Tithing Principles
These passages from Scripture and the Catechism merit serious reflection.
• All we have comes from God. He owns it all (Dt 10:14).
• Through tithing, we learn to place our trust in God’s providence. He has promised to provide for all of our needs (Mt 6:30-34).
• Almsgiving is provided by God as one form of penance along with prayer and fasting (Tb 12:8-10; Catechism 1434).
• God can multiply our resources and make 90% go further than 100%. Read the accounts of the widows and the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish (1 Kgs 17:7-16; 2 Kgs 4:1-7; Mt 14:13-21).
• Our giving should be voluntary (Mt 6:2-4; 2 Cor 8:1-5).
• We are called to be cheerful givers (Acts 20:35; 2 Cor 9:6-7). A typical response from people who tithe is that they enjoy paying their tithing “bills” as opposed to their regular bills.
• Our giving should be planned, not done haphazardly (1 Cor 16:1-2).
How to Begin
While some families decide to increase giving immediately to a full tithe, in most cases I encourage them to take an incremental approach, especially when there are other financial problems. If a family is currently spending 110% of its income and starts tithing without making any adjustments, they’ll find themselves spending 120% of their income and falling deeper into debt. While we need to trust in our Lord’s providence as our heavenly Father, He expects us to use tools at our disposal to properly manage our finances.
Here are some suggestions: Complete an overall review of your finances to get a better understanding of where you stand. Your next step will be to create an initial budget, which factors in an increase in your giving from, let’s say 1% to 3%, and includes appropriate amounts for debt repayment. Does your new budget balance? If not, you’ll need to come up with cost-saving ideas to implement until it does. Once your initial budget is completed, you’ll want to track your income and expenses to verify that your actual results are in line with your budget. You’ll find the budgeting tools you need in Money Sense: Practical Application Workbook.
Once you have completed the steps noted above, I would encourage you to “test” our Lord (see Malachi 3:7-10) by increasing your giving by a percentage or so every few months. At the same time, “work” your budget to keep it balanced. Keep your desire to tithe in prayer, and while it may take a couple of years to reach a full tithe, you’ll find that keeping God first in your finances has positive ramifications on many other areas of your life as well. Once you begin, these steps will keep you on track:
• Pay your tithe as your first bill to follow the principle of giving from your first fruits (Prv 3:9-10).
• In the usual situation, I suggest you give half your tithe to your parish and the remainder to other worthy purposes.
• Review your amount periodically and adjust for changes in income.
• Ask yourself the following question: Would God be satisfied with your charitable works if He saw your checkbook?
To determine the tithe based on various income levels, take your yearly income and divide by ten. That would be your annual tithe. Now divide that figure by 12 to give you a monthly tithe amount. Here are a couple of examples: For an annual income of $30,000, the annual tithe is $3,000 or $250 per month. For an annual income of $75,000, the annual tithe is $7,500 or $625 per month.
Trusting in God’s Providence
A key to being a good steward is to achieve a balance between trusting in God’s providence as our Father and being prudent in our planning. Here’s a story that can help us learn better how to apply these principles.
St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Franciscan priest, is best known for his heroic death in the Auschwitz concentration camp and his deep devotion to Mary. One of the works which Kolbe is less known for is a family magazine which he published. When he first came up with the idea for the magazine, he sought the approval of his superior. Recognizing the good the project would do, the superior gave his OK, but let Maximilian know that the order could not help him financially. Having planned the project, Maximilian knew he had raised half of the funds necessary and he felt confident in starting this new venture.
Halfway through the project, Maximilian ran out of money and was bitterly disappointed that he had failed in this important endeavor. In prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, he expressed his disappointment and feelings of failure. As he got up to leave, he noticed an envelope on the altar, marked “For You, Immaculata.” Inside, was just enough money to complete the project.
Closer to home, I remember when I was involved with the launch of the daily radio program, Catholic Answers Live. Through planning and prayer, we concluded that a daily live call-in program could do much good in teaching and explaining the faith. The time came when we had to commit to building the studio — at a cost of $20,000. The bill would be due upon receipt of the materials (in about 10 days) and we didn’t have that money set aside. With our staff and families praying, we moved ahead with the purchase and within three days, received a check from a woman in the Midwest for $20,000. I remember one of the staff saying, “I guess we were supposed to get involved in radio!” We were all awestruck at God’s choosing to provide in this way.
On the other hand, I also remember undertaking projects where adequate funding did not materialize. After prayer and our best efforts, we had to recognize that these projects must not have been the path God wanted us to go.
A key point here is that trusting in God’s providence doesn’t mean that we fail to plan or that we go against the principles on finances He has provided in Scripture and Church teaching. While we were stretching ourselves financially to undertake the radio program, we had a solid plan in place and were not taking risks that would endanger the apostolate.
Achieving balance in this area is a challenge. It comes most effectively when we are rooted in prayer and truly place ourselves at God’s disposal to do as He desires. Whether you are dealing with financial issues related to your family, business or apostolate, learning to balance prudence and trusting in God’s providence is the key to being a good steward.
Phil Lenahan is Director Finance at Catholic Answers and author of Catholic Answers’ Guide to Family Finances. If you have a question you would like Phil to address, contact him at plenahan@catholic.com.
