« Getting Your Financial House in Order | Main | A Review of “The Coffeehouse Investor” by Bill Schultheis »
Putting Tithe on Automatic
By JLP | May 15, 2006
As Christians, my family tithes to our local church. A tithe represents 10% of our gross income. Most Christians look at tithing as part of God’s plan. In other words, God owns everything. He gives us 90% to live on and uses the 10% for His work at the local level. In fact, I don’t even cosider tithing as “giving.” I’m not a Bible scholar or anything, so this is my opinion.
Anyway, every week our church passes around the collection plate. When the plate comes down my row, I pass it on without putting anything in it. Why? Because I have set up our bank account so that twice a month our tithe is paid directly to the church.
I set it up this way because it is much easier to keep up with. Also, on weeks when we might miss church, our tithe went unpaid and accumulated a balance in our account. If we missed two or three weeks in a row (usually due to sickness), it was easy to get behind on. Putting it on automatic changed all that!
That’s not to say that it doesn’t feel weird to never put anything in the offering plate. I’m sure other people notice. But, you know what, that’s THEIR problem.
How do the rest of you pay your tithe (assuming you tithe)?
Topics: Miscellaneous | 15 Comments »
May 15th, 2006 at 11:19 am
We make a yearly pledge at the beginning of each calendar year and our church sends out envelopes for us to put our checks in each week.
May 15th, 2006 at 11:50 am
We have the option to use an automatic withdrawl method of tithing, but we generally choose to just write the check. It is something that I’ve considered though.
May 15th, 2006 at 12:27 pm
Our are autoamted as well. But we’re going to switch back to paying it by hand next year. I don’t feel tithing should be thoughtless, and that’s how it has become this year.
May 15th, 2006 at 12:28 pm
Wow. I really should have proofread that last comment. Poor grammar and smelling all together.
May 15th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
I return my tithe by check. I just like writing that check to my church. I also give an offering out of a free will – also by check. As John stated, I didn’t want to be removed from it. For me either way is acceptable, as long as your heart motive is right.
Great Blog!!!
May 15th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
We pay by check every week. We used to do it once a month, but felt it was a bad witness to others (if they saw us passing the offering bucket and not putting anything in, maybe they’d think it was ok to put nothing in themselves).
May 15th, 2006 at 1:45 pm
We’ve had automated checks sent from our bank for 5 years now. Our church has attendance cards that everyone fills out, so non-tithers don’t stick out. Since I enter the check into MS Money every other week, I certainly don’t feel disconnected from it.
May 15th, 2006 at 3:31 pm
I dont tithe myself but I do think part of the problem with giving money at church and/or tithing has to do with the actual politics of putting money in the plate or envelope for the world to see how great of a person you are. If your so great do like what you did and have the money automatically hit from your account and stay away from the self-righteousness of needing to show the world how great of a christian you are each sunday.
http://www.welseydjones.com
illmaticwes.blogspot.com
May 15th, 2006 at 5:01 pm
I don’t tithe 10%. I used to when I went to church regularly. I quit going for about 10 years, and I’m tithing a little less than 5%. I’m going to get that back up there.
One thing I’ve thought about. If you tithe 10% of your gross income, how much do you tithe on your 401K when you withdraw it? Technically, you’ve already tithed on the contribution portion (not on the matching or earnings). Any thoughts about that?
May 15th, 2006 at 5:57 pm
FMF – I can see both points of view on this one. On the one hand we aren’t supposed to do our deeds for everyone to see. On the other hand, I can understand what it means to set an example. However, tithing should be between the individual and God and it shouldn’t matter what they see other people doing.
Wes – Thanks for checking out my blog. I agree that people shouldn’t do things for the wrong reasons. If someone notices that I don’t put something in the offering plate and they come to the conclusion that I’m not tithing or not giving, that’s their problem. Why don’t you tithe?
Bunny – Thanks for stopping by. Not to be technical but you aren’t tithing if you are giving less than 10% since the word “tithe” means one-tenth. However, I’m glad to see that you understand the importance of giving back to God.
About retirement: I think you should tithe on the increase since you haven’t tithed on that portion before.
May 15th, 2006 at 8:31 pm
I do a compromise I guess… I write a check online from my bank’s website. This way I do it during my regular bill paying so I don’t miss it, but I also give it some thought when I do it – there is a purposeful process involved. I still wonder though how many people think we don’t tithe when we just pass the bucket along every Sunday!
May 16th, 2006 at 7:04 am
JLP/Wes –
I don’t tithe for the purpose of others to think more of me, but to encourage them to do the same. The Bible says that Christians should “spur one another on towards love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24). To me, this includes prayer, worship, Bible reading and study, giving, and the whole lot of Christian principles.
Of course, we don’t make a show of our giving (why would we do that anyway? who would care?), we simply feel that putting something tangible in every week is a sign and a witness to others as much as demonstrating the other parts of the Christian faith are.
May 16th, 2006 at 9:28 pm
I hate to let the collection plate pass by without putting in something, so typically I will put in a check each Sunday. (I have been known to throw in some extra cash if I have already given my check for the month.) Maybe it’s not financially efficent, but it makes me feel better. We actually support two congregations financially (long story), and so will sometimes mail the check to the church I am not attending that Sunday.
As for the net or gross question, my thought is to tithe 10 percent of your take home pay. That probably most closely approximates the situation in ancient Biblical times when tithing was begun. Then when your IRA or 401k becomes your income stream, then you tithe on that. But tithing to me is more a state of mind and a commitment than a legalistic formula, so net or gross works.
May 19th, 2006 at 9:24 am
Correct! I should’ve said giving instead of tithing. I’m working my way back up there! If I were to tithe 10% of my take home pay then I’m not far off, just an extra $10 per week!
May 19th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
I have not heard of anyone in our church doing this. I would love to set my bill payer online to do this.
I have always been of the opinion that a box should be placed in the back of the church that you can drop your offering in unobtrusively. This appears to be the method used in Jesus’ day – remember the story of the widow who dropped her few coins? I wonder when the church went to the high pressure tactic of passing the hat?
What are the positive and negatives of having it done automatically?
Positives:
* It is automatic, if we are out of town our tithe is still given
* You are not acting in a way to be seen by others
Negatives:
* Never seen putting anything in the offering (I wonder how much is is given each week under peer pressure)
* Becomes ‘thoughtless’ since it is automatic
* Others won’t be shamed into giving