Question about church offerings

28562 · #1 Jun 21, '12, 11:30 am

Just curious and purely hypothetical.

If my wife and I were having a tough time paying a bill one month, is it wrong or sinful to reduce our church offering to pay it? Or would we be 'required' to cut back in another area, like groceries or our after Mass breakfast?

revert_jen · #2 Jun 21, '12, 12:54 pm

All you can do is pray about it. There are no specific requirements AFAIK about how much you should give to support the Church. But you'd definitely make sure that you prayed about it a bit to make sure that you weren't reducing your offering to afford luxuries, but actually things you need.

God will know whether it is OK or not. Nobody else will. It's your job to try to figure it out by asking Him.

--Jen

Aelred Minor · #3 Jun 21, '12, 12:54 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by 28562

Just curious and purely hypothetical.

If my wife and I were having a tough time paying a bill one month, is it wrong or sinful to reduce our church offering to pay it? Or would we be 'required' to cut back in another area, like groceries or our after Mass breakfast?

We are required to support the Church according to our means. If one is unable to sustain one's current level of support, it can be fine to reduce it, though obviously its a prudential call whether one really does need to reduce ones level of support or whether the problem is just that you are living beyond your means and need to cut back elsewhere.

Lancer · #4 Jun 21, '12, 12:56 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by 28562

Just curious and purely hypothetical.

If my wife and I were having a tough time paying a bill one month, is it wrong or sinful to reduce our church offering to pay it? Or would we be 'required' to cut back in another area, like groceries or our after Mass breakfast?

Bottom line...only your conscience in Spirit and Truth (allowing Holy Spirit to lead you into the Truthful answer)...can provide the correct answer with any certainty...and that answer is the only one that will leave your mind and heart in peace.

I have a hard time myself...I too easily rationalize my way to my desired answer...I pray to Blessed Virgin Mary and ask her to get her spouse, the Holy Spirit, to help me...it always works...even when the answer requires sacrifice...hard sacrifice, because it ends in peace...and to me...that is pure gold in itself.

For your consideration...a tough passage...but the only one in scripture where God challenges us to Test Him...an absolute no...no...but here the God of the Universe says...test me and see what happens...it is an incredible passage that must be read and followed in Spirit and Truth...otherwise we use it as a Prosperity Commandment...when it is about charity and justice and trust and God's Will (righteousness)...Do you love me?...is the real question we are being asked...IMHO.

Pax Christi

Quote:

Malachi 3: 6-18
New International Version (NIV)

Breaking Covenant by Withholding Tithes

6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.

“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’

8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse —your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 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. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe, ” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

Israel Speaks Arrogantly Against God

13 “You have spoken arrogantly against me,” says the Lord.

“Yet you ask, ‘What have we said against you?’

14 “You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? 15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.’”

The Faithful Remnant

16 Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.

17 “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.

kmuestwin · #5 Jun 21, '12, 1:21 pm

Instead of serving the Church with your money maybe you could find a way to serve it her with your time.

melissa b · #6 Jun 21, '12, 2:34 pm

My husband and I were in a similar position a few years ago. He was working only on commission and I was at home with our newborn. We had decided before we got married that we would tithe 10% gross (our decision, not a requirement) but we found that at times we barely had the money to make rent, much less anything else. We chose to keep a balance sheet of what we would have given to the church and then when we did have the money pay it back. A few months later, my husband found a new job with more than sufficient pay and benefits and we were able to settle up our balance.

Again, none of this is a requirement, but if you are struggling with the idea of decreasing your offering to the church, this is a way to potentially ease that struggle without causing financial distress.

mh2007 · #7 Jun 21, '12, 7:14 pm

I can't remember who advised me to do this, but I found it works very well. Determine an amount you feel comfortable with. Following 2 Corinthians 9:7 - give what you have decided in your heart, not with regret or under compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.

Taking this a step further, I was advised to find an amount I didn't feel was too much, or burdensome in any way. And it's not 10%, regardless of what some people would have you believe. The 10% figure arose long before people lived in welfare states like the U.S. where most of their tax dollars automatically go to the entitlement programs, food stamps, and other social welfare initiatives. In that sense, you are already 'tithing' by virtue of paying your tax bill.

What I'm talking about here is charitable giving, and / or supporting the Church. At any rate, find that comfortable amount you really don't mind parting with - and give it every week, or month, or seasonally - whatever works for you. And stick to it. Make it a habit of gratitude, and express gratitude when you write the check, or put the envelope with cash in the basket. This is about gratitude - not a guilty sense of obligation.

You will be amazed at the results and blessings that come to you. Yes, the quote from Malachi is honestly true: "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." -- I can assure you that it really works.

twk001 · #8 Jun 25, '12, 11:04 am

we've been there...our old priest always told us that 'you tithe according to your means. if your means change, so does your tithe"...we have always made up for it though. BUT, the Catholic church does NOT REQUIRE a certain percentage of your income for tithe, as some faiths do. they only make recommendations.