Do you or do you not tithe? Why or why not? Why is it important?

[oldfogey]

I just wrote a long reply that got lost in cyperspace, so I’ll distill it.

Money is not the answer and never was.

When I was young, we never thought of “tithing.” The concept was foreign. We gave cents, quarters, maybe a dollar, and had wonderful awe inspiring chuches, free parochial schools and a strong Catholic culture.

The real difference was families who had faith and fostered vocations. Keep the money. The bare barns we build as churches now don’t need that much upkeep, and the old ones are being disposed of as quick as the bishops can unload them.

Support the Church as best you can, but pray that one of your children will become a religious-that your son will be a priest or brother, or your daughter will enter the religious life.

That is the greatest gift to the Church anyone can make.

 

[Catholic_mommy]

We give, often times I write one check that covers the entire month, easier that way. We don’t give a percentage of our income just a flat amount. I also give a lot of my time to our church, it takes money as well as man hours to make a church keep on going. I do feel it is very important to give financially, we want our church to be cool in the summer and warm in the winter, that doesn’t come for free! I always think, if I don’t give, then why would anyone else? We can’t always assume others will pick up the slack for us, if we want to worship at our church then we need to pay for it! Praying doesn’t cost anything but the facility sure does!

 

[Daniel_Kane]

I tithe 10% to the “Church” into the collection basket. To the penny. You can call it the building fund, St. Vincent de Paul, or Father’s vacation fund, but 10% off the top goes to the basket, every month. We do not give big amounts to second collection charities but we do give a token amount. If father is a bad steward, to me it is so what? I give my money to the Church. If the Church’s officers are irresponsible, that is their problem (and probably sin). I will continue to give and do my best to influence prudent stewardship and frugal decision making.

That is how my wife and I do it. We also support a few other charities outside of the parish here and there but the tithe is the Church’s.

Why?

Two reasons mainly. First, it is a public act of thanksgiving to God and thanksgiving to God is in part, best served with a gift to his Church. My opinion, no references. This is just how I do it. God is a friend of mine and today I can loose much more than my job. In thanksgiving for the blessing of keeping my job and more, I tithe the product of this job (money in this case) to his Church (since sending God a fruitcake or buying him lunch is not a real possibility).

Second, it helps to keep me from being attached to money and the things it buys. When I started to tithe, I had to answer the question why does $50 or $100 bucks a night seem so reasonable at a beach front hotel and so unreasonable in the collection basket? Wrestling that question, it occurred to me that I considered the hotel MORE valuable than the Church; a defect that would be best eradicated and in my case, a sin against the First Commandment.

Thus, I tithe in thanksgiving and as to help moderate my appetites for things and stuff. Tithing is not in a vacuum and is not a substitute for giving time, attending mass, attending to the Sacraments. It is an integrated part of my Catholic life. I know that some (many) can not tithe and their economic life is difficult. I do not want my post to burden you. But everyone would be better served if their financial giving was done first and in a systematic way, not with the left overs.

 

[steve99]

I tithe. It is biblical, and also it is biblical that we tithe from our gross income (not what is left after tax, or after all our other expenses). We give to God from our first fruits, not the left-overs. But I don’t give all my tithe to the Church, but to God’s work, either via the Church or by charities.

Look at it this way. Everything we have is a gift from God. And he lets us keep 90% of it. That’s generous by my reckoning.

If we say we can’t afford it, or we’ll see what we can spare, we are not putting God first, not are we trusting in God to provide for us.

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Mtt 6:31-33)

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” (Lk 6:38)

 

[mastda]

steve99:

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” (Lk 6:38)

Due to my involvement with the Word of Faith Movement who in fact used this above verese to syphon millions of dollars from loyal followers. Hinn, Hagin, Copeland, Dollar, Avanzini etc., are driving in their beautiful cars and lving in their beautiful homes on the tithe of their flocks. I enjoy the positive message of these men but they do abuse thier power and misuse this verse.

Hey, I am all for giving and my family have and continue to be blessed by our giving but it is not the only reason why we give and it is not the only reason why we are blessed. It is one of many ingrediants.

 

[steve99]

mastda:

Due to my involvement with the Word of Faith Movement who in fact used this above verese to syphon millions of dollars from loyal followers. Hinn, Hagin, Copeland, Dollar, Avanzini etc., are driving in their beautiful cars and lving in their beautiful homes on the tithe of their flocks. I enjoy the positive message of these men but they do abuse thier power and misuse this verse.

Hey, I am all for giving and my family have and continue to be blessed by our giving but it is not the only reason why we give and it is not the only reason why we are blessed. It is one of many ingrediants.

I’m not familiar with the organisation and people you mention, but I assume they are purveyors of the so called “prosperity gospel” who say give to ME and God will make you rich. A terrible distortion of the gospel.
I think that when we give we have to ask whose kindom are they building - theirs or Christ’s. We are stewards of all he gives us - that which we use for ourselves, and that which we pass on to others to build his kingdom.

 

[Morning_Glory]

**Yes, I tithe.

I pull 10% off the top of my check, for every paycheck. But since I get paid only bi-monthly, what to do in the week in between? I put in whatever big bill I have in my wallet at the time.

A also volunteer at church, and clean the church weekly. Purchase supplies for cleaning sometimes too. The ladies who work with me always try to reimburse me, but I keep telling them it’s my donation towards the church.

Some of parishoners only tithe during the Christmas Mass, when all of the monies from the envelopes stay with our church (instead of a percentage going the to diocese). Which is a good thought, but ours is an old (and historic) church, and the upkeep is expensive. I would not feel right giving only once a year, knowing how much we need the money for upkeep.

Fortunately, our pastor is very budget conscious and has done well with what is given to the church each week.**]

 

[mercygate]

oldfogey:

I just wrote a long reply that got lost in cyperspace, so I’ll distill it.

Money is not the answer and never was.

When I was young, we never thought of “tithing.” The concept was foreign. We gave cents, quarters, maybe a dollar, and had wonderful awe inspiring chuches, free parochial schools and a strong Catholic culture.

The real difference was families who had faith and fostered vocations. Keep the money. The bare barns we build as churches now don’t need that much upkeep, and the old ones are being disposed of as quick as the bishops can unload them.

Support the Church as best you can, but pray that one of your children will become a religious-that your son will be a priest or brother, or your daughter will enter the religious life.

That is the greatest gift to the Church anyone can make.

Hm. “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” And vice versa.

I’m a cynic. Supporting the church “as best you can” – without guidelines – generally translates into neglecting the church. As I mentioned in my earlier post, our demographic is at the high end of the average U.S. income, and our average giving translates into just over 1%. This testifies to an overall immature and irresponsible attitude toward giving.