E
ElCid
Guest
I just want to know if we were ever required to pay the tithe as described in the bible. And could you also differentiate it with the financial support we give to the church. Thank you.
- Status
L
Liberian
Guest
El Cid,
Since we are no longer under the Old Testament Law, we are not required to measure out a tenth of everything we earn and pay it to the Church.
On the other hand, since everything we have comes from God, and since God has supposedly written His Law on our hearts, we should be quite thoroughly generous. If you are not supporting your church generously–and ten percent is a decent round number to aim for–you should perhaps check the quality of your spiritual life. (Just for the record, I have not measured up to the ten percent threshold in a couple of decades.)
Since we are no longer under the Old Testament Law, we are not required to measure out a tenth of everything we earn and pay it to the Church.
On the other hand, since everything we have comes from God, and since God has supposedly written His Law on our hearts, we should be quite thoroughly generous. If you are not supporting your church generously–and ten percent is a decent round number to aim for–you should perhaps check the quality of your spiritual life. (Just for the record, I have not measured up to the ten percent threshold in a couple of decades.)
- Liberian
I
IHS
Guest
The tithe belongs to the Lord.If you are not tithing you are robbing God and there will be no thieves entering into the kingdom of heaven.
You have a choice believe Gods command or choose what the church tells you.
You have a choice believe Gods command or choose what the church tells you.
W
wordhunger
Guest
I have been tithing for about 15 years. My Dad said that he has never been able to afford to tithe, and he has never been able to afford not to. I agree with that. He always tithed. I started at age 35. It has been a blessing. I was told in RCIA that our Bishop requests that 5% go to the Church, 1% goes to CASA, and the other 4% goes to God where we think it is best.
Code:
Tithing has helped me to quit worrying about money and to put my trust in God. In Malachi, God says to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, and He will pour out His blessings. He further asks that we "test Him in this". No where else in the Bible does God ask that we test him.
Try it, you'll like it! WordHunger (Jesus is the Word)
D
Dancelittleewok
Guest
Good post, Liberian! I would have to add that one of the precept of the Church is to “provide for the needs of the Church.” (See CCC 2041-2043).
For more info about the precepts, see this link also:
catholicdoors.com/faq/qu32.htm
L
Liberian
Guest
Word Hunger,
Hello and welcome to the Catholic Answers Forums. I hope you have a blessed and fruitful time here.
I used to tithe when I was single. After my wife and I had kids I was not able to give ten percent. The year that we tried was the year that all hell broke loose in our lives (I will skip the details) and finally the question came down to which two of the three we paid: the rent, the medicine, or the tithe. I am glad for your testimony but I cannot echo it.
Hello and welcome to the Catholic Answers Forums. I hope you have a blessed and fruitful time here.
I used to tithe when I was single. After my wife and I had kids I was not able to give ten percent. The year that we tried was the year that all hell broke loose in our lives (I will skip the details) and finally the question came down to which two of the three we paid: the rent, the medicine, or the tithe. I am glad for your testimony but I cannot echo it.
- Liberian
L
lak611
Guest
The tithe was a requirement of the Old Testament Law, which Catholics and other Christians are no longer obligated to follow. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”(NRSV)
T
traveling
Guest
Sorry, I didn’t know it.
J
Jaypeeto4
Guest
Paul was referring to a voluntary collection for the needy Christians in Jerusalem, not the continuous support we owe to the Church and the support of her pastors, missions, etc.
Why should Christians, who have a MUCH BETTER Covenant, be expected to give even LESS than the Old Testament Jews, less than their bare minimum tithe of 10% to the Lord??
They were also expected to bring Offerings to the Lord, over and above the 10% tithe.
10% is a baseline. The Church has not infallibly defined how much we should give. But God has promised that he will open the windows of heaven to those who tithe and generously bring offerings. I realized the value of tithing recently, and began tithing a few months ago, even though technically I could not “afford” to tithe, but I trust God’s promise: “He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly and he who sows abundantly will also reap abundantly.”
I’m not out to get rich by any means. But I have tried to manage my money WITHOUT tithing all my life, and I’ve never been successful at it. Now I am tithing and trusting God and I’m sure he will keep His word.
To those who CAN’T tithe right now, for whatever reason, I would urge you to pray to God to give you the ABILITY to tithe.
At my parish, which is mostly middle and upper middle class,
the bulletin reports that the average 1st collection from each participant in the Mass, is about $3.00
That is less than the cost of a Happy Meal at McDonalds,
and to me that is insulting to God. My parish isn’t a bunch of poor, destitute people. Yet the average weekly contribution per member is less than the cost of a pack of generic Cigarets.
Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
Why should Christians, who have a MUCH BETTER Covenant, be expected to give even LESS than the Old Testament Jews, less than their bare minimum tithe of 10% to the Lord??
They were also expected to bring Offerings to the Lord, over and above the 10% tithe.
10% is a baseline. The Church has not infallibly defined how much we should give. But God has promised that he will open the windows of heaven to those who tithe and generously bring offerings. I realized the value of tithing recently, and began tithing a few months ago, even though technically I could not “afford” to tithe, but I trust God’s promise: “He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly and he who sows abundantly will also reap abundantly.”
I’m not out to get rich by any means. But I have tried to manage my money WITHOUT tithing all my life, and I’ve never been successful at it. Now I am tithing and trusting God and I’m sure he will keep His word.
To those who CAN’T tithe right now, for whatever reason, I would urge you to pray to God to give you the ABILITY to tithe.
At my parish, which is mostly middle and upper middle class,
the bulletin reports that the average 1st collection from each participant in the Mass, is about $3.00
That is less than the cost of a Happy Meal at McDonalds,
and to me that is insulting to God. My parish isn’t a bunch of poor, destitute people. Yet the average weekly contribution per member is less than the cost of a pack of generic Cigarets.
Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
U
unacanta
Guest
Wow, by all means please obey…obey to the fullest extent of the Law. Get your rocks out, there are some that need to be stoned at the city gates.The tithe belongs to the Lord.If you are not tithing you are robbing God and there will be no thieves entering into the kingdom of heaven.
37And He said to him, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’
38"This is the great and foremost commandment.
39"The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’
40"On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
How about:
Romans 13:8
Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
Christ fullfilled the Law, We live under the new Covenant, try loving folks.
In the name of the Mighty Son blessings,
Len
J
Jaypeeto4
Guest
Hi Len !!!
Paying the tithe to the LORD is not opposed to Loving.
It is part of loving the LORD with all our heart, soul, mind, and body. All that we HAVE really comes from Yahweh. Paying the tithe is giving back to our God our best 10% of what HE gave us, for the use of HIS kingdom.
Look at the story of Cain and Abel.
Abel offered God a sacrifice. God accepted Abel’s sacrifice.
Cain offered God a sacrifice. God rejected Cain’s sacrifice.
WHY?
Simple.
The Bible tells us that Abel offered God the Firstlings of his flock and the fat portions thereof. That means that Abel offered God
HIS VERY BEST OFFERING.
Cain, by contrast, merely brought God an offering of the fruit of the ground. God rejected Cain’s offering. WHY? Because
unlike Abel, Cain did not offer God HIS VERY BEST of his crop.
Cain got so mad that God accepted Abel’s offering but not his that, instead of repenting, he murdered Abel his brother.
What a shame.
If we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and body,
we willl want to offer him as much as we can, even over and above
10% of our money, but also our **time **for prayer, devotion, evangelization, everything. Plus we love our neighbor as ourself.
God bless,
Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
Paying the tithe to the LORD is not opposed to Loving.
It is part of loving the LORD with all our heart, soul, mind, and body. All that we HAVE really comes from Yahweh. Paying the tithe is giving back to our God our best 10% of what HE gave us, for the use of HIS kingdom.
Look at the story of Cain and Abel.
Abel offered God a sacrifice. God accepted Abel’s sacrifice.
Cain offered God a sacrifice. God rejected Cain’s sacrifice.
WHY?
Simple.
The Bible tells us that Abel offered God the Firstlings of his flock and the fat portions thereof. That means that Abel offered God
HIS VERY BEST OFFERING.
Cain, by contrast, merely brought God an offering of the fruit of the ground. God rejected Cain’s offering. WHY? Because
unlike Abel, Cain did not offer God HIS VERY BEST of his crop.
Cain got so mad that God accepted Abel’s offering but not his that, instead of repenting, he murdered Abel his brother.
What a shame.
If we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and body,
we willl want to offer him as much as we can, even over and above
10% of our money, but also our **time **for prayer, devotion, evangelization, everything. Plus we love our neighbor as ourself.
God bless,
Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
U
unacanta
Guest
Thanks for your response, I appreciate your comments. If you note the following:
Originally Posted by IHS
The tithe belongs to the Lord.If you are not tithing you are robbing God and there will be no thieves entering into the kingdom of heaven. You have a choice believe Gods command or choose what the church tells you.
If you observe, he states the following “If you are not tithing you are robbing God and there will be no thieves entering into the kingdom of heaven.”
He leads the reader to believe that if one does not tithe, then they are considered a thief and thereby disqualified from heaven. Being disqualified from heaven by your actions and not what you believe is contrary to New Covenant thinking.
Second part is this:“You have a choice believe Gods command or choose what the church tells you.”
God’s commands and the Church commands should be the same. If not, then the Church is in error. Our salvation is based upon our belief in Christ not our works which included the paying of the tithe.
Not withstanding what is said above, I agree, that paying the tithe is a demonstration of our love for God, our neighbor and Church. It is a godly principal and taught as a requirement under the Old Covenant. However, our New Covenant is not based upon our actions but rather whom we place our belief. Hope this explains my position.
Q
Qwikness
Guest
I give 5%. I want to give more but Im new to it. I’m starting slow.
I figure if I can eat, go to movies, drive, etc I can at least give $20 to the Church.
PS I make sure its in an envelope. That way I can write it off.
If I don’t have an envelope I double up the next week.
I figure if I can eat, go to movies, drive, etc I can at least give $20 to the Church.
PS I make sure its in an envelope. That way I can write it off.
If I don’t have an envelope I double up the next week.
J
Jaypeeto4
Guest
Being disqualified from heaven by your actions and not what you believe is contrary to New Covenant thinking.
Oh no it isn’t, either.
I’m not going to apply what you’ve said to Tithing,
but the Christian Church has always taught that ANYONE,
even a regenerate Christian, who dies in a state of unrepented
mortal Sin, will go to hell.
The contrary notion comes only from the pretended “reformers” of the 16th century and their spiritual offspring since then.
Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
Oh no it isn’t, either.
I’m not going to apply what you’ve said to Tithing,
but the Christian Church has always taught that ANYONE,
even a regenerate Christian, who dies in a state of unrepented
mortal Sin, will go to hell.
The contrary notion comes only from the pretended “reformers” of the 16th century and their spiritual offspring since then.
Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
W
wordhunger
Guest
I was concerned with the analysis of Cain and Abel’s offering. Cain’s offering was rejected, not because it was not Cain’s best, but because it wasn’t the sacrifice prescribed by God – namely a blood sacrifice of the first born male animal. In otherwords, Cain tried to worship “his way” without a blood sacrifice, and Abel was obedient to worship “God’s way” with a blood sacrifice. This is a clear pointer to the Eucharist. Any worship without Jesus’ Body and Blood, our substitutionary blood sacrifice, is not true worship. The analysis given really detracts from the Eucharist, so I wanted to digress to point that out.
Back on the tithing -- I agree with people that say that we should give God our best, that $3 doesn't show our best at ANY level of income, that we will be blessed if we do as God says and "test" him to provide for our needs by giving Him 10% off the top.
H
HailMary
Guest
No, you are not required.
Give until it hurts: thats a good principle to live by.
Give until it hurts: thats a good principle to live by.
D
DebChris
Guest
God is not an accountant, so we need not be overly scupulous when it comes to tithing. On the other hand, Jesus said, “I did not come to remove the Law, but to fulfill it.” He warns against changing even one letter or part of a letter of the Law. What is more important is that we follow the intent of the Law, not merely the letter. Jesus praised the widow who placed her mite in the collection box over the extravagance of the rich who only gave from their surplus. A gift means more when it comes from the heart.
St. Paul in his writings, says not to impoverish yourself in your giving. Following a 10% rule of giving, with 5% going to the Church proper and 5% going to God’s people, or a charity of choice is one way of following the tithing principle that is very much in keeping with Church teaching.
I did not use envelopes until a pastor suggested that allowing the tax exemption the envelopes provide makes it possible to give more, rather than handing it to the government. He also suggested placing whatever your hourly wage might be into the collection box. This worked quite well since an hourly wage for a person employed full time approximates 5%.
St. Paul in his writings, says not to impoverish yourself in your giving. Following a 10% rule of giving, with 5% going to the Church proper and 5% going to God’s people, or a charity of choice is one way of following the tithing principle that is very much in keeping with Church teaching.
I did not use envelopes until a pastor suggested that allowing the tax exemption the envelopes provide makes it possible to give more, rather than handing it to the government. He also suggested placing whatever your hourly wage might be into the collection box. This worked quite well since an hourly wage for a person employed full time approximates 5%.
M
marymagdalene
Guest
The Lord can never be outdone in generosity and I heard from a lot of people who gave tithe the blessings, temporal or spiritual, they received from tithing. The Catholic Church does not impose the giving of tithe, but I personally believe that giving tithe is putting God first, and giving to Him back at least 10% of what we received from Him is not too much to ask. Tithing helps us to trust and depend on God’s provision and frees us to our attachment to money and possessions.
J
jslup5
Guest
Remember also if you are unable to give financially, then you can give of your time and talent. Now-a-days, that is just as important if you ask me! Many parishes struggle with finding volunteers for ministries.
K
kimset_sue
Guest
As a Protestant I have often wondered why my Catholic Fiance and his family felt they only had to pay a little and not the 10% that I have grown up with. I asked his Mom one day and she pointed out the scripture that says pay what you can (or some thing like that, my memory is not great). And I understood why. However, I am in the group that says if I can afford to go to the movies, buy the foods that I like instead of the ones that require more prep and time to cook (like Whole Fryer Chicken instead of just the Boneless Skinless Breast I like) then I have to be able to give God at least 10%. And I always round up and pay off my Gross because I feel that God gets the best and the First not the Tax people.
- Status