who visit United States of America , In fact don’t give them visa but pay tithes to pastors willing to go to china , magnolia , Africa etc. In fact there are many pastors in India especially in North India involved in bad activity like homo sexuality , exploitation of poor villagers etc . Arrest these criminals & put them behind bars like Guantanamo Bay . Release few Islamic terrorist if there is no space in the jail. Because these crooks are much more dangerous .
They try to betray the living GOD.
I started teithing last month. It felt wonderful to trust God with everything. It was a leap of faith because I only work part time and i used my grocery money to do it. Things haven’t worked out so fare since then. The car broke down and I was passed over 3 times for full time work due to seniority. I maxed out my credit card to buy food for my family. I got sick but couldn’t afford to take time off. It’s beem a difficult time. I thought it would be different. I’ll be fine though. Ill figure somthing out. I’m not sure I made a mistake tiething and question the wisdom in it. Does anyone know if this is normal?
Thank you so much for any thoughts or comments on this that might help me connect with God better.
Hi Tammy,
I hear you, but the only thing is to believe in the Lord trusting His every word. Why have you started tithing? That’s giving the Lord control over your finances and I believe being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. . He will never leave us nor forsake us. He shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Don’t be intimidated by the things of this world run the good race, keep your eyes on Jesus.
Hope you are strengthened by this.
Whau! i just took this day to fast and pray about my finances my tithing has been inconsistent but deep within me i get convicted that tithing is the best first step to disciplined giving, giving while in debt and wrong spending has topped my list, and today i must say God led me to your website i am gratfull. i am battling between being in debt and give from the gross salary where i am left with less than what meets my needs and paying off debts that some have been long overdue, but it is good to know someone out there has been through the same and the answer is, you have got to tithe anyway.
thank you.
I am so blessed by this post and almost everyones contributions..I’m in that phase of my life right now where I really want to “TEST GOD “and wait for his blessings and to do this with joyfullness of heart,without doubt or fear.
I’m at an uneasy place in my life right now and iv recently vowed to give God a double portion of my tithes and offerings if he will meet me at my point of needs for the rest of my life..Lord,help me do my part faithfully
I know you are faithful.AMEN
GOD IS FAITHFUL