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Why Give?
"How shall I make a return to the Lord
for all the good he has done for me?" -Psalm 116 |
Why give?
First, because when we give, we acknowledge God to be Creator and Giver of all gifts. We acknowledge that everything we have is a gift we ourselves have received. When we see all that we have as a gift, we will have a deep sense of gratitude that impels us to freely give as we have freely received.
A Way of Life
Stewardship (giving our time, talent and treasure to the Church) should be a way of life. Sometimes our generous giving will be a spontaneous movement of heart. Other times, it will be carried our in a planned, ordered, proportionate manner. We should be doing both in our lives.
This means that we should be giving our time, talent and treasure in a planned, consistent and sacrificial way:
Planned - we should think and pray about how we will give in a long-term way.
Consistent and committed - It should not be a one-time thing, but a consistent, long-term commitment to giving.
Sacrificial - Our giving should cost us. It should hurt a little. It should stretch us in a way that expands our hearts, making them more capable of generously loving and giving. It should make us grow.
Tithing
Tithing is about Giving God our First Fruits. The concept that underlies tithing is the fact that God has given us EVERYTHING - our lives, our jobs, our families, our friends, our homes, our jobs, our health, our personalities, our gifts, our talents...EVERYTHING! So naturally, we should return to Him the gifts He gives us. In fact, we owe him our lives. We are instruments, to placed back in His hands so that He can carry out his will and salvation through us.
10%
The return of our gifts to God is called our "tithe". One simple way of tithing is a tithe of 10% of our income. This has biblical roots and is the one suggested by the Church. The suggested guideline is 5% to your Parish, 1% to the Diocesan charities and appeals that take place during the course of the year, and 4% to other personal needs and charities that are close to your heart.
Summary
In general, tithing is a fundamental statement of gratitude toward God. It acknowledges that our gifts are really his and that we are totally dependent on Him. Giving changes us. It makes us fully human: "Man cannot fully find himself except by making a sincere gift of himself." Tithing is not a financial program, but a spiritual one of love and gratitude for God.
We end with the words of Jesus himself: (Mark 12:41-44)
"He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, 'Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.'"
May we be generous.....
First, because when we give, we acknowledge God to be Creator and Giver of all gifts. We acknowledge that everything we have is a gift we ourselves have received. When we see all that we have as a gift, we will have a deep sense of gratitude that impels us to freely give as we have freely received.
A Way of Life
Stewardship (giving our time, talent and treasure to the Church) should be a way of life. Sometimes our generous giving will be a spontaneous movement of heart. Other times, it will be carried our in a planned, ordered, proportionate manner. We should be doing both in our lives.
This means that we should be giving our time, talent and treasure in a planned, consistent and sacrificial way:
Planned - we should think and pray about how we will give in a long-term way.
Consistent and committed - It should not be a one-time thing, but a consistent, long-term commitment to giving.
Sacrificial - Our giving should cost us. It should hurt a little. It should stretch us in a way that expands our hearts, making them more capable of generously loving and giving. It should make us grow.
Tithing
Tithing is about Giving God our First Fruits. The concept that underlies tithing is the fact that God has given us EVERYTHING - our lives, our jobs, our families, our friends, our homes, our jobs, our health, our personalities, our gifts, our talents...EVERYTHING! So naturally, we should return to Him the gifts He gives us. In fact, we owe him our lives. We are instruments, to placed back in His hands so that He can carry out his will and salvation through us.
10%
The return of our gifts to God is called our "tithe". One simple way of tithing is a tithe of 10% of our income. This has biblical roots and is the one suggested by the Church. The suggested guideline is 5% to your Parish, 1% to the Diocesan charities and appeals that take place during the course of the year, and 4% to other personal needs and charities that are close to your heart.
Summary
In general, tithing is a fundamental statement of gratitude toward God. It acknowledges that our gifts are really his and that we are totally dependent on Him. Giving changes us. It makes us fully human: "Man cannot fully find himself except by making a sincere gift of himself." Tithing is not a financial program, but a spiritual one of love and gratitude for God.
We end with the words of Jesus himself: (Mark 12:41-44)
"He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, 'Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.'"
May we be generous.....