Question about Tithing

[DisneyMomx7]

I'm a Catholic so I really haven't been aware of tithing. I was reading on the budget board about this family that was really having a hard time financially yet the husband insisted that 10% of their gross income come off the top for tithing. I think it was $450 a month.

Do many churches insist on this 10% figure even when the family is having a tough time. It doesn't seem very CHristian like. I was always taught that you give what you can afford to financially and do as much volunteer work as you can. Is it different in the protestant churches.

Really - I'm not looking for flames just trying to understand the differences. I always believed that charity begins at home and you need to take care of your family first. THat's not to say we don't contribute to our church and parish. We do both financially and with tons of volunteer work. I just had a hard time with the so called "demands" of 10% off your gross income.

 

[Mskanga]

I know mine does, they send us the infamous envelopes to do so. I don't agree with it , I give what I can after my family has been taken care of and that will never change.

 

[Miller1412]

I attend a presbyterian church, and the church does not expect us to give, but the Bible says to give the 10% to God first, and other expenses come second. Faith says that give to God, and he will provide for you. My church teaches that tithing is an issue between an individual and God, and never puts pressure on people to do it. It's an issue that DH and I have struggled with, because we feel that we should be giving and we haven't been good about always doing it. It's easy to find excuses not to.

 

[EthansMom]

In the case of the post you are referring to, the OP is LDS. My understanding is that people who are LDS must tithe 10% in order to be considered "members in good standing". If you are not a "member in good standing", there are some formal church events that you are not allowed to attend, including formal wedding services at an LDS Temple.

We don't attend church regularly. I was raised Catholic and DH was raised pseudo-Jahova's Witness (didn't attend services, but was used as an excuse to never purchase the children toys or celebrate any holidays -- weird family). We do occasionally attend Mass and when we do, we make a donation of at least $5 per person.

 

[froglady]

I pledge although my church doesn't require it. As I am a SAHM, I give 10% of what my income would be if I were working. (according to the going, local rate) and pay it in quarterly installments. I do not tithe our total family income, however.

I've been doing it for so long that it really doesn't affect our budget one way or the other. A long time ago a friend mentioned that they tithed, and we asked if they could really afford it. She responded that it seemed like the money just took care of itself, and that has been my experience.

My mother also tithes to her church, and since it is her major social outlet, and the members have been WONDERFUL to her, I fully support it. I send in a yearly check for her (I handle her finances) but still have to remind her that she's already paid, or she would drop more in the collection plate.

 

[mom23boys]

We are Catholic and our Church is a Tithing Church. They request 10% of your gross salary. My children to don attend the school but we pay for them to go to CCD (Religious Education).

I feel 10% is a little steep. We usually give $30 a week and $100 for Easter and Christmas.

I also feel your family needs should come first. Now does this mean I do not give the the Church for a pair of shoes. NO but if we are in need of necessities and I cannot give as much to the Church the we try to make it up when we have it.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I didn't even know of any Catholic churches that did tithing! Yeeks. My kids all go or have graduated from Catholic school - grammar and high school. One ds is in a Catholic university. Our parish only requires that you give $400 a year to the CHurch to qualify for parishoner tuition. In our area parishoner tuition is approximately $3000 per child grammar school and $8000 high school. We do give more than the $400 required but I feel we give much more time volunteering than we do financially. We have three kids in college and three more in Catholic grammar school. Those tuitions are enough to kill us already.

 

[Chris2597]

I work for a church and the priest explained it this way....He said the gold standard for the "tithe" is 10% and that people should be working towards that.....but that it is a part of the Christian journey and the amount you give is where you are at in your journey.....and that is fine....Meaning if you are a young family that is just making end meet maybe your journey is simply getting to church, giving your children the foundation of a Christian environment and teachings and giving a % of your goal tithe.....and each year re-accesing and giving a bit more and possibly someday you would be able to complete that part of the Christian journey of tithing 10%. Does that make sense .

 

[disykat]

I'm confused - your OP said it was the husband that insisted on 10%, not the church. I've never known of a church that told you what to give, but every church I've gone to does occasionally speak about the importance of giving.

 

[Aneille]

I'm confused - your OP said it was the husband that insisted on 10%, not the church. I've never known of a church that told you what to give, but every church I've gone to does occasionally speak about the importance of giving.

According to other posters 10% tithe is required by the LDS church to be a "member in good standing". I am not familar with the details of LDS but Ethansmom post #4 in this thread has said that as well as some others on the orginal thread by the OP.

The issue in the family seems to be the OP wouldn't mind giving less or finding a compromise other than 10% but her husband firmly believes he needs to continue with it and follow his church and stay "a member in good standing".

 

[Chris2597]

10% tithe is the "gold standard" in most churches for giving....There is biblical text about it....I can find it but dont have it off hand....I dont think most churches make a member tithe but hope that everyone will make a commitment by pledging so that the church can plan the years budget.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Our church does not require or ask anyone to give a specific amount or benchmark of giving. The only person who sees the financial records is the financial secretary. Our pastor feels that she shouldn't/doesn't need to know those things. We don't do pledges or anything (except when in a building program but even that's not considered tithe but above and beyond)

When we hit hard times due to my medical issues, I struggled with tithing. We were borrowing from parents to pay deductibles and such. A dear professor of mine encouraged me to not worry about it but do what we could instead - we were giving in time and talents on a regular basis so we cut that out of our budget for the time being and worked back up to a regular tithe as financial things got better. We found peace in that after she pointed out that I was feeling guilt more than anything - and it was guilt that I brought on myself and it wasnt coming from anyplace else.

 

[nwdisgal]

I belonged to a Methodist church, and at our particular church, tithing was optional and based on each person's own comfort level. The church also gave a budget summary to its parishners telling us how the monies were being used - i.e for ministery, new programs, facilities, etc. You could also designate your tithes - i.e if you wanted them to go to capital improvements for the church, etc.

 

[barkley]

i have a dear friend who is LDS and she has advised me in the past that the 10% gross is also an expectation of children who work in any manner (babysitting, part-time job etc.) this is in addition to setting aside the funds necessary to fund thier mission. also, the 10% extends to all forms of income (prize winnings, inheritance, etc.).

interesting-the post regarding a required donation in order to qualify for parishoner's reduced tuition. a local christian school recently announced that in order to qualify for the member's tuition discount the family must attend services a minimum of 12 times per year (and it must be reflected in the church attendance records), no dollar amount-they feel that if you are going to call yourself a member of the church you must actively attend.

 

[motherhen17404]

We lived in Utah for a year and know all about the 10% Tithing. The reason I know about it is that my husband was called into his LDS "Tithing Meeting" and they had a printout of his yearly income and they wanted to know where their 10% was. After my husband stopped laughing he explained to them that we were not LDS. And by the way, how did they get a printout of his income? Well, it seems that the company he worked for was run by a LDS "bishop" and he provides income statements to the church. Not really on the up and up we thought. Then the "bishop" asked if he could come to our home to talk to us about joining the LDS church and we said no thank you. Two weeks later my husband was fired on trumped up charges. So in our eyes the LDS church is a very greedy money hungry company and not a church. Sorry if I offended any LDS, but our experience was not a very positive one.

 

[golfgal]

Our church recognizes that not everyone can afford to give 10% or even 5%. What they ask for is 10% or your time, talent or treasure. Some people have a lot of time to do things for the church and not very much money (like retired people on a fixed income, for example) but they "give" to the church by making all the meals for the funerals or cleaning the church or singing in the choir, etc. As far as I know, the Catholic church as a whole doesn't require tithing.

I also have a couple friends that are LDS and they have also said that their church requires a copy of their tax forms or pay check stub when they join and want yearly updates.

 

[Beastlover]

Our Lutheran church does not expect a certain percentage. Although, once a year it is discussed...because people do have questions about what they "should" be doing.

Funny story about 10% tithing...my DH read in the bible (I think) about tithing. So......one day I look in the checkbook, and there is a check, about 10 times the usual amount. My eyes went "what is this check for $XXX to the church!!!" He laughed nervously and said "it is our tithe to the church...I know, it hurt me to write it" I go...."but $XXX!!!!!" He explained to me what it stated in the bible about tithing, and how this was the one area to test God in. So, he did. 2 weeks later we got a sign bid worth $10,000. Keep in mind, our material + labor was going to be $3,000 for this job. Now, this may not seem like a big deal to most, but our sign shop was just started to supplement my income 6 months ago. My income being a part time secretary at the elementary school district. Do the math...that one job was almost what I made in a year.

Also, we read it to not only be what you are tithing to the church, but can also go to any christian based organization...."God's work". THis is what I have understood it to be. Although, when I give, it isn't just to these specific causes. 2 weeks ago, I gave a large sum to Alzheimers Association in my Mother's name...her estate has been paying out, and I had to do it.

I also agree with the taking care of your family, but what happened to us really made an impact on how I see it, personally.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I guess some do.

The Bible says to tithe 10%...but it also says that the debtor is servant to the lender. So sadly--while that poster is doing what the Bible says...she is also doing what it says not to do.

I'm catholic--our church recommends 10%...and they even tithe themselves on the churches income. However, we don't provide a W-2 for them to verify we are doing what is strongly suggested. It is a personal commitment with God.

In the end, the churches have to pay for what they have and provide. And that costs money. So you are helping to create the community in which you worship.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

i have a dear friend who is LDS and she has advised me in the past that the 10% gross is also an expectation of children who work in any manner (babysitting, part-time job etc.) this is in addition to setting aside the funds necessary to fund thier mission. also, the 10% extends to all forms of income (prize winnings, inheritance, etc.).

interesting-the post regarding a required donation in order to qualify for parishoner's reduced tuition. a local christian school recently announced that in order to qualify for the member's tuition discount the family must attend services a minimum of 12 times per year (and it must be reflected in the church attendance records), no dollar amount-they feel that if you are going to call yourself a member of the church you must actively attend.

Yep--our church uses the envelopes to track attendance as well...must be active and contribute X amount of dollars to qualify for parishioner rate.

Since the church supplements the school....basically a good chunk of that change is going to the school anyway. So you can pay the church or you can pay the school that difference--at a higher rate.

Cheaper to give the money to the parish.

But to attend the school in general--there is no flat out mandatory attendance requirement.

They also have a 20 hour mandatory volunteer requirement per family. You can buy your way out of this one too. Or you can look at it as your manhours are supplementing the operations of the school. If you cannot afford the time...you can just pay the comparable value of this volunteer time.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Well, it seems that the company he worked for was run by a LDS "bishop" and he provides income statements to the church.

What are the privacy laws in Utah?

That just screams violation!