Should I tithe?

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I’d like to get some feedback from people who tithe. I feel that the Lord is calling me to donate more to Church and I’ve heard a lot of people say that they pratice tithing, even when they barely have enough to get by. I’m really intrigued with the idea and I want to show that I have that kind of faith. Jesus is constantly telling us to not worry about material possessions, but to focus on the Kingdom and everything we need (on earth) will be provided.

My wife and I just took out a home equity loan to pay off all our credit card debt. We have really cut back on our spending, but we still live from paycheck to paycheck. We don’t take vacations or buy many things. However, we have two young children and there are expenses for clothes, doctor’s visits, etc.

Wouldn’t be irresponsible for me to give more money to the Church if it would cause us to start running up our credit card balances? I’d really like to get feedback from anyone else who has been in this situation.

God Bless,
Gary
 
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gez722:
I’d like to get some feedback from people who tithe. I feel that the Lord is calling me to donate more to Church and I’ve heard a lot of people say that they pratice tithing, even when they barely have enough to get by. I’m really intrigued with the idea and I want to show that I have that kind of faith. Jesus is constantly telling us to not worry about material possessions, but to focus on the Kingdom and everything we need (on earth) will be provided.

My wife and I just took out a home equity loan to pay off all our credit card debt. We have really cut back on our spending, but we still live from paycheck to paycheck. We don’t take vacations or buy many things. However, we have two young children and there are expenses for clothes, doctor’s visits, etc.

Wouldn’t be irresponsible for me to give more money to the Church if it would cause us to start running up our credit card balances? I’d really like to get feedback from anyone else who has been in this situation.

God Bless,
Gary
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We in the Confraternity of Penitents are expected to tithe. However, we are FIRST required to pay off our debts. If I were advising you, I would say, try to give 20% of every paycheck to paying off your debts – or better yet, get into a debt management program that could help you reduce your debt.

Give a fixed amount to the Church each week – an amount that will challenge you without causing you stress. Make a pledge to the parish, and take offering envelopes just to emphasize your commitment.

Remember D-E-B-T is a four-letter word!
 
Hello Gary,

A friend once asked me if I thought it was ok for him to buy his wife a sporty new BMW because she deserved it. I asked him if he was caught up on his tithe?

I think you are on the right track. Jesus describes giving alms to the poor as storing up treasure in heaven. Still there are obligatory nessessities that one must supply to one’s family. The real problem, as I see it, is when one spends on himself beyond his basic needs before he has fulfilled his tithe to God.

Even when faced with rising credit card balances, we have never been hurt by donating to the poor. We, and those around us, have seen the gifts rain down from heaven through putting God first. I would suggest that you might try donating an extra couple thousand in face of rising credit card balances and see what happens. I would suggest that you not do so to the point where it will send you into bankruptcy. You may be supprized at how things work out when taking a leap of faith.

NAB LUK 12:31

“Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides. Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”(TOB 4:7)
 
On my weekly envelopes there is a little saying added…“give in proportion as the Lord has given you”
~ Kathy ~
 
Thanks to all of you for your insightful replies. My main concern is that I want to avoid spending money on myself instead of giving it to charitable causes. I am convinced that my wife and I are not spending an excessive amount on material goods. We have just about eliminated take out meals, buying lunches, CDs, DVDs, etc. I will continue to ask the Holy Spirit for assistance on this matter. As I matter of fact, I am now praying every day for an increase in the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit (especially the gift of wisdom which allows us to detach ourselves from perishable goods and desire those things which lead to eternal life).

God Bless You All,
Gary
 
When I first heard a sermon on tithing Father quoted from the Bible that God said: “Try Me.” So I did and I have been doing it ever since.

I have never lacked for any anything. The best thing it does is it puts material things in their proper place. If we give God what’s left over we miss the whole point of stewardship. God was pleased with Abel’s offering because it was the first fruits. Those who don’t tithe miss out on many blessings. As He said: “Try Me.”

F.Y.I. Catholic Answers has a program on managing finances you might find helpful.
 
the purpose of tithing is not to assign a certain percentage of your budget to support of the Church and Christian charity, it is to put yourself and your family in right relationship with money and created things, in terms of your relationship with God. In other words, it is a discipline whose aim is achieving purity of heart and poverty of spirit. the idea is that by pledging a reasonable donation of your money, earnings, time, talent and abilities, as first fruits in an offering of Thanksgiving, you acknowledge that these are all gifts to you from the Creator, none of which you deserve or gained by your own efforts. Once you place these gifts in their proper place in relation to the duty you owe to God, every other aspect of your life falls into place.

yes, everyone should tithe in the sense that they should set aside from their resources a certain sum of money and length of time to serve God’s Church and His people. Preferably this should be enough to “hurt”, given out of your need not your abundance, but not enough to damage your duty to family and other obligations. The biblical 10 percent is not enjoined on Catholics, but the actual amount should be decided by husband and wife together, paid before any other obligation in a spirit of thankfulness and acknowledgement that we are only stewards, not owners of the many gifts God has given us.

someone who fails to pay their bills or feed their family because they are tithing too much is failing in their stewardship of treasure, just as someone who spends hours at Church in various ministries while neglecting home and family is failing in stewardship of time.
 
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