Do We Need to Give to the Church?

The topic of giving money to the church is always tricky, because, admittedly, many have used religion as a way to make money for their own personal gain. Like any tricky question, we can go back to the Bible to provide guidance on what we should do. In Luke 21:1-4, Jesus shows us how we are to treat donations to the Church. This is the story of the widow's mite, in which Jesus praises the poor widow donating 2 small coins over others putting in much more. Note how Jesus approaches the issue: rather than viewing the offering as an opportunity to raise money for the church, it is really an opportunity to sacrifice for the good of others and the larger community. He criticizes the others who were just giving out of their surplus, while the widow was making a real sacrifice out of love.

This mentality sums up the purpose of giving money: while, yes, churches do need money to provide services and opportunities for faith, giving money is really an opportunity for us to sacrifice something else that we may use that money for, and instead giving it to support the well-being of the community as a whole.

So, how can we live out this spirit of sacrifice well in our lives? The word tithing means 1/10th in Hebrew, originating from Leviticus 27:30, and giving 10% of your income would certainly be a good approach. However, this is not a strict requirement, and this is really dependent on your own conscience and situation. Maybe you can only give 5% while still providing for your family, and that's ok. Or maybe your conscience tells you that you can give 20%. The key point is that it should be a sacrifice done out of love for others.

Another good way to sacrifice is to sacrifice time for others. Often times we can guard our time more than we guard our money, so it can helpful to be willing to give our time through volunteering or other ways.