In my last article “Should You Tithe While You're Getting Out of Debt” I gave you 3 questions to ask yourself to help decide how to make that decision. But what if you're getting out of debt, you're not yet a tither, but you'd like to be? How do you decide if you should pay off your debt and start tithing later, or start tithing now even though you're struggling to pay off debt?
Should You Start Tithing? A Couple of Questions
If you came to me with that question, once again I'd ask you a few questions in return to help you along.
Here we go:
- What does the Bible say?- When I'm asked about tithing, I almost always refer to Malachi 3:10 which talks about the blessings, provision, and abundance that come with being a tither.
God even says to test Him and see if He doesn't open the windows of Heaven for you.
What a promise!
He doesn't say you should give only if you can “afford it”. God doesn't say wait until you're in a better financial position. He just says to do it and see what He will do for you!
That's HUGE baby!
- Do you want God's influence on your finances?- Most people would say “yes” to this question. But many are hesitant to do what it takes to gain that influence.
Let's face it, the numbers just don't add up. When you're barely making ends meet and trying to pay off a pile of debt, how can you possibly start giving 10% of your income to God?
It just doesn't make sense.
Something has to give.
That's when things get tough. You want God to bless your finances, but you need to be able to pay the bills too.
So how do you solve that problem?
[tweetherder]Should you start tithing while you're getting out of debt? Find the answer here [/tweetherder]
Change Has to Come Whether You Start Tithing or Not
Either way, you have to change your habits and start doing things differently if you want to do better financially.
If you decide to wait on tithing, God's not going to send a bolt of lightning to strike you down. You can still get your debts paid. However, you can't expect the blessings or intervention that He promises to tithers either.
Tithing is a Step of Faith
If you do what the blessings He promises, it's a huge step of faith that's just plain scary. Even though God's word explains the benefits of tithing in no uncertain terms, it's difficult to imagine it working out that way.
If you want to be a tither and you're trying to decide how to reconcile starting to tithe while trying to pay down debt, it's a difficult decision to make.
Ultimately, you have to go with your conscience and conviction no matter what you decide.
It's not up to me to tell you what to do.
You need to figure it out for yourself through studying God's Word, wise counsel, and prayer. The cool thing is, if you find out your decision isn't working out, you can always go the other way.
My experience has been that when you step out in faith in an area of your life that the Word says you should, it WILL be to your benefit. God always honors faithfulness. He wants you to take the risk and let Him show you what He will do.
Faith is risky, it's never 100% sure.
If it was, it wouldn't be faith, would it?
Question: Have you ever stepped out in faith when it comes to tithing or anything else?
Tell me about it with a comment.
Resources:
The CFF Faith and Finance Page
Should You Tithe By Credit Card?
yes, several years ago I did step out in faith and tithed and it was that check that caused my bank balance to go into many overdrafts.Since I was struggling with the decision, I took that as a sign as I should not tithe when I’m not financially able to. I’m questioning it again because I have a job offer paying a lot more and could tithe and pay my bills. I have had some blessings over the years financially, but still have lived paycheck to paycheck. I have a substantial amount of debt and could get out of it quicker, but am revisiting tithing. Thoughts?
Tithing is always a great thing to do as long as you do it with the right heart. You shouldn’t do it for the purpose of getting something back, but do it joyfully for the purposes of enlarging the kingdom of Christ. When you approach it with the right heart, that’s what God recognizes and will bless you because of it just as it says in the bible.
However, if you’re still living paycheck to paycheck, that’s something that you need to address. You can be blessed with a huge income, be a tither, and still live the paycheck to paycheck lifestyle because it’s up to you manage your money well. When it comes down to it, how blessed you are financially is a result of being a good steward of your money and everything that entails.