When you can't pay bills and tithe, focus on essential needs first, communicate with church leaders, and explore non-monetary giving like volunteering time or donating goods; remember that giving is about faith, and God values cheerful giving from your means, not compulsion or debt, with potential for help from your church's welfare system if you're in dire need.
If you can barely pay your bills, I encourage you to give God a dime. Literally a dime, just start somewhere. And as your faith grows, increase it as much as you can, until you are able to give God 10%. After all, anything can change on a dime!
Proverbs 22:26 - Do not become guarantors for debts. Matthew 6:12 - Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Matthew 18:27, 30, 32, 34 - Forgive because your debts have been forgiven. Luke 7:42-43 - He who is forgiven much (debt) loves much; he who is forgiven little (debt) loves little.
Tithing—the custom of giving one-tenth of your income to the Church—is understandably associated with cash. But does tithing have to be money, or can worshippers tithe in other ways? The answer to this question is simple! Tithing is not only about money; you can also give time, business services, and physical goods.
And in Malachi 3:10, God actually promises to bless us if we faithfully tithe. Here's something else: Many people have noticed that when they stop tithing, their finances seem to get worse. Whoa. That's why you shouldn't pause it to pay down debt.
“You don't have to feel guilty about tithing instead of paying off debt or saving,” Davidson said. “You just have to find a way to make it all work. If it's important to you, add tithing as a line item in your budget and make your financial decisions based off what is remaining.”
Some may say "God won't curse you for not tithing, but if you don't tithe you won't be blessed. And without being blessed, you will continue to stay under the curse." No, this is not the truth. Jesus took the curse you deserved and bore it away.
Here are five ways that you can fulfill your heart's call to stay a generous giver and maintain a regular tithe, even when you are between churches.
God does not ask you to give what you do not have. Be faithful in tithing the little you have. God will come through and make a way for you to clear your debts. And in terms of worshipping and serving God it's not our being faithful to tithing or other good deeds that make us right before God.
The 50/30/20 rule allocates 50% of after-tax income to Needs (housing, food), 30% to Wants (entertainment, dining out), and 20% to Savings & Debt, but when adding tithing, it's often treated as either a "Need" (essential giving) or a "Want" (charitable giving), with some financial experts suggesting it could even be part of the "Savings/Debt" category for spiritual goals, though most place it as a primary essential or a discretionary donation depending on personal belief and income level, with options like the 10/10/30/50 rule putting tithe/donate at 10% before other savings.
May we entrust our lives, our bills, and our bank accounts to you. May we commit our salaries, our investments, and our assets to your care. All of it is Yours, Lord, given to us to steward temporarily.
Sometimes the financial hardships you face have nothing to do with what you've done or not done. We live in an imperfect, sin-filled world, and the consequences of sin affect us all. God has given people the option to choose between right and wrong, and sometimes people choose wrong.
The Bible commands debt forgiveness every seven years for Israelites, known as the Sabbatical Year (Shemitah), detailed in Deuteronomy 15:1-2, where creditors must cancel loans to fellow Israelites as a release, promoting social equality, caring for the poor, and freeing Hebrew servants, with a similar principle in the larger Jubilee Year (every 50 years).
The first step in tithing while in debt is to take a close look at your financial situation. Begin by making a budget detailing your monthly income and expenses. Then determine how much money you can realistically contribute to tithing. Remember that tithing does not always have to be a fixed percentage of your income.
Types of Tithes
The Levitical tithe, the feast tithe, and the poor tithe were not given to the same people and provided for different needs. Each was tied to the promise that if the people were faithful to observe the tithe, God would bless them.
There's no single #1 worst sin; it depends on the religious or moral framework, but pride is often called the root of all evil (Christianity/Islam), while the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (unforgivable sin) is considered the gravest in the Bible. Other severe sins include child abuse (Catholicism) and sins that "cry to Heaven" (like shedding innocent blood or oppressing the poor).
While the Bible offers many warnings about the dangers of debt, it never says that you are out of God's will or violating one of God's commandments when you borrow.
Jews living in Gentile lands were exempt (Leviticus 27:30-34). Others exempt from the tithing law included the hired hands, fishermen, miners, lumber workers, construction workers, soldiers, weavers, potters, manufacturers, merchants, government workers, and priests. In short, all who were not farmers were exempt.
Yes, the Bible explicitly says to bring tithes to the storehouse, most famously in Malachi 3:10: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it" (NIV). In the Old Testament, the storehouse was a physical location in the Temple where grain and other provisions were kept to support the priests, Levites, and the needy, with a promise of overflowing blessing for obedience.
So, we can define charity simply as giving to those who are less fortunate than us, either directly or indirectly. Tithing is something else altogether. Tithing is a biblical idea in which a person gives 10% of their income to a church.
This means that giving a tenth of your income is giving God your first and best. Remember, you can't out give God. Now, where we draw the line is when you ask, “Can I tithe time instead of money?” The short answer is no. Tithing resources, time, or talents should never replace tithing money.
Absolutely not. That concerns a different audience, under a different covenant, during a different dispensation. You're in Christ, and under grace, not under a curse. Thought for the day: Don't worry about robbing God of tithes; be more concerned with legalistic preachers robbing you of grace.
Evangelist Bill Graham, stood before this great crowd of Christians and told them that: "Tithing is a sin against the Gospel of grace".