What is your view on giving, tithing, etc.?

[Aleta]

Unfortunately, there are those that do take advantage but that ifs between them and God. When I give I do so because it is between God and me. I'm only responsible for doing my part. They will have to deal with their own conscience and God if they abuse the funds intrusted to them. Of course, a church needs good accountability and it's better if they have an outsider auditing their books.

Churches have alot of overhead. They have to pay for their place of worship. The airconditioning has to be paid. There is alot of maintenance and they have to follow safety guidelines just like every other business does. They often have playground equiptment for children and activities for teenagers. They pay for buses to pick up kids to take them to church. The ones cleaning the church get paid a salary as does the maintenance person and the ones caring for the outside grounds.

They pretty much have to pay for the same items that all of us pay for. They also help people in need in the church and surrounding areas and also have soup kitchens.

Yes, it's true that some have lived above what most consider extravagant but you only hear about those not the ones who live modestly as the OP says. My brother is a pastor and believe me, he lives very modestly.

[sweeps]

Wow, that never ceases to amaze me.

[PrincessPerky]

We give not only to the church but to several other charities.

We can see the church books, and while I do not always agree with everything they spend on (buying more supplies when they have many just in a jumble from three years of VBS...) I do feel that they try to spend more of it on missionary work, and outreach.

In fact I belong to a church that doesn't fund raise. Not that they never want money (we now worship in a gym, because the sanctuary is too small for us, by a LOT.) But they do not offer you a trinket in return for cash, nor do they ask you to sell said trinkets to friends and neighbors.

There are churches who abuse the money and I do find it a shame, I wish I could stop it, but I can't. I can only control where I send my money to and teach my children.

[JimInOK]

I wonder don't those who give to organized religion where all the money goes? Or do you get to see your church's books?

I can only speak for the Baptist Church, but yes, those in local Baptist churches are given every opportunity to see just what the church's finances are and where the money is going. There is a monthly business meeting, generally replacing one Wednesday night service. Copies of the financial statements, including check registers, are available for everyone who attends and are placed in the foyer for anyone who did not attend the service to later pick up.

Our pastor does not handle the church's finances. That is handled by the deacons after being brought to a vote by the membership. The deacons are elected by the church body and come from the church body. The deacons are regular people, just like those in our local C of C. Even such mundane things as who is going to handle the janitorial duties and how much we will compensate them comes before the church body.

I believe too many people on here are confusing televangelists and radio evangilists (many of whom are actually very reputable) with the way local church finances are handled.

Those who maintain such a high level of cynicism about giving to the church should get more involved in a local church and learn for themselves just how these things are handled before criticizing them. It just bristles me to see somebody liken the leaders of these bodies to the Jim Bakker's of the world. Get to know some of them yourself, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[maat55]

I think people should give faithfully, but not blindly. Church members are responsible for making sure the elders are not missusing the tithe.

[ActYourWage]

I can only speak for the Baptist Church, but yes, those in local Baptist churches are given every opportunity to see just what the church's finances are and where the money is going. There is a monthly business meeting, generally replacing one Wednesday night service. Copies of the financial statements, including check registers, are available for everyone who attends and are placed in the foyer for anyone who did not attend the service to later pick up.

Our pastor does not handle the church's finances. That is handled by the deacons after being brought to a vote by the membership. The deacons are elected by the church body and come from the church body. The deacons are regular people, just like those in our local C of C. Even such mundane things as who is going to handle the janitorial duties and how much we will compensate them comes before the church body.

I believe too many people on here are confusing televangelists and radio evangilists (many of whom are actually very reputable) with the way local church finances are handled.

Those who maintain such a high level of cynicism about giving to the church should get more involved in a local church and learn for themselves just how these things are handled before criticizing them. It just bristles me to see somebody liken the leaders of these bodies to the Jim Bakker's of the world. Get to know some of them yourself, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Nice post. I Agree.

[Gruntina]

Some people like to follow the DR plan on getting out of debts and investing while others like to follow Buffet or various well known financial speakers.

I chose to follow God's way! What I mean by that is that I have faith in the bible and there are so many lessons, stories, guidelines and etc relating to finances with savings, investing and debts.

It was a choice that was given to me and one that I gladly accept. I made this life decision by reading the bible with prayers and what my gut feeling is leading me. I do not do it because someone told me that I had to.

I tithe 10%, I put 10% in retirement (this percent is not including my company match) and I put 10% in savings. So far it is working out for me. I have no debts except for the mortgage and a small auto loan. I have nothing to lose and truly feel my life is filled with abundance in many ways.

But common sense and best judgment is asked of us. If you have massive debts, they need to be paid off. If you had a choice between bring tithe to church and feeding your children, you feed your children. It’s not a black and white thing but by doing what is right for each circumstance. There are times I ignore the warning signs and let my temptation get the best of me(I am just human after all). I just have to dust myself off and try again.

[disneysteve]

I tithe 10%, I put 10% in retirement (this percent is not including my company match) and I put 10% in savings. So far it is working out for me.

I think that's a great plan. You are saving 20% of your income, which should have you well set for your future. You are living far below your means. And you are giving back. Sounds good to me.

If you had a choice between bring tithe to church and feeding your children, you feed your children.

This is where I run into issues with tithing. Lots of people don't follow your reasoning. I have had patients tell me they can't afford their medication because after paying their bills and tithing, there is nothing left. Sorry, but if you can't afford something as important as your own medication, you need to reduce your charitable giving.

[cschin4]

I also think giving involves more than money. It might mean baking brownies for the church picnic. It might mean volunteering to help paint the local homeless shelter. It might mean answering the phone during the annual fund drive. Time is just as valuable as money. Charities need both dollars and manpower to function effectively

We should do the former without neglecting the latter.

[maat55]

I think that's a great plan. You are saving 20% of your income, which should have you well set for your future. You are living far below your means. And you are giving back. Sounds good to me.

This is where I run into issues with tithing. Lots of people don't follow your reasoning. I have had patients tell me they can't afford their medication because after paying their bills and tithing, there is nothing left. Sorry, but if you can't afford something as important as your own medication, you need to reduce your charitable giving.

The problem many people make is when they set their budget. They buy their house and cars and stuff first, then decide to start saving and tithing, when they should have bought their stuff based on 80 or 70 or 90%. As Gruntina has illustrated, she lives on 70% of her income. Some are trying to squeeze 20% out of 10%.

Unfortunatly, many people just do not plan ahead, thus they struggle to meet too many goals, with too little money. All the while, after realizing this later, they are to lazy and selfish to give up their things, for a better plan.

[Gruntina]

[QUOTE=maat55;179349]The problem many people make is when they set their budget. They buy their house and cars and stuff first, then decide to start saving and tithing

QUOTE]

Faith is a funny thing on timing. Some people are not believers until later in life after they have accumulated debts and so on. The debts still need to be worked out because it is a consequence of our actions. For those who racked up credit cards after believing were warned beforehand and they still made the choice to put themselves in dangerous water and still have to face the consequences as well. (People are people)

There are believers that still do put their own self interest first before God but it is their choice how they want to do things. I believe God is just seeing how we handle things and watch what is important to us being revealed.

Tithe is just a tiny bit of going by the financial ways for believers. There is a lot more to it than that and unfortunately some believers think it is okay just to give money to the church and do nothing else as a service. They do not want to put in time and effort and just go back to their ways when the church service is over.

I guess my point is that so many different people have different thoughts and priority on Tithing. It is not Tithing itself that makes it bad or good, it is the judgment and action on how people do it that either misuse it or do it wisely..

[Aleta]

Gruntia: Do you base your %;s on your gross or net take home pay?

[maat55]

It seems that what normally happens ( and I'm guilty of this in my past also)is that people live on the edge, paycheck to paycheck, then later find that what they are doing isn't working.

Say, they find that they should start saving, investing and tithing. But they are living on 100% of their income. So what do they do? IMO, they should do whatever it takes to live on the 90% or 80% that they think they should be living on. This may mean selling your home and cars and cutting many other expenses to get there, but many of them decide not to change. My brother is one of those, he has filed BK twice and is still living in debt, paycheck to paycheck.

He is not willing to give up his ciggerettes or motorcycle etc. My point is, that even when people know they should do something different, they don't, because stuff is more important to them than financial security.

[Gruntina]

Gruntia: Do you base your %;s on your gross or net take home pay?

I base my %'s on my gross. On the 401(k) I have half in Roth 401(k) and half in the regular 401(k) since both are offered by my Company's plan but it is figured out by the percentage I contribute and not by dollar amount.

[Gruntina]

I base my %'s on my gross. On the 401(k) I have half in Roth 401(k) and half in the regular 401(k) since both are offered by my Company's plan but it is figured out by the percentage I contribute and not by dollar amount.

I forgot to add, I do things based on Gross because I am always going to have to live with taxes. This just makes things easier for me on planning my budget. Even my take home taxes will go to other kinds of taxes like sales taxes which is 8.25% at the moment.

Another thing is that my health insurances and FSA accounts are pretax as well and they are included on my budget.