Tithing 10% of your income good or bad?

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Where, in the scripture posted by the OP , is tithing or giving mentioned? Sorry for my confusion, but I don’t see the scripture. What scripture is this about? Sorry…🤷
 
Individuals in the earlierst Church actuall gave everything to the Church. They retained no property for themselves but held everything in common.

All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need.(Acts 2:44-45)

We are to do the same.

While I’m not so niave to think that everyone is called to sell everything and lay it at the feet of the parish pastor, and before someone accuses me of being a communist, this is exactly how we are to think of our property. It is not ours, but belongs to everyone. If a neighbor is in need and we have, we are to give - period.

To answer the Chucks’ original question, Oaths in the Catholic Church are administered by the Catholic Church. There is no oath on tithing. Signing a covenant to tithe is not what Jesus taught. Tithing is good, but it is just the beginning of God teaching us to be givers instead of hoarders. We trust the Church even if we don’t agree with everything.

As Jaypeeto4 stated, tithing is, stricly speaking, a command of the Mosaic law under the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant is not binding on Catholics. We live under the New Covenant. The New Covenant actually raises the bar and tells us that we are pilgrims on earth. Nothing is ours. If our neighbor is in need, we give - period. Tithing is good, but just the beginning.

-Tim-
 
Domine, ad quem ibimus? Verba vitae aeternae habes. Et nos credimus, et cognivimus, quia tu es Christus Filius Dei."
Could you translate this to English please. I recognize some Latin words but cannot translate it enough to make sense out of it. Thank you.

David
 
Could you translate this to English please. I recognize some Latin words but cannot translate it enough to make sense out of it. Thank you.

David
John 6:68-69 "Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” NAB version
 
All of the money that I have to give goes to my mom and sister, who are destitute and always, always need the help, usually simply to eat. For my tithe, I cantor the Saturday Mass at my parish for free. The rehearsals during the weekend and the commute to-and-from take up most of the weekend free time and a good deal of my gas, but that is what God expects of me, and that’s a-ok by me.

I say, if you can tithe 10% or more, great. But if you can’t, there are always, always other ways to serve and thus donate to the livelihood of your parish. Our priests and the rest of the Body of Christ need us, in whatever way God has decided is best for each.
 
**this is exactly how we are to think of our property. It is not ours, but belongs to everyone. If a neighbor is in need and we have, we are to give - period. **

Hi Tim !!! Thanks for your wonderful post.

I would caution, a little, the first part of this statement above, because it goes BEYOND church teaching. People DO have a right to their private properrty, and it does not belong to everyone. The giving of everything in the early church was voluntary, out of a superabundance of the charity of the Holy Spirit evident in the earliest days of the church, PLUS the fact that most church members were poor in those very early days, which made that holding-everything-in-common a necessary duty of charity in most cases.

However, even though we do have a right to our private property
(( otherwise it would not be against any laws at all, Divine or Human,
for burglars to break into
your home and steal your furniture, your tv, your radio, your computer, your
china and flatware, it would not be wrong or theft at all, because it “belongs
to everyone,” and therefore, ipso facto, there would be no such thing as immoral
stealing because, if it rightly belongs to you, and you are a member individually
ot the “everyone” to whom everything belongs, then it therefore, ipso facto,
CANNOT be a sin, under any circumstances, since it belongs to everyone,
for anyone to steal it. We have to be cautious with how we word things.
None of us who advocate sacrificial giving would advocate the condoning
of Grand Theft and Burglary, which we would logically have to condone,
if everything we work for and own truly “belongs to everyone.” )).

What is wrong, in any age, is to live in the lap of luxury while many people are in very great need. That is not a guilt trip. I am not advocating that the American people give up everything they have worked so hard for because there is starvation in Haiti. That starvation is not our fault, as working private citizens. But we do have to help out, there and first, our starving or needy brothers and sisters in our own land first (charity begins at home, if we are all starving, then we cannot help others who are starving. That’s why it is not wrong to pray for Financial Blessings from God so that you CAN give to the church, the poor, and other good causes. But. There is such a thing as giving too much, giving to the point where you are now starving yourself, and therefore can no longer be of any USE to anyone else. **Shared Poverty ** is not the answer, either. Shared Poverty just ensures that EVERYBODY starves. Look at Castro’s Cuba as proof of this. Havana was once the most beautiful city, after Buenos Aires, in all of Latin America, before Castro came to power. Today, the entire city, from one end to the other, is a filthy, falling apart, dilapidated DUMP. It was evil beyond belief for that man, Castro, to do that to that city and that country and make all the people dirt poor, as he has done. Now EVERYONE in Cuba is dirt poor, Nobody can help anybody else with any lasting effect, and all depend solely on the government dole for their subsistence, and their lives are, believe me, barely Subsistence lives. Don’t be deceived by the fat people living there that you see on tv, there nutritional needs are not being met. Those who lived under this regime told me how this happens: Nearly all food is severely rationed, with two exceptions, cheap, cheap, cheap white (nutrionally-depleted but calorie rich) bread,
and Ice Cream, at ice cream stores like Coppelia, where people can gorge on these fattening snacks. But meats, good vegetables, quality grains, these are nearly nonexistent and severely rationed. You get a bar of soap PER MONTH (in that hot humid country). A pair of shoes better last you a year or two or more, or else.
No, Shared Poverty is not the answer. And by the way, the Communist Party operatives in Cuba, including Castro and Raul his brother, live like Kings in the lap of luxury themselves, so their much vaunted communist so-called “Equality” is a brazen, disgusting lie, and this is true of ALL communist regimes that have ever existed.

But charitable, sacrificial giving IS the answer, as you rightly point out in your excellent post.
The Church does teach that we should not, indeed must not, live excessively, must be charitable to a sacrificial degree, and that while we DO have a right to private property, it is not absolute. It is Not absolute. But the church does not go so far as to assert that what we own and have worked for in fact belongs to everyone else. That would be taking it way too far. Yet, paradoxically and correctly, everything and everyone, is inter-related, so that our right to our private property, whether tangible or financial assets, is not absolute, and we do have to share, especially with those less, and much less, fortunate.
This is where I part company with some (not all) fellow Conservatives. Some feel that they are only obliged by God to give what they “feel like” voluntarily giving (that is false), and only obliged, even if they are wealthy, to pay their workers what “the market” requires, as little as they feel like paying, or as little as the government will allow them to get away with paying. That too, is false. The church teaches that a worker (even those without college degrees) have a right to a Living (not subsistence) Wage for their Labor.
There are many variables here. A tiny company cannot pay it’s workers large salaries, it is not possible, it would destroy the company. But they cannot pay a full-time worker less than it takes to meet legitimate needs.
Thank you, Tim, for your wonderful post.
 
Two (what I believe to be) useful quotes that are not contradictory when charitably interpreted:

“Never measure your generosity by what you give, but rather by what you have left.” - Archbishop Fulton Sheen

“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” - Mother Teresa
 
Hi Lochias,
your post was terrific, too.
Yes, there are other ways to tithe/give to the Lord and others, other than financial gifts.
You have to feed your family with your money. God knows that (( and it is perfectly lawful and good for you to pray to Him and beg Him for financial help and blessings so that you can do even more, for them and for the church. Believe me, and you know this just by looking around, that there are many people who ARE financially-blessed with abundance, who are living high on the hog, and not doing one darned thing for the Lord, his church, the prolife movement, the pro-family movement, for the poor and needy, or for anyone, frankly, but themselves, but want it widely known, for example, if (though they are well off) they give $100 in any given year to “save the rainforest” or something, but even that they don’t miss (( if they are well off and give a big gift, that’s nice, but proportionately, it’s usually about as sacrificial and missed-by-them, as it would be for you if you dropped a quarter out of your pocket once or twice a month. We’re talking
PROPORTIONALITY here. God expects us to give sacrificially, proportionate to our income and ability. If a person making $35,000 a year or less, gives $1000 to the parish church annually, while a person making $250,000 a year gives $2000 annually to the parish church, he is giving twice as many dollars as the poorer person, but proportionately, is giving fifteen times LESS than the person making $35,000 a year, and please, though the President of the USA does plan to significantly raise their income taxes (if congress lets him get away with it), even that would not justify giving ten to fifteen times less, to the church and to the needy, than the person making only $35,000 a year or less. Remember the principle Jesus enunciated, and he meant it, every word
of it: From him to whom much has been given, MUCH will be REQUIRED (not asked for as a voluntary, “if-I-feel-like-voluntarily-giving-it” thing, but a requirement).

Now, some will object, that Saint Paul said not to give under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. True enough!! But some take that to mean that if they are a tightwad and don’t like giving and want to have an enormous bank account and portfolio way beyond what they and their heirs truly need to live basically nicely (as distinct from living high on the hog in great and excessive luxury), that that is just fine with God. That is not true.
God cannot stand tightwads. Tightwads are stingy. God is not stingy. Again, look for a while at a REALISTIC, bloody, sickeningly horrifying crucifix to begin to understand just how GENEROUS God, the Holy Trinity, actually IS. I cannot pretend for a MOMENT that I would willingly allow myself to be brutally murdered like Jesus the Godman was, like that, and tortured first to boot, to save the lives and souls of billions of often very nasty people. Yet Jesus did that not only to pay for the faults of the good-by-comparison people, but for the bad sinners like me and even the evil-to-the-core sinners like King Manasseh was, or like Bernie Madoff, like even Ted Bundy and Jeffery Dahmer and even, had he repented, monsters like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin and even - perish the thought!!! - Pol Pot. God is Generous. Jesus the Godman’s horrific torture, beating, crowning with thorns and death on the cross in the most brutal manner imaginable, when he was INNOCENT, had no moral obligation to do it for us (owes us nothing), and in fact had the moral right to not forgive one single sin or crime ever committed on this earth, as he is God and INFINITELY above us in majesty, glory and dignity, and he submitted to THAT horror, on purpose, deliberately, for US. And we (and many of us sometimes do) gripe about being asked to donate to the church? to the poor? to give more to help the needy? to pay our employees a decent wage, even if it means we earn 1,000,000 dollars less in profit, earning 10,000,000 instead of 11,000,000? It’s still PROFIT.
yes, this economy is really bad right now, but many, many, in fact most, Americans are STILL living quite well, and many are living very luxuriously, and giving the church
less than a buck a week, and next to nothing to support the needy and righteous social causes (( the average gift, when you break it down, to the National Right To Life Committee, from the average proLifer, and there are over 60,000,000 American Christians who profess to be proLife )) is less than 3 cents a YEAR. If each of the sixty million each sent annually a BUCK, one measly BUCK, to the NRLC, it would take in nearly 3 TIMES what it takes in now, and could blow the proAbortion forces out of the water in each and every election without exception.

But back to tithing to the church. For those of us who can’t tithe financially, and I can’t right now, give what you can (even if it hurts a little, that having it hurt a little has merit before God, united to Christ) and then support the church and the poor non-financially as well, as you, friend, are doing. You can give financially OR give “in kind” , or give BOTH ways if our financial resources are lacking. And ALWAYS ask God for the financial means to do MORE. Because, as I noted, tens of millions do have the means that you DON’T have, and they aren’t using them at all for the Lord’s work and for the needy and good causes. You, and I, and many thousands of others, WILL.
God love you.
Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
 
I think that 10% is just a number that could make sense for some people but not for others. We are to give financially until it hurts and then a little bit more. We must also remember that we are not going to heaven just by writing a check even if it hurts. We must also devote our time and talents and not according to what feels good but to what is good.

Last night I had a very interesting conversation with my son. He is planning to teach catechism with me starting next year and he knows all of my thoughts and reservations in regard to the program in our parish. He made it quite clear to me that even if things will not go my way I still have an obligation to do my best given the circumstances and I cannot stop teaching because I have already been told that I am needed at a specific time for a specific day of the week.

I was a fool thinking that the head of the family was the spiritual guide of the family. Now I have a 16 year old telling me how to use my time and talents. Now if I can hold a few more years until we ship him to seminary, then I will have only to answer to my wife. 😃
The Rule of St Benedict states that when the monks meet in council to decide some important business, the young should be heard for God sometimes uses the young to transmit his message. 🙂
 
The Rule of St Benedict states that when the monks meet in council to decide some important business, the young should be heard for God sometimes uses the young to transmit his message. 🙂
I agree, God has spoken through my son more than once in my life. I tend to be quite attentive now. 🙂
 
Thanks for responses guys but aside from all that is it right to tithe and what does god say ? What does the verse mean in my op ? Some say that it is a misreading of the Bible, a practice created by man, not God. They say they should be free to donate whatever amount they choose . Should you be obligated to give a tithe at all what are the pros and cons ?
Charity is not simply giving money according to the formula, but a committal and gift of the whole heart.
Charity is not an option for a Christian, it is the call.
Charity is not the world’s definition of charity, where we throw a bone to others and satisfy a requirment. it requires we get our hands dirty.
Charity should hurt, according to Mother Theresa, who should know.
Charity is a giving not only of treasure but time and talent, which does not excuse neglect in any area (my favorite excuse is that I give a lot of time, so the cash is optional for me. I’m still working on that one).
I have friends who tell me to give and God will provide what we need. But I still want a formula, so I can satisfy it, and avoid making that radical committment Christ requires of us.
 
I came across this a want to know what you think ?
Churches sometimes engage in questionable practices.* To attend a Church participants are frequently being encouraged to become members by attending “membership classes”.* In these classes you are frequently asked (although usually not obligated) at the end to sign a covenant to the church and/or to God.* This covenant usually includes a number of provisions and usually a commitment to tithe.* The bible teaches that if you bind yourself to such a commitment you will be held to it by God.* Therefore do not enter into such agreements.* Jesus said, "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” * Matthew 5:33-37.* * Learn to take the good and leave the bad or is it a good or bad practice ? What I you don’t want to thithe or can’t afford it however I mean if the moneys helps the poor and stuff it might be good for 10% of your income to help other ? What do you think ?
I believe one should support their local parish with an amount they can afford. Remember time and talents also counts.
 
My wife and I Tithe, but it goes to the Protestsnt Church where she has been employed for the past 16 years. I think that we should payoff our credit cards first and then tithe, but Protestants believe that we should give 10% off the top before taxes. I give $20 per week to my Parish out of my Social Security which is about 4%
 
Hi Lochias,
your post was terrific, too.
Yes, there are other ways to tithe/give to the Lord and others, other than financial gifts.
You have to feed your family with your money. God knows that (( and it is perfectly lawful and good for you to pray to Him and beg Him for financial help and blessings so that you can do even more, for them and for the church. Believe me, and you know this just by looking around, that there are many people who ARE financially-blessed with abundance, who are living high on the hog, and not doing one darned thing for the Lord, his church, the prolife movement, the pro-family movement, for the poor and needy, or for anyone, frankly, but themselves, but want it widely known, for example, if (though they are well off) they give $100 in any given year to “save the rainforest” or something, but even that they don’t miss (( if they are well off and give a big gift, that’s nice, but proportionately, it’s usually about as sacrificial and missed-by-them, as it would be for you if you dropped a quarter out of your pocket once or twice a month. We’re talking
PROPORTIONALITY here. God expects us to give sacrificially, proportionate to our income and ability. If a person making $35,000 a year or less, gives $1000 to the parish church annually, while a person making $250,000 a year gives $2000 annually to the parish church, he is giving twice as many dollars as the poorer person, but proportionately, is giving fifteen times LESS than the person making $35,000 a year, and please, though the President of the USA does plan to significantly raise their income taxes (if congress lets him get away with it), even that would not justify giving ten to fifteen times less, to the church and to the needy, than the person making only $35,000 a year or less. Remember the principle Jesus enunciated, and he meant it, every word
of it: From him to whom much has been given, MUCH will be REQUIRED (not asked for as a voluntary, “if-I-feel-like-voluntarily-giving-it” thing, but a requirement).

Now, some will object, that Saint Paul said not to give under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. True enough!! But some take that to mean that if they are a tightwad and don’t like giving and want to have an enormous bank account and portfolio way beyond what they and their heirs truly need to live basically nicely (as distinct from living high on the hog in great and excessive luxury), that that is just fine with God. That is not true.
God cannot stand tightwads. Tightwads are stingy. God is not stingy. Again, look for a while at a REALISTIC, bloody, sickeningly horrifying crucifix to begin to understand just how GENEROUS God, the Holy Trinity, actually IS. I cannot pretend for a MOMENT that I would willingly allow myself to be brutally murdered like Jesus the Godman was, like that, and tortured first to boot, to save the lives and souls of billions of often very nasty people. Yet Jesus did that not only to pay for the faults of the good-by-comparison people, but for the bad sinners like me and even the evil-to-the-core sinners like King Manasseh was, or like Bernie Madoff, like even Ted Bundy and Jeffery Dahmer and even, had he repented, monsters like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin and even - perish the thought!!! - Pol Pot. God is Generous. Jesus the Godman’s horrific torture, beating, crowning with thorns and death on the cross in the most brutal manner imaginable, when he was INNOCENT, had no moral obligation to do it for us (owes us nothing), and in fact had the moral right to not forgive one single sin or crime ever committed on this earth, as he is God and INFINITELY above us in majesty, glory and dignity, and he submitted to THAT horror, on purpose, deliberately, for US. And we (and many of us sometimes do) gripe about being asked to donate to the church? to the poor? to give more to help the needy? to pay our employees a decent wage, even if it means we earn 1,000,000 dollars less in profit, earning 10,000,000 instead of 11,000,000? It’s still PROFIT.
yes, this economy is really bad right now, but many, many, in fact most, Americans are STILL living quite well, and many are living very luxuriously, and giving the church
less than a buck a week, and next to nothing to support the needy and righteous social causes (( the average gift, when you break it down, to the National Right To Life Committee, from the average proLifer, and there are over 60,000,000 American Christians who profess to be proLife )) is less than 3 cents a YEAR. If each of the sixty million each sent annually a BUCK, one measly BUCK, to the NRLC, it would take in nearly 3 TIMES what it takes in now, and could blow the proAbortion forces out of the water in each and every election without exception.

But back to tithing to the church. For those of us who can’t tithe financially, and I can’t right now, give what you can (even if it hurts a little, that having it hurt a little has merit before God, united to Christ) and then support the church and the poor non-financially as well, as you, friend, are doing. You can give financially OR give “in kind” , or give BOTH ways if our financial resources are lacking. And ALWAYS ask God for the financial means to do MORE. Because, as I noted, tens of millions do have the means that you DON’T have, and they aren’t using them at all for the Lord’s work and for the needy and good causes. You, and I, and many thousands of others, WILL.
God love you.
Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
Amen, and thank you. One of the things that I find is a huge blessing and weight off of my heart is knowing that God gave me a talent that I could use for the betterment of His Church, as well as the funds needed to help my family. I feel like I’m doing something of substance for all involved, and it’s humbling and peaceful at the same time.
 
I just received envelopes from my parish so I can start tithing. Although I never officially tithed before (as an unbaptized Christian who never officially was a member of any church) I always gave money when I had it because I believe in it. Miracles have happened in my life when I didn’t have much money but decided to give part of it back to God. My mother also lives her life by this principle and has also benefited greatly. I plan to start tithing although I may not give the whole 10% to my parish. I belong ot various community service organizations and will probably start counting that towards my 10%. 👍
 
I don’t see the point in signing any agreement such as those mentioned in the OP. I recommend registering with your parish, but that’s enough.

As for tithing, I think, and the Church teaches, that you should give as much as you can. Some have money to burn while others are barely holding their heads above water financially. Ten percent is a good standard, but the exact percentage may vary wildly depending on the person/family in question.
 
I just received envelopes from my parish so I can start tithing. Although I never officially tithed before (as an unbaptized Christian who never officially was a member of any church) I always gave money when I had it because I believe in it. Miracles have happened in my life when I didn’t have much money but decided to give part of it back to God. My mother also lives her life by this principle and has also benefited greatly. I plan to start tithing although I may not give the whole 10% to my parish. I belong ot various community service organizations and will probably start counting that towards my 10%. 👍
I agree with the Protestant practice of Tithing, and expect Miracles. I have found that there are many parallels between praying the Rosary and Tithing. The two work together.
 
My wife and I Tithe, but it goes to the Protestsnt Church where she has been employed for the past 16 years. I think that we should payoff our credit cards first and then tithe, but Protestants believe that we should give 10% off the top before taxes. I give $20 per week to my Parish out of my Social Security which is about 4%/QUOT

If i may add something here. I think tithing is totally misunderstood by most protestant churches today. I did a lot of studying on tithing because the Church i used to attend preached on it a lot. Most Churches today totally misrepresent what tithing is and why it was instituted by God. The reason why, is that they are afraid that people won’t give enough to pay for all the extras they think that they need, and if you ever question why they preach on tithing they think you don’t want to give. If they want to tithe according to the Old Testament then they need to give about 23%, or more, because there were 3 different tithes.

Gerard
 
My question is, how can a person be expected to tithe 10% of their income when they don’t have any income to start with ??
 
My question is, how can a person be expected to tithe 10% of their income when they don’t have any income to start with ??
That’s a moot question. It is more important to ensure that they can cope with day-to-day expenses. Nobody is forced nor coerced into tithing in the Catholic Church, though I cannot speak for other Protestant churches. 🙂
 
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