Tithing (secular)

[CoolBee]

I have been thinking about "tithing" so was interested to see another poster mention it in another thread about 'having a bad day'.

I am not a 'non-believer' but I do not belong to any regular church or similar. I am also not enamoured of the idea of giving a regular amount to a specific charity for various reasons.

So anyway, while I am mulling it over, I have decided to take 10% of any income and store it in a separate account while I figure out what the best way to deal with it is.

Meanwhile, I came across this link:

tithing (secular)

which linked me through to a post by Steve:

tithing - Pavlina

Is anyone else willing to share whether they tithe and what form that takes?

.

[sups]

At the moment my baby is "teething"...so I shall come back to your "tithing" post later.

[vartann]

tithing is crap
it is buying your "ticket to Heaven" like the Church was won t to do

if you feel like giving US$ 1Bn is fine - US$ is fine too - a smile is fine too
from the heart

[newsbone]

Originally Posted by vartann

tithing is crap
it is buying your "ticket to Heaven" like the Church was won t to do

if you feel like giving US$ 1Bn is fine - US$ is fine too - a smile is fine too
from the heart

Just because the Church does it...does not make it wrong!

[evansw]

I embrace the habit of tithing to a certain extent in my life. Not yet regularly, but I always try to dedicate at least 10% (sometimes it goes to 20%) of my gross income to "help other people". At least, I can donate the amount to some charity organizations (not only one, I prefer to diversify it).

Months ago, after a successful project that yielded a nice profit for me, I decided to tithe 10% of the revenue (not only gross profit) for religious tithing: donate to mosque, churches, Buddhist temple and Hindu temple.

Sometimes, things become easier after we tithe, although there's no guarantee that life will be smooth if we tithe. At least, it's not an act of bribing the God.

When a religious place like mosque, church, temple etc needs my professional service, I can either offer them a big discount or even a free service. Not by saying that the service is free, I may issue an invoice for them. Then, I attach a separate note: the amount (the I bill, I put the number) is being donated to you. Or, I can opt to ask to donate, and I write down the bill amount as the amount I donate into their donation book. Instead of giving them money, I hand them the bill.

In mid-year, Chinese usually commemorate a festival for the deceased family members. I usually donate some money to local charity foundations, and put my deceased grandfathers' names as the donors. I simply said to them: someone asked me to donate this money on their behalf. They don't even know that the "someone" has long been gone.

At first, I view tithing as a way to open up a better way for myself. Simply said: I try to bribe the God to make me richer. Yet, the God simply kept me alive. After years, I learn to tithe sincerely, knowing that at least, I can live and have the money I need.

I'm sure everyone of us can make the right decision and can be creative in regards of tithing.

[Mato Kinze]

"Tithing" is a Christian practice by and large, however "giving" is universal.

Here is a link to a very well-known Personal Financial Advisor - who happens to be Christian (though I don't hold that against him) - for whom I hold a great deal of respect.
Dave Ramsey on Giving
He talks about the wealth one receives when one gives. Yes, he uses the Christian Bible as his basis, but the source does not negate the message. And personally, I find the message very powerful.

[CoolBee]

Moslems also have "tithing" -they call it zakat and it is one of the 5 pillars of Islam, and Jews also have it. I take your point that the word itself is normally associated with various Christian practises and is normally interpreted as 10% of income whereas the zakat is something like 2.5% of asset value. I'm not sure of the Jewish interpretation.

To me, it means donating 10% of income (though as to whether this should be net of tax or gross is another issue) to 'the source of one's spiritual growth' whatever that may be!

Interesting link to Dave Ramsey - thanks.

[Mato Kinze]

Originally Posted by CoolBee

Moslems also have "tithing" -they call it zakat and it is one of the 5 pillars of Islam, and Jews also have it. I take your point that the word itself is normally associated with various Christian practises and is normally interpreted as 10% of income whereas the zakat is something like 2.5% of asset value. I'm not sure of the Jewish interpretation.

To me, it means donating 10% of income (though as to whether this should be net of tax or gross is another issue) to 'the source of one's spiritual growth' whatever that may be!

Interesting link to Dave Ramsey - thanks.

You're welcome. And thank you for the information about Zakat. I had not heard of that before.

[Scipio]

I'm an atheist and I give more than 20% of what I earn, at least. Generally it goes to people I value, such as my girlfriend, family members, friends. Usually it is not monetary gifts, but things such as entertainment and meals together, so I can enjoy those people. This type of giving immediately will provide a return because it consists of cherishing the people who are of value to you. You get a spiritual payment of enjoying their character immediately.

I disagree with this quote in the article though:

The truly selfish are as a general rule not highly successful. I personally am persuaded that there is a connection between developing the ability to give and developing the ability to receive.

That's not true at all. To the degree that people are successful in this world, is the degree that they are selfish, pursuing their own interests, and happiness. Nobody can live day after day being a martyr; certainly no one can become successful doing that.

[CoolBee]

Originally Posted by Scipio

To the degree that people are successful in this world, is the degree that they are selfish, pursuing their own interests, and happiness. Nobody can live day after day being a martyr; certainly no one can become successful doing that.

I'm interested that you perceive being unselfish as being a martyr?

I am grappling with certain limiting beliefs around the notions of unselfishness. For example, is ensuring that you yourself are "sound" - eg on sound financial footing, emotionally centred etc, actually selfish if it means that by being so you are much more capable of giving support and assistance to others when they need it?

I refer back to the aircraft safety notices which say if you are accompanying someone who needs assistance with the oxygen masks - sort yourself out first before helping them. (Because you are more use if you are sorted, than if you sort them out and then cannot help yourself because they cannot).

[Scipio]

Originally Posted by CoolBee

I'm interested that you perceive being unselfish as being a martyr?

Yes, being unselfish means acting without accordance to your interests--acting in self-sacrifice. If you make an unselfish action, that action is necessarily not in your best interests, and actively hurts your ability to flourish in this life. The Oxford English Dictionary defines selfishness as a primary concern with one's own interests. Therefore, to act in an unselfish manner you would have to put your own interests as secondary and behave in a self-sacrificial manner. An example of this, may be, giving $10 to a homeless man on the street whom you don't know, don't value, and is likely addicted to drugs, when you were going to spend that money on making your fiance a romantic home-cooked meal. In that case, you sacrificed a greater value for a disvalue, but sacrificing a greater value for a lesser value is also sacrifice.

[PerDev]

I know one thing, Tithing brings good.

Originally Posted by CoolBee

I have been thinking about "tithing" so was interested to see another poster mention it in another thread about 'having a bad day'.

I am not a 'non-believer' but I do not belong to any regular church or similar. I am also not enamoured of the idea of giving a regular amount to a specific charity for various reasons.

So anyway, while I am mulling it over, I have decided to take 10% of any income and store it in a separate account while I figure out what the best way to deal with it is.

Meanwhile, I came across this link:

tithing (secular)

which linked me through to a post by Steve:

tithing - Pavlina

Is anyone else willing to share whether they tithe and what form that takes?

.

[JasonC]

According to Richard Bartlett's and Joe Vitale's Give to Live book (which is free btw, look it up on google), giving is play a significant part in one's abundance.

The idea is that giving presupposes that one has money, and by giving out of pure joy (not out of obligation), it raises one's vibration as they say.

The Bible specifically has many passages that talk about how to give, the rewards of giving and such. I'm sure other holy books have similar statements.

Here's a good way to give:

Give a smile to each person you see, especially to people you do not look forward to seeing.

I normally dislike giving anything to beggars, but I bumped into one particular beggar who begged by giving me a huge smile (he did not even say a word!), and it was one of the rare times in which I really enjoyed giving him some change. I wouldn't be surprised if he has that effect on many people. I also would not be surprised if he is a successful begger. His smile literally made me feel welcomed.