A reader writes:<\/p>\n
I\u00a0have a question about tithing.\u00a0 I\u2019ve read folks who say to give at least 10%, and I\u2019ve read others who say \u201cgive what you can, it\u2019s understandable if you can\u2019t make the 10% mark\u201d, and I\u2019ve read some positions in between along the lines of \u201ctithing was made for man, not man for tithing\u201d, etc.<\/p>\n
Regardless, we are struggling to give 10% because of (A) student loan payments, (B) saving up for\u00a0a down\u00a0payment on a\u00a0house, (C)\u00a0rent, (D) car payments, and (E) taxes.\u00a0 Do payments for the above-listed necessities (or at least \u201cnon-negotiables\u201d (too soon? \ud83d\ude00 )) change the 10% minimum at all?\u00a0 Also, do taxes change the minimum at all?\u00a0 Are we to give 10% of our gross income, or 10% of our net income?\u00a0 I understand Catholic teaching to be that the State has a role in helping the poor, so are we to calculate a percentage of our 10% tithe as having been satisfied by our taxes that are withheld each paycheck?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not trying to dodge our duty to the poor or the Church or anything, but I saw a line in our parish bulletin a couple years ago that said \u201c90% for me, 10% for God\u201d and thought \u201cthat\u2019s a pretty simplistic phrase \u2013 why do parish priests continue to misunderstand what their parishioners go through to make ends meet?\u00a0 Do I need a dispensation from our parish priest on this tithing thing?\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m just unsure of how to swing it financially in light of other payments we have to make up front and can\u2019t hold off on (that\u2019s what I mean by \u201cnon-negotiable\u201d \u2013 those creditors and their attorneys are kinda hard-nosed sometimes).\u00a0 I promise I\u2019m not mad about taxes or anything either.\u00a0 I get that they are necessary, and I don\u2019t have beef with it.\u00a0 I\u2019m just uncertain.\u00a0 Or maybe I lack some faith.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I think the first thing to remember is that tithing is not treated like a law in the Catholic tradition. \u00a0So there is no iron rule nor even any precept of the Church on the matter. \u00a0The whole matter is treated as a sort of mild request in the Catechism *after* the five precepts of the Church are given<\/a> (\u201cThe faithful<\/a> also have the duty<\/a> of providing<\/a> for the material<\/a> needs<\/a> of the Church<\/a>, each according to his abilities<\/a>.\u201d)<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because the Faith, beginning with Jesus, has an amazing casual relationship with provision of material good. \u00a0\u201cDo not worry about your life\u2026 etc.\u201d \u00a0The assumption is that God, having commanded the Church to fulfill her mission, will just have to pony up to make it happen and the money necessary will come. \u00a0This, combined with the fact that the Church knows the flock is not made of money (\u201cBlessed are the poor\u201d) has always tended to say \u201cDo what you can, but don\u2019t sweat it.\u201d)<\/p>\n
The idea behind tithing *is* very much \u201cThe law (including law of economics) was made for man, not man for the law.\u201d \u00a0So the purpose of tithing is to bless us and to make us participants in his generosity, not ride us and hector us coughing up the month quota of dough. \u00a0So the whole 10% thing is emphatically guideline\u2013a suggestion\u2013not a law. \u00a0The rule of thumb\u2013and that is *all* it is\u2013is 5% to the Church and five percent to Whoever. \u00a0But how you work that out is up to you. \u00a0If it is hurting you overmuch and, most especially, if it is harming your ability to meet debts, then don\u2019t worry about it: pay your bills and do the sensible things you need to do to feed your family and meet basic obligations. \u00a0There are other ways you can tithe besides with money. \u00a0 Some people help out with the soup kitchen. \u00a0Others volunteer their time or talents for free. \u00a0So a teacher who could be earning 40K a year with his or her degree who instead offers a Bible study at the parish for free \u00a0is offering a kind of tithe too.<\/p>\n
The idea is to remind us that everything we have and are is a gift and so to give that gift back to God by \u201cpaying it forward\u201d to somebody else and to thank God by offering a piece of our labor back to Him along with the bread and wine\u2013with expectation that he will bless and sanctify it and the rest of our lives as he does the Eucharist. \u00a0It\u2019s not a divine protection racket demanding a cut for favors rendered. \u00a0It\u2019s a free exchange given in love.<\/p>\n
That said, tithing *should* pinch a little, I think. \u00a0Not to hurt\u00a0us,\u00a0but to challenge us to trust God to provide. \u00a0FWIW, I have never found generosity to the poor to harm me. \u00a0Oddly, there\u2019s always 12 baskets left over. \u00a0We\u2019re not rich. But we\u2019ve always had enough.<\/p>\n
Bottom line: don\u2019t treat it as a law or a formula. \u00a0Using prudence and common sense, settle in your mind what you need to do to meet your debts, then set aside a portion that you can spare and maybe a smidge more. \u00a0Or if you can\u2019t spare anything, see if there is some other way you can tithe (for example, in time spent on intercessory prayers since \u201ctime is money.\u201d) \u00a0The idea is to give back in love to a God who generously gives to you, not to be hagridden by a judgmental law that is always demanding back rent. \u00a0It\u2019s an exchange of love, not the approaching footstep of Inspector Javert. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A reader writes: I\u00a0have a question about tithing.\u00a0 I\u2019ve read folks who say to give at least 10%, and I\u2019ve read others who say \u201cgive what you can, it\u2019s understandable if you can\u2019t make the 10% mark\u201d, and I\u2019ve read some positions in between along the lines of \u201ctithing was made for man, not man […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8],"class_list":["post-95686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-mailbag"],"yoast_head":"\n
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