Getting Good With MoneyНамуна

I was raised in a church where we were taught to always pray first before giving. I didn’t grow up with the strict belief that I must give exactly 10 percent of my income, and I know that my fellow Christians may disagree with this. However, I have always held to the belief that I need to live and give in accordance to how and where God calls me. 

My husband, Pat, was an atheist when I married him, and he was completely against tithing. Now he’s a baptized Christian, and even though he still struggles with the idea of giving money to a church, we give to ours. But while we were on the debt-free journey, Pat was not a fan of tithing. He believed that we needed to free ourselves from the chains of debt quickly, and then discuss tithing. Honestly, this whole debate caused so much friction in our marriage. I was angry about it and took the whole thing to God in prayer. Through prayer, I understood very well that God wanted me to let go of giving to the church, and instead put a prayer request in the offering basket.

I share this with you because, if you find yourself in a situation where either you simply do not have any money to give to your church—10 percent or not—or you’re struggling with this idea, I want to encourage you to pray about it. I can’t tell you what you should or should not be giving to your church; only God can.

I know that this may make me seem like a heathen to some because I’m not pushing that tithing is a must. But the reality is, I am not God and I cannot tell you what you should do with his money. Jesus warns us in Matthew 23:23 against focusing too much on the rules of tithing without paying attention to the more important things like faithfulness, mercy, and justice. Even if you dutifully give 10 percent of your gross income to your church, I would still encourage you to take your offering to the Lord in prayer. You may be surprised by what he asks of you.

Prayer

Father, Please help me be a good steward of all the blessings you’ve bestowed on me, and please help me know how you would like me to use the money you’ve given me. Amen.