I do believe in tithing 10%.

Jesus says in Matthew 23:23

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-mint, dill and cummin. But you neglected the more important matters of the law-justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former."

I don't look at tithing as optional. Of course, I believe it doesn't buy your way to heaven. I look at it as God told me to do it, so I will. To be honest, I don't always do it with a cheerful heart, but obeying God isn't always easy.

i no longer belong to organized religeon i have yet to find a church that does not want your wallet when you walk in the door.. i don't feel i have to go to church to talk to god and be in his good graces. when a minister stands in front of a congregation and say thank you so much you have raised 1.5 million dollars but!!!! we need more that totally turned me off...

i also don't think its responisble for you to tith 10% or whatever the percentage be if you can't pay your bills or feed your children and you sure as heck should not be on public assistance if you can tithe your church 10% or more of your income thats just my opinion what ever happend to people helping people and just plain doing good things for others.

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SILENCE IS GOLDEN BUT DUCK TAPE IS SILVER.

The part in bold... thats why we tithe, because even if we have little, or even no money afterwards, and I wonder how in the world we will get through, we show our faith that God is watching out for us, and I have to say, there's always enough, and leftover, and surprise blessings when we needs them most. I think its got to be because we show trust in Him.

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"And the state of his bathroom -- I'm not one to gossip, but there are things crusted on his sink that have not simply developed intelligent life but have in all probability by now evolved their own political systems." Cain describes Abel in in SANDMAN #70

My family also has tithed 10% for as far back as I can remember. We had an offering on top of that for missionaries and building fund, ect.... We do not go without and I believe God blesses us with what we have. We are teaching our children the same thing: tithing is what is commanded for us to do. We believe it is not an "if I can do it" sort of thing, but that a tithe is what you do FIRST with the money that GOD has blessed you with.

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Mabennett - Proud Mommy to a Yankee, a Tarheel, and a cheerleader

We give our tithe every week, but it is because God commands it, not because the Church says we have to. God tells us to give of our First Fruits to him. I also know that everything I have is because of him so we want to honor him by giving him back some of what he has given to us.

In Maliachi 3:10 for instance it says: "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 blessings that you will not have room enought for it."

Now some Churches tell you this means you will get rich, but that isn't what God is saying. He is saying he will belss you richly. This could mean a great relationship (spouse, friends), great family, good health, a nice neighboorhood, etc., and yes even money if he so choose to bless you with it.

I also know that it says in the Bible that you are to help others, the widows, and the homeless, poor, hungry, etc. If you do this God blesses you for this too. Tithing helps the Church reach out to the community and YES even pay their bills.

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A Family of 5's quest to forget the Joneses.

We do not tithe. We pledge money to the church every year but it isn't neccessarily the same amount from year to year. We give a lot of our time and resources to our church but we don't do a flat 10%. We get a letter from the church at the beginning of the year asking us to renew our pledge and they gently suggest that 10% would be appreciated (and they remind us of the annual operational costs the church has each year) but we don't feel pressured to do that. I am not comfortable with the idea that God told us to do it so we have to do it. But then again, dh and I don't interpret a lot of the things in the bible literally, but I don't want to open that can of worms here today.

We tithe 10%. It's pretty much standard in my church. Of course they are in sealed envelopes so you are the only one who really knows if you are honest in your tithes.

I also kind of resent the person who said people are trying to buy their way into heaven! It's not about that! It takes alot of faith to tithe 10% when money is tight. It's about giving toward's our Heavenly Father's purpose. I mean he gave us everything we have! Is 10% really that much? I mean really?!

I have noticed that everything always seems to work out for us financially...even when it shouldn't. I do credit that to tithing. If you don't have a deep faith that God exists, he is our real creator, our father, and we will see him again someday...then I suppose tithing that much when you are financially strapped seems crazy! But I do believe our Heavenly Father blesses us when we do the right thing. It may not always be how we want and when we want, but it's a very real concept.

In my church, we don't have paid clergy. Some of the "higher-ups" do get paid...but it's minimal. Most of our church leaders are retired so they don't need the income. I know that when I pay my tithing it comes back to me in the way of churchs, temples, even in the hymn books and the teaching materials I use to teach music to the children every week! I also know that if we family is ever in need, because we pay a "full-tithing" (10%), we are also eligible to receive help for food or whatever we may need should an emergency arise. I never worry about tithing! I don't see it as my money in the first place..it belongs to God.

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Bekah
Co-founder and CEO of the NOVITZKE FAMILY INC.

honestly when DH and I made the decision to tithe, we found God started blessing us more, and 10% is such a small amount to give back to God when we look around and see all that he has given to us...jmo

In our church it is a commandment, but that's not to say it doesn't help the church pay it's bills. Those bills (churches, activities, hymnals etc) benefit me too.

We pay our 10%, always have, and never miss it. It comes first.

The Bible says to tithe 10% of all of your income. It also uses the words "first fruits" which means your tithe should be the first thing you do, not the last. Ex: don't pay bills, get gas, put money into savings, then if you have any left, give your tithe. You should pay your tithe first, then the rest follows. Anything above 10% is not tithe, but an offering.

My mom has said a million times, if you can not live off of 90% of your income, you can not live off of 100%. That little 10% is not going to make or break you. So many people say I can not afford to tithe. Well, can you really afford NOT to tithe? Who wants to rob God? Not me!!! If you do not tithe 10% of all of your income you are doing just that, robbing God what is His.

What is tithe used for? It is supposed to be used to support the church. Pay the bills of the church, pay the salaries of the pastors, give to missions, and whatever else the church can do with it. So, yes it is used to support the church, but that is not why we give. We give because God commands us to. Otherwise we are robbing Him, and therefore robbing the church.

Tithing is supposed to be done in private. When you boast about how much you tithe or give in offering, it is like not giving. God wants us to do it because He commands it and we love Him enough that we want to obey. He doesn't want us to give to show off how much we gave or how much we make. Churches should have envelopes so the money or check is not seen by all. And the info of who gives how much is to be private. Most churches have a small select few (deacons, or the treasurer) and that is all who knows who gives how much and that is only because they keep record for your tax purposes. Some pastors are aware of the info because they are part of the deacon board. But there are also some pastors that do not want to know.

My husband and I struggled with tithe for awhile when we were first married. Money was starting to get tight so we said well, we need diapers so we can't tithe or things like that. What happened? Money got tighter. We wondered and wondered why is our money so tight. We make decent money so why is this happening. It is simple, we were NOT obeying God. God says He will bless those who are faithful to Him. We started tithing again. No matter what. If we had to do without something, oh well. We can not spend that first 10% because it did not belong to us. So we started tithing again, and money got better for us. God was blessing us because we were obeying Him. I once heard a minister say try tithing the FIRST 10% of ALL of your income. And do it consistantly (and with a good attitude) for three months straight and your financial situation WILL improve. I wish everyone would simply try it. Try to obey God with your finances for three months and see just how awesome He is and how you will be blessed.

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Jenifer
Proud wife to one amazing man
Proud mom to four awesome kids

Have a safe and blessed New Year!