Tithe Or Become Rich?

Tithing has been a controversial issue for decades! Why is it so hard for people to part from their money? I know for me it has been extremely hard. I am better now than I was 10 years ago, but I will admit that it's still not easy for me to just give away my money.

Webster's definition of tithing is to pay or give a tenth part of especially for support of the church. In other words it's giving 10% of your income to your church. I grew up in church and for years I never gave 10%. I would usually give whatever pocket change I had. Although I knew giving was the right thing to do, it was just much easier to save it than give it away. Logically it makes sense to save more to have more.

It wasn't until I started to read and understand how the wealthy live that started to change my mindset. Most wealthy people give a lot of money away. Some people don't necessarily call it tithing because tithing is a biblical term, but they donate to charity and call it charitable giving.

What I noticed among wealthy people that give is that they are much happier and fulfilled. Which is ultimately the life we are all searching for. I'll never forget when I read Proverbs 28:22 that says, a stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware that poverty awaits him. As funny as that scripture sounds, it sure did wake me up. I started tithing right away! After I started tithing, I began to realize that giving is about changing your behavior. It began to change the way I look at money. As I said earlier I haven't perfected this part of my life. I currently give 10%, but I would like to give more in the future.

I've heard some people ask if you should tithe your gross or net income. This is a decision that is up to you. I've decided to tithe my gross income because I also made a decision to save a portion of my gross income, so I thought it would only be fair to tithe from my gross versus my net.

What are your thoughts on tithing?