If you are a Christian and believe what God teaches in the Bible then you have probably struggled with this question: Should I stop tithing the help pay off debt? My financial brain says yes. Taking all that money and putting it towards the debt would get you out of debt sooner.
But I have seen people be blessed in ways that I just can’t understand when they START (and continue) to tithe. Unexpected promotions, their electric bill paid by an anonymous donor, their debt snowball gets an unexplained boost and they get out of debt a lot sooner than anyone could have expected. To top it off I have seen this happen to non-Christian couples who did not regularly attend church.
Well, that just doesn’t make sense. There is no line item in the budget for blessings! How do I put that into my Excel Spreadsheet? I had to come up with an algebraic formula:
Financial Bondage says
Only about 2.6% of Christians tithe according to crown.org. I would have never guessed the number to be so low. I tell people even if they don’t tithe, give $20 every paycheck, and give with the right attitude. If all Christians just gave $20/week, that would bring in lots of money to help fund Gods work.
Divine and Debt Free says
I can admit I didn’t tithe when I first started my debt free journey 2.5 years ago. In my defense I wasn’t strong in my faith and was hardly living out Godly principles. However in the summer of 2009 I started going to bible study where I had an aha moment about my tithe, going to bible study led to going back to church and life has changed dramatically for me.
Since last year I have been tithing and if people don’t believe me when I say it works I have no idea how to convince them. I haven’t gone without anything since and blessing financial and non financial keep coming in.
When the bible says its better to give than receive it is so true. Since tithing I have been extremely financially blessed so much that I can give to others much more than I thought possible. I use to be very tight fist but now I love giving so for that alone I am thankful that the tithe is teaching me how to be a radical giver.
It might be hard knowing you are giving x amount of dollars away each month but the benefit is 10 fold. I honestly believe if I wasn’t giving I wouldn’t have nearly as much as I do today!
MoneyPlanSOS says
Thanks for your story! Your testimony is exactly the thing I can’t explain (for myself or to others) and can not put into a financial “get-out-of-debt” plan.
bradshimomura says
This satisfies the nerd in me too. Check this out too: when we give (any amount to any cause/charity/church) something happens in our minds where we begin to realize on a subconscience level, that we actually do have more than enough. Subtly it changes us, our habits and mindsets!
Bibledebt says
That is the perfect equation, especially for those of us who are math affluent! Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Lisa Ashby says
Love that equation! Our story is a testament to this. We have seen blessings beyond belief and are now in a position to actually make movement in our debt snowball and even work in ministry. We are only able to do this because God has blessed us, and I believe that because we have trusted God with our finances and have been faithful in our tithes.
Kim A says
The story of the widow (Mark 12:41-44)
came to mind when I read this.