Wouldn’t Tithing Less Leave More Room In Your Budget?
Abdeli asks:
I noticed that you give a sizeable amount in tithes. I am a Christian myself and give regularly but I can’t help but worry that perhaps giving less to the church might make your budget more lenient, say for emergencies and the such. I firmly believe that we should all live within our means and that the Lord will provide the rest. However, I also believe that we play an active role in helping ourselves, saving for our children’s education, etc. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading and learning through your articles."
Many blessings,
Abdeli
Tawra: Dear Abdeli,
I need to update the budget to reflect the fact that we do keep $500 in savings for emergencies. We won’t set aside more for emergencies until all our debt is gone. We have some debt from Mike’s video equipment that we need to pay off first. (note: we paid that off in 2006)
No, I don’t think we should ever stop tithing or lower our tithes to save some money. Here’s why:
First, just because we made some poor financial decisions doesn’t mean that it’s God’s responsibility to fix it for us. He can fix it if he wants, but our debt is the consequence of us trusting in the credit cards and not Him.
Second, reducing our tithe is telling God, "I don’t think you can take care of me." God gives us everything we have and as recognition for that, he tells us to give 10% back to Him. It’s the least we can do to give him back the 10% to help others.
Interestingly enough, the people I know who reduced their tithes to fund other things found that their finances were no better off when they weren’t tithing.
It’s contradictory to say say "I can’t help but worry" but then turn around and say but we "if we live within our means the Lord will provide the rest". If you worry, then you aren’t trusting God. The Bible is full of commands for us not to worry. Taking money from God to pay for your kids education (an expense that I don’t believe parents should pay anyway for the most part) or to "help yourself" is not letting him take care of you.
It’s all about trust. We either trust Him or we don’t. In a few weeks, we are going to be coming out with the story of how mom survived on $500 a month. She has a lot of examples of trusting in there and how God did the "impossible". That doesn’t mean that you go out and eat, put your kids in a bunch of activities, and spend what you want and then expect Him to come through if these things cause a crisis. Most people are more than able to have at least $500-$1000 savings if they really wanted to. Even my mom who lives on about $500 a month has that much saved.
Anyway the point is, God asks that we depend on him and not ourselves.
I’m glad that you enjoy our articles! Thanks for letting us know!
-Tawra
Update 2010: We have $3,000 in savings and are debt free except for our house. We are putting everything on it to get it paid off quickly. We hope in 3 years or less. We do have money in our business that we can use for an emergency that is set aside to reprint books.
photo by: PhillipC
Titheing less? That is so not an option. Stealing God only makes things worse. If you purpose in your mind that the first thing you do with your money is set aside your tithes everything else will fall into place. God will never let the necessary things fall by the way side. It’s usally the things we do on the side that cause problems.
I know you tithe but I didn’t think you were going to a church at this time so where does your tithe go to right now?
Great Post!
We aren’t going to a “normal” church right now but we have about 12 of us gathering together every Sunday to watch the live services on the Internet at Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale so we send most of our tithe there because we consider it our church at the moment and that is where we are getting spiritually “feed”. We also give to several other ministries and we give offerings above our tithe to different places locally like the children’s home here, women’s shelter etc.
Normally when we go to a local church we give it there and then give offerings above our tithe to different ministries and places.
Jill
A person once told me that when they first became a christian and started tithing, she didn’t know if she was supposed to tithe on the net or the gross on her family’s income. So she asked her pastor where she also worked. The pastor replied, “It depends, do you want God to Bless you on the net or on the gross?” Well, that answered her question. She wanted to be blessed on the gross and so she started tithing on the gross. She found that once she started tithing, God has always provided. She looks forward to seeing just how He will provide in a tricky situation and He always comes through.
I personally believe strongly in tithing. I cannot afford NOT to tithe. I pay 10% generally but at times I will tithe a higher percentage. God has always taken the remaining 90% and miraculously stretched it. God is a generous God and he delights to bless me.
Giving is more than a “just the putting it in the plate” thing. It is a mindset. Besides, God doesn’t need it–He owns it all. It is a way of our putting our trust and faith in Him, knowing He will provide and looking to him for guidance.
Hi, I’m sure most of you know this, but the truth is; tithing and giving are not the same. If a person gives less than ten percent, they are only giving, and not tithing. Thanks.
Tithing is an attitude of obedience. At age 59, my husband and I have learned some difficult lessons concerning tithing. God “blesses” in every area of your lives when you give with the right attitude. Tithing requires “sacrifice” which has become a concept misunderstood by “many” of the younger generation. If we are obedient,then we “give” when we don’t feel like giving. It also involves the giving of “time”,”talents”,etc. Thanks for your website.
We make $60,000 a year with a family of 6 all of our necessary bills leave $700 leftover for food, gas dr bills savings..so are you telling me that we should pay $500.00 out of the $700 for tithes? that leaves $200 for grceries and gas and everything else! Isn’t that pushing the hand of God to say bless me cause I pay you! So we need to sell our car sell our house and live in a trailor and drive an older car with no car payment. We are maxed out is the church going to pay for my groceries when my kids are hungry? So we just live on $700 a month. It is too hard and overwhelming to save for emergencies and giving and tithe!! I beleive we get out of debt then we can give..
Yes, that’s what I’m saying. I can’t argue it, it just works. It’s just having faith that God will provide and he always does! Even when we lived on $9 an hour and had 2 house payments that totaled 3/4 of our income we still gave our tithe FIRST and we always had everything we needed. Tawra
BTW, I forgot to add that you aren’t saying ” God to say bless me cause I pay you”. You are saying ” I thank you for all you have given me and I trust that you will always take care of us.”
From our inbox –
Anita wrote:I HAVE A TESTIMONY ABOUT TITHING. A MAN AT OUR CHURCH ASKED THE PASTOR HOW HE MAKES IT FINANCIALLY. HE SAID HE TITHED BUT IT WAS THE LAST THING ON HIS LIST BECAUSE THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH MONEY. THE ADVICE WAS PUT GOD FIRST, ALSO PUT TITHING FIRST ON YOUR LIST. IT TOOK ONLY ABOUT A MONTH. HE GAVE PRAISE REPORT SUNDAY. HE GOT A BONUS AT WORK ALSO THE EMPLOYER IS SENDING HIS FAMILY ON A TRIP! GOD IS SOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!
God does say for us to test him in this! He’ll prove it!
Malachi 3:10
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
Tithe is part of your personal relationship with The LORD…take it up with Him and He will surely answer…just be prepared when He does!
Putting God and Tithing first, has changed our lives, my hubby makes minimum wage and I am not working at present and all our bills are paid and God sees that all our NEEDS are met. Will a man rob God?
Learning to tithe has changed my life. Yes, the more I tithe the more I am blessed, but its more than that. I have become more disciplined. I’m living on a budget. I am forcing myself to see where I spend my money. And every extra dime I spend outside of my budget is a dime I’m taking from God. Its easier to see when you stick to a budget.
I paid off my credit card debt. I take lunch to work and eat dinner at home. I stick to my budget. I save more than ever before. All this because I trust in God that tithing is a necessary discipline.
I have received many blessings over the years. Even when I wasn’t tithing and just giving what I could. I have also made extra money so that I could tithe. I do admit the years that I didn’t tithe were my worst. I made the least $ and I spent the most.
AMEN!!! I was brought up tithing…I wouldn’t think about NOT doing it! There have been times when I thought the $$$ wouldn’t reach far enough. There might not be much left over…but it was always enough…when I gave God his first! This is the first check I write each month. I’ve often said, “God will allow me to do more with 90%, than I, alone, could have EVER done with 100%.
Do you have any advise for someone who grew up in a non-Christian home where finances were never discussed let alone tithing, became a Christian and began working. After having a family, learned more about tithing but now the budget is waaaaay to tight! In fact, the savings & income are dwindling with the economy so it’s going from tight to not enough. Any advise on tithing?
Tina, tithing like so many things in a Christian’s life usually boils down to faith. Do I trust God? If we really logically thought about it it doesn’t make sense – we trust Him to provide some place unbelievable and special like Heaven for us but we can’t trust Him to provide groceries for us next week or pay our mortgage. We often trust our employer more then God. Don’t we have faith that that employer is going to give us our pay check at the end of each week? He is human but yet we trust him and take him at his word that he will pay us.
One of the great stories of faith is of Peter walking on the water (Matt. 14:29). That to me took a lot of faith to get out of the boat and walk to Christ but there are a couple of things to note about that story. In vs. 27 Jesus said “Take courage….Don’t be afraid” before Peter started because He knew how easily we are frightened and encourages to do the right thing anyway. The other thing to note is Peter only started sinking when he took his eyes off of Jesus and started looking at the storms (financial problems?) blowing all around him.
In the same way Jesus commanded Peter to come to Him and Peter obeyed in spite of the storms blowing all around, we need to do the same and when God commands us to do something – even in spite of the storms we feel are causing us to sink.
We should do it not because God will strike us with lightening if we don’t but because we love Him and have faith He will take care of the other things. Tithing in one way has nothing to do with money but with our heart. In any relationship whether with a spouse, child or friend there is a need for each person to love and to sacrifice to make it work. To have complete trust in the other person.
In a way we are telling God we don’t trust Him to help us or take care of us. How that must break His heart in the same way our heart would break if our child or spouse would tell us if not in words but in actions “I don’t trust you or have faith in you that you will help me or do what is best for me.”I know I break God’s heart and hurt Him so often with things I don’t realize I am doing that if I have any thing I can do to show my love I jump right on it and tithing is one of those things.
Is there any place in your finances you would be willing to make a real sacrifice so you can tithe? Be brave and next pay check just take out 10% off of the top and see if the rest of your bills don’t get paid anyway. I personally would use my savings. Are you trusting in the savings to see you through more then God? These are all things to think about. These are all ways to stretch our faith and to grow.
I know it is scary to step out and start doing that. Which is why Jesus said do not be afraid but once you do you can’t believe what comes after that. You will have very little to fear in your life once you find God really does take care of us no matter what.
My finances and my needs being meant never work out on paper. Most people who tithe will tell you the same thing. I don’t know how it happens it just does. Bottom line – tithing has nothing to do with money only with faith.
AMEN Jill! Our family of six has lived through some very lean years… One year a accountant friend helped us with our taxes. She couldn’t believe that we didn’t even make $10,000 that year and wouldn’t qualify for the earned income credit…Mostly she was amazed that our mortgage and bills were always paid on time and that we had all we needed and even some to share! God’s economy IS different! Praising Him for seeing us through and now we are able to share even more…:o)
Tina,
Ron Blue and Larry Burkett both have tremendous resources available for someone in your situation. Larry Burkett at Crown Financial Ministries probably has more free online content that you can use to learn about Christ-based money management and tithing.
That was absolutely beautiful, Jill. You made my day.
I agree with Bea, Jill, that post was wonderful. I agree with you 100% The Lord called us to tithe about a year and a half ago. We really didn’t know how we could manage, because the economy was going downhill and my husband’s overtime was ending. We put our trust in God and He has provided, as promised. My husband even got a substantial raise. Like someone posted above, we have become more disciplined, which is a good thing. To be completely honest though, satan doesn’t like it one little bit that we are being obedient to God. Spiritual warfare has hit our family ‘hard’, so if you believers in the Lord Jesus Christ feel inclined to pray for us, we would appreciate it.
Will be praying for you Mary. I know just what you mean. I pray like crazy when I step out to do something first that God will protect me and my family and second give me the strength I need. Even in writing these answers, the newsletters etc. I pray before I start. I don’t know what we would do if it wasn’t for our faithful readers praying for us. It really makes a difference.
Tawra will sometimes call me and say what did you write in the newsletter this week because things are happening right and left.
Sometimes tithing is not just a matter of faith and giving a 1/10th – sometimes the question of tithing is one thing that brings the conviction to us that we need to take a hard look not only at our faith but at exactly where our money is going. Are we spending our resources in the way that glorifies God, or are we so caught up in having the “nice” house, car, clothes, etc that we are forced to put God on the back burner. Like the lady who felt like 500.00 a month on a salary of 60,000.00/yr is impossible. All I can say is to have 8000.00/yr for living expenses out of 60,000.00 is a little off kilter. Not only is it a matter of tithing but a matter of seeing if your other spending is really in line with what God would have us to do.
Hello,
I appreciate your logic. Law of the Universe(i.e. God). Give and you get it back. However, I have many friends who have never tithed a day in their lives and continue to make a killing in the stock market and other areas of their businesses. Is God also testing them ? lol. Wish I could be tested like that.
Shell, I wasn’t able to cover everything in my post yesterday so I’m not too surprised your question came up. Trying to explain tithing to someone who has never experienced tithing with the right attitude and heart is hard. It is like trying to explain to someone who has never been in love what it is like to be deeply in love. It also has many different sides to it. So I will do the best I can.
People are made up of 3 parts – physical, spiritual and emotional. Most people focus mostly on the physical (how do I look, what do I eat, do I have enough money to make me physically comfortable) and obtaining everything for their physical comfort and well being. We get way out of balance. Taking care of our emotional and spiritual part comes usually as an after thought and when we become so miserable in those areas we are forced to maybe try to fix it.
What does this have to do with tithing? We immediately (because like I said we always think in the physical) think if we tithe God will bless us with huge amounts of money and that couldn’t be more wrong. God is wiser then we are and so He gives me what I need more then money and that is blessings in the spiritual and emotional area also.
I wonder. Your friends who are making a killing on the stock market and in business what is their emotional and stress level? Do they go to work and if the stock market crashes, showing no signs of coming back, do they have a quiet peace about it? When their business fails do they have a peace and confidence that it doesn’t matter because God will take care of them anyway or do they panic, loose sleep and are terrified? You see they haven’t feed or taken care of their spiritual or emotional part and if the physical part crashes every part of them crashes.
Besides that I don’t give because I think I will get back. You missed the whole point of what I said. I give because I love God and I love Him because He loved me so much He gave His Son to die for me. I have never had anyone love me that much before – have you? I could give all I have for the rest of my life and not ever pay God or anyone for that matter back the price they paid in allowing their son to die so I could live.
Like I said before, it has nothing to do with money or the stock market or the economy. It has only to do with my relationship with God – whether I believe in Him, love Him and have faith in Him.
Well said Jill! :o)
Thanks, Jill, I appreciate your prayers. I will prayer for you and Tawra. ‘Living on a Dime’ is such a blessing!
Heard a joke one time about two pastors who were discussing their church members. The first pastor asked the second, “What percent of your members tithe?” The second pastor said, “All of them.” After seeing the first pastor’s incredulous expression, he added, “Yeah, some of them bring it to the church, then God has to collect from the rest of them!”
Jokes aside, the times we’ve gotten off track and NOT tithed, I never could tell there was any more room in our budget. Plus we had the guilt of not obeying God in giving 10% or more. But God blesses us when we do tithe. When I quit my secretarial job to be a stay-at-home mom, my income was almost 50% of our total income. I told my husband, “if nobody gets sick, needs new clothes, and we don’t need any home or car repairs, we’ll come within $6 a month of making it.” And that was $6 less than we needed to cover expenses. That first summer alone, not only did we MAKE IT, but God also provided money for contact lenses for both me and my husband, and money for a new car stereo. God has blessed us so many years now. It’s about obedience, and I believe we really wouldn’t have any more money if we DIDN’T give.
Jill, Thank you for that last comment. My husband and I have recently started tithing again. We felt several years ago that with finances so tight, we really needed to save that money and use it in other ways. However, we never were at peace with that decision and we still never had enough money. Two months ago we both felt called to start tithing again – money is still tight. I know it’s the right thing to do but sometimes it is hard however, this decision really does boil down to a heart issue. I tithe not so God will give me something. I tithe because he already gave me something – His Only Son. Thank you for that reminder today. My heart is free in the knowledge that I already have all that I need. Jesus is the greatest gift.
You are so right Jill, that God blesses us in many ways, not just money-wise. Emotional and spiritual blessings are wonderful too. I work with a man that idolizes Donald Trump. Even trys to mimic his mannerisms. My co-worker is very involved with the stock market, but hasn’t truly been at peace since all this economic trouble started happening. He bases his happiness on money, but isn’t happy anyway. He has a lot materially, but I wouldn’t want his lack of peace for all the money in the world. Also, my landlord is an atheist. He admitted he doesn’t believe in God. He is another one with much money. He owns many properties, a Harley motorcycle, a van, an RV and a couple of cars, lives in a fancy house and makes trips to Europe and goes on African Safaries, but is one of the most miserable human beings I’ve ever met. He has MONEY, but not God and is not happy. Sad.
I consider giving monthly donations to the charity my office sponsors each month, donating items to goodwill, attending fundraisers and being financially able to assist classmates of my children whose parents died leaving them with no income, and paying for Catholic school tuition as titheing. I don’t think titheing should be limited to church plate collections, or restricted to a percent of income. I thank God every day for the income which flows from him through my job and ask his blessings on the leaders of both my company and my husband’s company. It’s difficult to give when your own need is overwhelming. When you have debt collectors calling it’s not appropriate to not pay them so you can tithe. If you don’t pay the bills, you can be sued and ruin your credit. If you don’t tithe, God still loves you and if he’s the merciful God I’ve grown to love then I think He will understand. He’s not a God for profit.
Other then breastfeeding or working moms I’m not sure anything we say stirs people up more then money and God. I’m not sure why. I will write something else soon on the subject to maybe try and clear things up more for people because there seems to be a lot of confusion out there.
I don’t have time to go into detail or look up the scripture but here are a couple of things you might want to look up for yourselves or think about.
The Bible talks about 3 categories of giving and each one is totally separate from the other and shouldn’t be confused or interchanged with each other. They are three separate things,tithe, offerings and alms.
!. Tithe is giving 10% of anything your receive like your income.
2. Offerings are if God has blessed you in some extra special way like doubling your salary, bringing a wayward child home, something which makes your heart swell with gratefulness then you give what ever you want as kind of a thank you. It is always above your tithe.
3. Alms is what you give to the poor, for charities, the needy. These you don’t have to give only if you can.They should always be given without anyone or as few people as possible knowing about it. Remember the story of Christ scolding the Pharisees for giving their alms so everyone could see?
We are humans I’m afraid and it makes us feel so good about ourselves when we give to others. If we are honest we all feel this. It makes us sometimes feel just a little better then others and we want others to know we give often to impress people.Look what a nice person I am. Now I’m not saying that is what everyone is doing every time but it happens a lot.We, myself included, all want people to think well us and giving to the poor does that.
But see there again it goes back to motive. Are we giving because people at work, church or those who comes to our door, presses us into giving. Do we give because we are embarrassed or afraid of what an awful person they will think I am or do we give because our heart weeps and is touched for that needy person, family or cause?
I have no qualms in saying no I can’t give when asked to give alms of any sort. Not because I am hard hearted but because I wait until God touches my heart and then I give willingly. If I don’t have it to give God doesn’t touch my heart. He never makes anyone give alms if they don’t have it but if you truly feel He is wanting you to give but you think you can’t afford to He must know of something you could give up so you can. You need to really look at things when that happens.
Once again as with so many other ways we deal with our money emotionally and that can get us into trouble instead of dealing with it logically and responsibly. Being a wise steward.
Hi,, Wow I listened to all the stories on tithing and it truly touches my heart. You see I am a Christian and i go to church. Tithing have been a scary thing for me me when I have bills to pay. Sometimes I would tithe 10%, or less and sometimes not at all. But when I did not tithe, everything would go wrong. Whereas I had to use the money on something that broke down.
Why am I afraid to tithe? God has blessed me with a trip, I used to find money on the ground a lot, etc. When I tithe.
Can you explain my hesitant?
As a Christian most of us don’t have a problem knowing we shouldn’t murder, steal, commit adultery etc. Satan doesn’t always bother us in those areas but the areas where most strong Christians are the weakest are with things like anger, gossiping, judging but most of all worry and fear so he is forever sneaking in the back door of our hearts and tempting us in those areas where he knows we are the weakest. Usually when we hesitate with something it is fear or not totally trusting God and that is very hard to do for most. That is why the Bible says over and over trust God and fear not because God knew we would have a problem in that area really bad. It was hard for me too until I finally lost everything and I mean everything but God brought me through all of it and it was the best thing that could have happened to me because once you have been to that point where you have had no choice but to trust God to fix it there is very little that scares you as far as finances goes after that.
When I had to leave my husband I left with around $30 that was all the money I had, no credit cards and that was for gas money too to get to another state. As I was driving to my new town I didn’t have a clue where I could live with that amount of money, what I was going to use to live off of, I had no job to go to and the town had almost no jobs for anyone let alone a new comer. I did know that was where He wanted me to go and I had to trust He would have what I needed when I got there. By the time I had arrived I had a cute house that I loved to live in rent free for as long as I needed, most of the utilities were paid too, groceries and the kids and I had all we needed and it was all taken care of before I even got to town. I don’t hesitate or have any fear now that if I tithe I will run short of anything I really need because I did tithe. Sometimes what we know in our head to be true we don’t always believe in our heart. What makes us comfortable physically is more important than what is best for us spiritually. We all are that way. You are way ahead of the game because you are wanting to figure out how to do what is right. Just ask God to help teach you and show you. He will always teach us when we ask in the same way if our child would come to us and ask us how to do something we are usually more then tickled to teach them. God loves to teach and show us too.
I agree God is not a God for profit. However if you giving a monthly donation to a charity each month that your office sponsors then could you possibly give that money to God instead. I don’t give money to charities because I give each Sunday at church. The church gives the money to people that really need it in our community. That way I know I am helping my community. Also I believe that God wants us to “give with a cheerful heart.” So if you can’t give cheerfully then why give at all. A cheerful heart for giving is the sole purpose of tithing. I don’t believe in a 10% tithe (that I believe was erradicated with the New Testament)but I do want to give what I can cheerfully for God before giving for anything else.
Thank you, Jill for laying out the meaning of tithe, giving, etc. So many Christians (myself confused in the past) don’t know this. You confirmed my understanding of it.
Thank you so much for stepping out in faith to write this article. I am sure you knew you could have some backlash, but it is so worth it to encourage Christians to follow God’s commands. He is a God of loving kindness and He WILL provide!
Up until my marriage last year I was a full-time missionary. I had only 37% of my financial support coming in. I had also left my abusivefirst husband so I was a single mom of a small child. I have fibromyalgia too. I was very sick, tired, and we had nothing. I had left with our clothes and baby food. That was it. God met ALL our needs. I tithed on all my income. God kept giving us things.
We had people give us a chair here, a table there, beds, sheets, etc. I wasn’t begging for things either. God just brought them. He also gave us money. I found out I needed a root canal. The next day I received a check in the mail for the EXACT amount I needed! No one knew about the root canal. This couple just felt God lay it on their hearts to send me money.
I have hundreds of other examples I won’t go into. I am convinced that we can never out-give God. We give to Him and He will just keep pouring blessings back on us. He is just that kind of God.
my friend, when she tithes, she gives to this company that send her “daily bread” .. its a booklet .. but instead of giving to a church, she gives to help animals (aspca, humane society) and her fav charity is the st jude research .. she told me she has about 10 of them and she does give 10% total but divides her 10% equally for the 10 she wants to support …
to her, she feels she is giving to not only to the “church” but to other needy of the world/country…
she did give me a list of what she did but this was so long ago i lost the list ..
thanks for writing about this .. its a good reminder that we should give to GOD and tithe ..
:D
I’ve never considered alms as separate from offerings. Interesting thought.
I have tithed on my income for the past 9 years. My husband was in hospital at that time. He has never tithed. We have scraped by too. My husband has now had a stroke (September) which has left him with mild dementia. Since September I have been in charge of his income and have tithed it since I was in charge of the money. My question is: Do I return an offering for him too?
Karen I’m not totally sure on your question but will try to help anyway. I think what you are asking is should you not only tithe on his money but give offerings from it too. I’m not quite sure how to answer this but let me start with shorten definitions of what the 3 ways to give mean. I don’t have room here to give all the verses, points etc. but anyone who wants that can just check out more on the subject on the web site.
Anyway first tithing is commanded by God and should be 10% of the first fruits or off the top.
Alms is separate from the tithe and shouldn’t be considered the tithe. It is giving to those in need.
Offerings is the third thing and that is just something you give because you are so grateful to God for all He have done for you. For example you received a bonus at work or God answered a special pray you want to show how much you appreciate Him. Offering has to do with fellowship. Let’s say a friend helps you in a special way so you give them a gift to say thank you to them and to show them how much their kindness and friendship meant to you. That is what an offering to God should be. Our gratefulness. I always give offerings because I wake up in the morning so grateful I have eyes that can see or a warm bed to sleep in. I appreciate those things so much and am so grateful for all those “little” things.
Now with those definitions in mind you need to decide if your husband has that fellowship with the Lord in such a way that you think he would like to give an offering to Him. It all boils down to what is in your heart. If anything is given to God because you feel you have to, it is your duty or in the case of alms sometimes to make you feel good or important you may as well not give at all. It should all be done out of love and because you care and are so grateful for what you have been given. You or your husband are a better judge of his heart so you need to decide on the offering yourselves.
Dear Fellow Christians, My husband and I tithe because everything wonderful that we have – God has given to us. There was a short time in our marriage that my husband and I did not tithe, and evil began to capture our finances. I absolutely know this to be the truth. Vultures began coming in and taking our paychecks. When we refocused and began to tithe again (even when we did not have two nickels to rub together), God healed our finances and Easter morning came again. I believe that tithing says, “God, you gave me everything I have, and I trust you to supply all of our needs.” Like all of the readers have said, God sends immediate help in your time of need and blessings! God always gets the top 10 percent of every one of our paychecks. I love the Lord, and I look forward to being with him one day. God Bless All of You.
Amen to tithe. My husband and I were both unemployed and had nothing. With 5 kids I couldn’t imagine giving a tithe, I had to save every dime to fend for my kids. However, my heart was changed and we began to tithe 10% of everything we earned. I remember tithing $1.75 once because I had exactly $17.50 to my name. Blessing came tenfold. My husband landed a job that incorporated his failed business, friends offered us food, I found money in an envelope I had lost months before. God took care of us and we made it. Every day was hard and every day we prayed that God would provide just for that day and we kept our promise and saved our first 10%. When there was a stress or a worry we put it at His feet. This Christmas our church is buying us Christmas dinner and presents for our 5 children. I didn’t ask for this from anyone except God and he put it in their hearts. I had a complete stranger purchase shoes for my son in line at Target. My son’s teacher paid our water bill when it was shut off. God works in so many ways. We do need to be active in our finances. He calls us to be good Stewards with the gifts he gives us, but we have to have the attitude that our money is HIS not ours. Everything comes from Him and without him we have nothing. It is a testimony of our faith in him and his commandment. We can’t choose which laws apply to us. We do it All because we are Christians.
In Matthew 6:31-34 he reminds us not to worry about what we will wear or eat, but to seek the kingdom first and He will provide for us what we need.
Just try it. Try it one month and see if doing it his way is better than your way. Also, its about priorities. Cut back on things that are unnessary. Ask yourself if paying a rediculous phone bill is because you NEED it, or because you LIKE it. Is that car your dumping $500 into is it because it is necessary, or because it makes you look good or feel good?
I am so encouraged about your tithing testimony. I will share with somebody else who are having financial difficulty. God is wonderful. You are right it is God’s money. When God shows up and will show out. Let the world know what a mighty God we serve. Amen!
a thought about tithing… I heard of a couple who make about $200,000/year. They live a simple lifestyle so that they tithe (give to God) 90% and live on 10% … seems to me it’s been said…tithing is about our relationship with God giving back for all He has given us – which really is so much and it’s about trusting Him for our needs. Making wise choices, being a good steward… coming clean with Him… all come into play. God doesn’t need or want our money He wants our hearts! However, most of us need to put the money down so that there is room for Him in our hearts…tithing/sharing our financial resources isn’t for God’s benefit – it’s for ours!
Thank you for this post and all the comments and replies. This has helped to clear up a lot of my misconceptions. I love the Lord and thank him in prayer every day, but to date I’ve neglected tithing and offering most shamefully! I’ve discussed it with my husband and he agrees that this needs to become our priority. I don’t know how we will manage as we are currently only covering basic expenses and only just keeping out of debt without saving or investing at all. However I do have faith and have experienced the Lord’s miraculous provision before. Please pray for me that I will not give in to worry and fear. Thank you again for blessing us with this teaching.
You are so welcome Bon. Remember God loves us more then we love ourselves even. He isn’t out to get us but to help us and show us what is best for us. There is no need to worry or fear. We need to stop thinking if we give money to the Lord we are taking away from ourselves and it is going to hurt us in some way. Instead we need to think of it as – well let put it this way. I love my grand kids so much. I don’t have a huge amount of money so if I want to give them something I have to often give up something like I keep my house cooler to save money, I can’t go get me a drink at a convenient store and that type of thing so I can give them that special gift. I don’t even give it a second thought when I do that or feel like it is a sacrifice because I love them so much giving them that gift gives me way more pleasure then that drink from the convenient store would. There is no fear or worry involved and the same attitude should be in our heart and minds when we give to the Lord.
We truly serve a good and faithful God! Since my post yesterday I have found out that I will be receiving a retrospective tax benefit this month (almost a full month’s income for us and more than double what I was expecting) and we are to expect a regular monthly pay out which would cover the short fall in our current tithe amount! God has proven again that all fear and doubt is foolishness!
Oh Bon am so glad you let us know about that. Isn’t it exciting when that happens. the more you stand firm and strong the easier it gets to not have any fears or doubts. Thank you again for filling us in.
Thank you so much for your inspiring and energising testimonies. Because of a super major turnover in my life, I just recovered from a very broken heart, “flabbergasting-like” disappointment in people and wrong use of time and wrong priorities…. I was looking for frugal and budgeting lifestyle help… and found ( finally) the answer on questions about God which kept on being a Mystery. I listened, heard but never understood… Until now… Strange…?