for those who tithe

[Drunky_Smurf]

@Little_Nemo

The OP should ask her co-worker if she’s just tithing ten percent of her income? Or is she tithing ten percent of her assets like a real Christian would?

Yeah, I’d like some bible quotes that says you are supposed to tithe ten percent of your assets.

You really think I should be tithing 10% of my houses’ worth, my vehicles worth, my retirement plan, my kids college savings account, my jewelry, my expensive electronics, my art, the groceries in my fridge? Because that would be more than I make in income a year.

Or are you just Christian bashing?

[Drunky_Smurf]

@monstro

If God is that petty that he’ll castigate you for simply being unhappy with your misfortune–for not feelng the right way–then God is a douchebag.

It’s not God who is a petty douchebag it’s the people who say such things that are petty douchebags.

[Shodan]

@Drunky_Smurf

It’s not God who is a petty douchebag it’s the people who say such things that are petty douchebags.

Thank you for posting this.

Regards,
Shodan

[kopek]

@Drunky_Smurf

Yeah, I’d like some bible quotes that says you are supposed to tithe ten percent of your assets.

You really think I should be tithing 10% of my houses’ worth, my vehicles worth, my retirement plan, my kids college savings account, my jewelry, my expensive electronics, my art, the groceries in my fridge? Because that would be more than I make in income a year.

I’m not a chapter and verse type but my reading is that we’re to give first to God of all the gifts He gives us – money, time, talent, the whole ball of wax. Just doing a check, in any percentage, isn’t going to cut it alone. If you did it that way from the beginning all those things would be “after taxes” so to speak. Although if I make a profit on the sale of a car or house or something, I probably should cut a check for 10% of that amount. Think of it as “capital gains”.

[gwendee]

Giving does not impoverish us in the service of our Maker, neither does withholding enrich us.

I’m on the financial edge, much like the OP’s colleague. My income is based on sales at my business and so varies widely, and is completely unpredictable. I manage what I have the best way I know how, and I get quite a bit of help from relatives.

Ten percent is not realistic for me most months but I have determined that I will never give less than $10.

If my mom gave me $500 at Christmas I would give 10% of that, but if she sent $300 to help with a car repair I would not. However, if she’d sent $300 it was most likely that I’d told her I needed a $250 repair. She’d send a check with a note that said “For your framis, and dinner out” In such a case I would give 10% of the not earmarked portion on top of my own $10 contribution for the week.

I spoke to my sister about tithing and bemoaned the fact that my contributions are not at the level I’d like. She said “Giving of your time and talents counts.” And I found that very comforting.

To speak directly to the OP’s question, “How bad does it have to get…?” My church contribution is the last item I will cut from the budget. Because giving to church is important to me I have to examine my other expenses. When there’s nothing left to slash I’ll revisit, but I’ll cancel entertainment spending, (Netflix is next), or other non-essentials before I stop giving my $10/week.

My experience has been over a number of years that when things get that close to the bone someone will come in and place a substantial order.

[gigi]

For donations to church, I usually take the budget and divide by the number of families and make sure I cover at least my share for the year. Then after that I give 10% of my gross income to whatever cause inspires me or comes to my attention in a given month.

I do watch the 700 Club sometimes to see what it’s all about and I don’t agree with the idea that you give in order to receive riches in this world. They show folks who are terribly in debt and bankrupt who decide to still send donations, and their fortunes turn around. I don’t want a fortune in this life because if I have it in this life, I won’t have it in the next. (Of course I say that as someone who is comfortable and so far haven’t had a devastation happen to me so I do know it’s easy for me to say.) I give to my church because we parishioners need to cover its expenses, which include programs to help the poor locally and overseas.

[dracoi]

@Drunky_Smurf

Yeah, I’d like some bible quotes that says you are supposed to tithe ten percent of your assets.

You really think I should be tithing 10% of my houses’ worth, my vehicles worth, my retirement plan, my kids college savings account, my jewelry, my expensive electronics, my art, the groceries in my fridge? Because that would be more than I make in income a year.

Or are you just Christian bashing?

I think it’s just Christian bashing.

Looking at some of the references:
Numbers 18:21 establishes the tenth to be given to the tribe of Levi. They’re the priests, so it’s not a big leap to apply this to the church.

Deuteronomy 14 has several verses that talk about tithing on your “increase” so we’re clearly not talking total assets here, but income. Whether increase means gross or net I’ll leave to the theologians, especially since the New Testament doesn’t put percentages on it.

In a quick search, the only reference I can find to giving a percentage of assets is a warning about why you don’t want a king - because the king will take 10% of your fields, sheep, etc.

[Frylock]

@Shodan

In my experience, people who tithe have fewer financial problems than those who don’t. This is due (in part) to the fact that tithing forces budgetting, and budgetting forces insight into what you are spending your money on.

What have you done to eliminate the hypothesis that it’s because people who have fewer financial problems are more likely to feel secure enough to tithe?

[Frylock]

@Shodan

Thank you for posting this.

Regards,
Shodan

This means you are registering support for the sentiment that Bullit is a “petty douchebag.” Was that your intention?

[monstro]

@Drunky_Smurf

It’s not God who is a petty douchebag it’s the people who say such things that are petty douchebags.

Why can’t both be petty douchebags?

[joyfool]

We are broke as shit and have just recently returned to church. So far, I’m viewing our weekly $5 contribution as a form of charity. I hope to someday give more, but it’ll never be close to 10% due to all my husband’s medical needs.

ETA: I hope God understands the intent versus the specific outcome.

[Shodan]

@Frylock

What have you done to eliminate the hypothesis that it’s because people who have fewer financial problems are more likely to feel secure enough to tithe?

By observing that most people who tithe budget, and people who budget tend to have fewer financial problems. If you are looking for a cite, this is MPSIMS.

This means you are registering support for the sentiment that Bullit is a “petty douchebag.” Was that your intention?

I don’t care to play “Let’s You and Him Fight” just now.

Regards,
Shodan

[Bullitt]

@Frylock

This means you are registering support for the sentiment that Bullit is a “petty douchebag.” Was that your intention?

I think I’m being misunderstood. I’m not saying she can’t be ungrateful in her poor luck and misery. I’m saying that if she publicly discloses that she tithes but then also publicly shares her misery, and she also links the two events, then I’m saying she is not a grateful giver. She is not a grateful tither.

I said that earlier:

I was speaking to her being an ungrateful giver, not ungrateful for worrying about making ends meet.

We all worry about life and stress and problems, certainly. We are human, and God knows that.

[F.U.Shakespeare]

@Shodan

In my experience, people who tithe have fewer financial problems than those who don’t. This is due (in part) to the fact that tithing forces budgetting, and budgetting forces insight into what you are spending your money on.

@Frylock

What have you done to eliminate the hypothesis that it’s because people who have fewer financial problems are more likely to feel secure enough to tithe?

Since he included the bolded part, I see no need to for him to eliminate the hypothesis.

[Kent_Clark]

I just want to ask the OP, are you sure your co-worker is using “tithing” to mean 10% of their income? While there are some churches that use the term to mean a literal one-tenth share, others (including every church I’ve ever regularly attended) use the term in a more figurative sense of contributing your fair share. Which might be 10%, or 1%, or volunteering when you’re able.

Or it could be a case of what my mother called “talking poor” when all she can talk about is how rough she has it, whether or not it’s actually that bad. In which case it’s perfectly understandable if you ask her if she knows of any financial counseling programs her church might offer.

[kopek]

@Frylock

What have you done to eliminate the hypothesis that it’s because people who have fewer financial problems are more likely to feel secure enough to tithe?

I’m sticking my nose in where it probably isn’t wanted but ------ people who tithe, in my experience, tend to be fairly poor or fairly well set. Why the poor? Why do the poor tend to play the various lotteries more than average folks? It’s probably the hope of some sort of pay-off. But unlike gambling I have seen tithing help for the stated reason - that it helps teach financial matters in a way our society at large doesn’t.

[Urbanredneck]

I’d also like to say that in addition to tithing for my church I also have given money or been a part of fundraisers for others charities like for autism or Childrens Mercy hospital.

[nearwildheaven]

@friedo

Non-assholic religious traditions (they do exist) do not require people to tithe if it would be a hardship.

It even says in the Bible itself that people should not donate to charity, and we can assume that includes a church, if they can’t meet their basic expenses.

[Tom_Tildrum]

@impatien

Without coming right out and directly asking for money, they’re always telling hard-luck stories, and people have done so much for them. Everyone I know has decided that they are the cause of most of their own problems, and have ceased the handouts.

They are very much church-going people, and faithfully tithe no matter what. She is always talking about how they have no money for this or that, and how very little she can spend on groceries etc. My question for those who tithe is how bad does it have to get before you use that money for the necessities in your own life?
I just don’t understand how anyone thinks that giving 10% of your income to a church makes sense when you can’t even take care of yourself.

The homeless man I give to might spend the dollar on beer. The woman on public assistance may have cable TV. The family in line in front of me paying with food stamps may be buying sugary cereal. There’s never any guarantee that one’s giving will be spent wisely, and trying to manage the lives of the poor can be fraught.

One can try to minimize the possibility of wastage by giving to a recognized charity instead of an individual, but then one runs the risk that the CEO of that charity might blow my donation on a girlfriend. Heck, even if I don’t give, the chances that I will handle my own money wisely myself are often slim.

None of this is to say that one is obliged to give. In the situation you describe, the woman sounds and acts like an addict, and I would not front her a dime (at least not unless she agreed to get some kind of help). I guess I’m just saying that that its really common to have the impulse not to spend everything on something practical, and sometimes to waste money on something that feels good.

[Nava]

I once dated a guy whose idea of a “date” turned out to involve church followed by lunch with the rest of the congregation (definitely not second-date material, for me, although I wish him well because he was a nice guy and they a nice group of people). The pastor asked me what did I think (i.e., would I join them); I explained that I just don’t feel like I’m “in Church” with no Communion and that the Prosperity Gospel he taught was completely contrary to my beliefs - but also that I saw him as an example of “God writes straight with squiggly lines”. One thing everybody in the congregation had in common was that before joining, their finances had been bloody messes; by teaching them how to budget and providing financial advice, he was doing a Work of Mercy… even if it was so he could get paid 10% of what his flock made Me, I already knew how to count, thank you.

A church where I was required to give a certain % of my income wouldn’t be for me, but if they’re going to stick their nose in your financial life, they should be able to provide sound financial advice. It certainly isn’t up to the coworkers of the woman in the OP to “save her”, specially from her own stupidity.