Tithing and testing God's generosity

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Is it possible to tithe imprudently and go financially bankrupt (or at least south)? At times I’m tempted to tithe more than we are able and yet prudence dictates not too. I know I’ve heard that God will not be outdone in generosity - but I don’t know if this is found in the Bible. What do you make of it? Thank you.
 
I think it is wise both to Tithe and to be prudent. Often people will get caught up in the notion that if we give ll we have God will provide for financial success. It’s the “Health and Wealth” Gospel. God knows our hearts and it is here where it counts. If we give with the expectation of getting, we are in dangerous territory. A friend of mine in prison made the good point that Tithing doesn’t have to be in a monetary sense, much like fasting doesn’t have to always be the sacrifice of eating!
 
This is one of the only areas that God says to test Him. We are to give 10% of first fruits [Gross wages]. To go beyond the tithe is called offerings. Obidience is better than sacrafice.Also try tithing 10%[2.4hrs] of each day in prayer. You want to talk about blessing that you cannot contain. Try it and see what God will do in your life. I guarentee you will not be the same person you are. God Bless. 👍
 
My husband and I tithe 10% and we know from experience over and over Our Lord will not be outdone in generosity. We have tithed that 10% when we had absolutely nothing “extra” to tithe and still we were not disappointed. The 10% is the min. but we stay close to that figure. We have found that the more our income the more difficult it is to tithe. On those occassions when we had sooooo little and “prudence” said no tithing and we did it was actually easier because we had nothing to loose, we were so straped.
 
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MJE:
My husband and I tithe 10% and we know from experience over and over Our Lord will not be outdone in generosity. We have tithed that 10% when we had absolutely nothing “extra” to tithe and still we were not disappointed. The 10% is the min. but we stay close to that figure. We have found that the more our income the more difficult it is to tithe. On those occassions when we had sooooo little and “prudence” said no tithing and we did it was actually easier because we had nothing to loose, we were so straped.
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Yes, Our Lord does what He says. Will we be obidient to His Word? Test Him and see the windows of Heaven open up in your life. 👍
 
Tithing is all right, giving 10% up front and all that. However, that is an OT concept not a NT concept. As Christians all we have is the Lord’s–we are merely stewards of what he has given into our care. Therefore, it is up to each person to decide what and how much he is to give.

Some cannot give money but they can and do give of their time and talent. Others have poor health and little material possessions, but they can give more time to intercessory prayer, and so on.

It is a fine thing to discipline ourselves to give a certain percentage of our finances, but we should be open to giving in other areas, and not judge one another’s generosity of heart based on what we have in the way of material goods (not that I think anyone here would do so–I’m just pointing out that we may not receive material rewards in return for what we give to God).
 
Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. I’m still leaning towards using prudence simply because it is the first cardinal virtue. Remember the maids with oil and some couldn’t share with the foolish ones - prudence won out over charity.

But actually I would love to tithe 10% and actually I tithe 10 % of my tiny salary and we tithe much less on my husband’s since it would be very difficult to make ends meet otherwise (and he doesn’t want to tithe more than already is tithed) - it is already difficult as it is! Thanks again.
 
If you really want a challenge, go read the Gospel account in the Synoptics of the young man who asked Christ what was necessary to obtain eternal life. Tithing he already did…

Don’t get caught up in focusing only on money. You have much you can give to the Church (and the world) in terms of time and effort. Does your parish have any activities which need voluteers? Tithe your time! Much has been said that time is money; and there is more truth to the statement than some want to hear. And if it is not in your parish, how about a soup kitchen? Working with a family violence shelter? Working with AIDS patients. or cancer patients? Visiting those in adult cre facities?

Are you really willing to tithe your time???
 
Thank you very much for your thoughtful response. We are very active in our church.
 
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Happy2bcatholic:
Thank you very much for your thoughtful response. We are very active in our church.
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Excellent.

To answer the first question, I believe that it is possible to tithe imprudently. Supporting the Church is important ( and also part of Canon Law), but interestingly, the Church does not say that tithing (giving 10%) is required.

For those who have more, more may be expected.

However, I think that it is all to easy to move in a direction that may not be spiritually healthy. It is possible to really be “testing God”; not an area I would reccommend.
 
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otm:
Excellent.

To answer the first question, I believe that it is possible to tithe imprudently. Supporting the Church is important ( and also part of Canon Law), but interestingly, the Church does not say that tithing (giving 10%) is required.

For those who have more, more may be expected.

However, I think that it is all to easy to move in a direction that may not be spiritually healthy. It is possible to really be “testing God”; not an area I would reccommend.
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If God tells us to test Him in this area why do you disagree with what God says.? :confused:
 
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