Joy Of Tithing

Tithing is a personal spiritual discipline, not a fundraising technique. Consider tithing as a foundation of your giving practice. It helps to spiritualize our attitude towards money. Tithing is a spiritual practice – just like prayer or meditation.

It is the regular act of giving a percentage of our income to God. When we tithe a portion of our income to God, we find that, far from depriving ourselves, we are blessed by the Source of all abundance: God. All real security comes from Him. Until we understand and accept this truth, our path through life remains uncertain.

Give God the responsibility of taking care of you. If you continue this practice, you will ultimately be free of the fear of not having enough money because you will KNOW from your own personal experience that God will fulfil your needs.

Can my tithe be in the form of service?

No, not truly. Service helps to spiritualize our attitude toward work, whereas tithing helps to spiritualize our attitude toward money. It would be akin to hoping that exercising hard on the right side of your body will strengthen the left side as well.

Tithing, like service, is an opportunity to give. They are, however, different from each other. Often, it is harder for people to tithe than to serve. We have to “give up” our hard-earned money (at least that’s how we think of it), and too often, the desire to give service instead is a rationalization against what seems to be a larger sacrifice.

But the truth is, the more we give freely for ourselves, the more joy we experience! Thus, “the larger sacrifice” becomes the ever expanding source of joy.

Spiritual Benefits of Tithing:

– greater faith in God as the source of your abundance.

– increasing joy as you see that He will take care of you, if you allow Him to enter your finances.

– will help you affirm that you are part of something much bigger than your little self. The more you think of others, your consciousness expands and you grow spiritually.

– helps you purify your heart and feel God’s joy as a tangible experience.

– a tried and true method of reversing the contractive feeling that can plague your heart around money.

– will give you the spiritual power to attract what you really need at the time you need it.

Can I direct how my tithe is being used?

The tithe is God’s and so it is God’s to use. When we tithe, we should relinquish any thought of it belonging to us. Tithing is an act of faith and includes the faith that those who handle the tithes will use them as God wishes.

What is the difference between Pledge, Donation, and Tithe?

A pledge is a set amount given usually for some specific purpose. For example, we might pledge R. 500 month for three years to help cover a loan or fund a special project.

A donation is usually a one-time gift, perhaps for something we feel deeply inspired to support.

Although the word “donation” is often used to describe any kind of financial giving, tithing is qualitatively different from donations and pledges.

FAQs

Why Tithe?

The great saints know that God is in everything. Behind the myriad forms and guises of this world, they see God as an unchanging Spirit, manifesting Itself as the infinite drama of life. Their joy lies in serving as channels for God’s will. Paramhansa Yogananda said, “Making money honestly and industriously to serve Thy work is the next greatest art after the art of realizing Thee.” Tithing spiritualizes our attitude toward money, and makes it possible for God to use us as channels for His work.

How Do I Tithe?

As we mentioned above, tithing is giving 10%, or some set percentage of our income, on a regular basis. This is an agreement we make privately in our own hearts with God.

Some people prefer to give their tithe, whether cash or a check, as soon as they receive any money. This could mean giving several tithes each month. Others prefer to give their tithe once every month. Once we’ve decided on a certain approach, the important thing is to stick with it through “thick and thin.” This will give God a chance to enter through the new doorway we’ve opened to Him.

The most important aspect of tithe is for it to remain a conscious act of devotional self-offering to God. It should not take on the status of yet another bill you have to pay.

How Much Is Enough?

Is it necessary to tithe ten percent? Ten percent is the traditional amount. In fact, it is the root meaning of the word “tithe.” However, there is no “right” or “wrong” percentage or amount to give. Some people tithe considerably more than ten percent. Still others maintain that our tithe should be right at the edge of comfort, so that we ’re particularly alert for God’s response.

However, if we tithe far beyond our own experience of God’s response, it can become presumptuous. Thus, for some tithing may mean 1%, while for legendary tithers like J.R. LeTourneau, the construction equipment manufacturer, it is 90%!

If you are new to tithing, start with a percentage that fills you with joy, and keeps you conscious of God as the true source of your well-being. If we choose a percentage that is too low, the act becomes so effortless that it slips from our consciousness. This kind of tithing doesn’t require us to raise our energy, which is necessary in order to draw God’s response.

Can My Tithe Be In The Form Of Service?

But the truth is, the more we give freely for ourselves, the more joy we experience! Thus, “the larger sacrifice” becomes the ever expanding source of joy.

Can I Direct How My Tithe Is Being Used?

What Is the Difference Between Pledge, Donation, and Tithe?

A pledge is a set amount given usually for some specific purpose. For example, we might pledge $25 a month for three years to help cover a loan, or fund a special project.

A donation is usually a one-time gift, perhaps for something we feel deeply inspired to support.

Although the word “donation” is often used to describe any kind of financial giving, tithing is qualitatively different from donations and pledges. Tithing is a personal spiritual discipline, not a fundraising technique. Consider tithing as a foundation of your giving practice.

How will we use your contribution?

Promotion cost
Giving scholarship to those in need, especially those whose employment has been affected by the pandemic.
Upgrading & Sustaining the technology environment on which this course is offered
Offering Free Classes on various aspects of the teachings

Stories and Testimonials

Story of a Beggar And a Wealthy Man

A beggar was sitting beside a road, when he saw a splendid carriage coming toward him. The carriage shone like the
sun from the gold and precious gems which adorned it. The beggar thought, “Here comes a great and wealthy man.
What will he give me?”
The carriage stopped, and a man, regally arrayed, emerged and approached the beggar. To the beggar’s astonishment
the man asked,“What will you give me?”
The beggar was confused. He reached into his meager purse and pulled out the smallest grain of rice he could find. He
handed the rice to the wealthy man, thinking, “What can he possibly need from me?”
After thanking the beggar, the wealthy man went on his way. Later that night, the beggar emptied his purse to count
his possessions. To his astonishment, he saw lying there a grain of rice, which had turned to gold.
Now the beggar realized Who It Was he had met on the road. He cried out, “If only I had given Him my all!”
The meaning of this beautiful story is that whatever we offer to God will be returned to us, spiritualized and enriched,
a hundredfold.
When we offer our hearts in devotion, our love is purified. When we offer our thoughts, they become inspired. When
we offer God our money, it too, like the beggar’s grain of rice, becomes spiritual gold.

Testimonials

Some years ago I was an ‘in-debt carpenter.’ Tithing was the last thing I thought I could afford. I had been donating
money to this and that, but I did not tithe. I was barely keeping afloat financially.
One day, a story told by one of the ministers about tithing intrigued me. I decided to try it. Even though I was flat
broke, I gave a tithe with my next paycheck.
My checks didn’t bounce that pay-period, even though I fully expected them to. A big windfall did not happen, nor
huge amounts of money came to me, but after I began tithing, I always seemed to have enough. Things stopped going
wrong financially. Eventually, I even turned down a pay raise, because I simply didn’t need it!”
—E.G.
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Tithing did not come easy for me. However, bit by bit I had found that it helped me to understand the concept of
money as a flow of energy, rather than as a set amount, which I received and gave away every month.
This tremendously helped my faith in God, and the conviction that He is taking care of me. When I find myself
worrying about money, the first thing I do is write a tithe check. This is such an effective way to stop holding onto
things, which affirms a sense of lack. Instead, I can have the feeling of abundance, if I so choose!”
—R.G.
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After several years of experimenting with tithing, I finally added it to my ‘Do Always! ’ list of spiritual practices. It is
one of the most joyful and freeing practices I have. I am very grateful, for it has brought faith into the fearful realms of
day-to-day practical life.”
—Anonymous

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I had my bank account number stolen by someone, who then proceeded to write checks against it, before it was
discovered. Normally, I would have been terribly flustered. However, shortly before, I had begun the practice of
tithing. I felt that I had opened that part of my life to Divine Mother to be ‘cleaned up’ of old karmic tendencies. Her
grace was such that the sorting-out process with the bank went unbelievably smoothly. I lost no money!
The problem with my checking account only increased my conviction that tithing has made me freer, by allowing me
to feel that God is my partner in every situation.”
—J.C.