Tithing: Part of God’s perfect plan
When the Lord created the world, its continued existence was ensured by His plan. The same can be said of His Church, both spiritually and physically. More often than not, however, one’s mind instinctively focuses on the spiritual aspect of the Church, but what about the physical? After all, there are utilities, insurance, staff, and many other expenses. Luckily, the answer is not far. One need only look to Scripture, for the Bible makes mention of His plan 46 times. So, what is this divine plan? Tithing!
When the Lord created the world, its continued existence was ensured by His plan. The same can be said of His Church, both spiritually and physically. More often than not, however, one’s mind instinctively focuses on the spiritual aspect of the Church, but what about the physical? After all, there are utilities, insurance, staff, and many other expenses. Luckily, the answer is not far. One need only look to Scripture, for the Bible makes mention of His plan 46 times. So, what is this divine plan? Tithing!
From the very first book of the Bible, God spoke of His desire for people to give to Him the first fruits of their labor. The primary reason for this was for people to consciously and continuously express their gratitude to God for the many blessings He affords to them. The secondary reason for this was to set up the way to ensure that each Church would remain open and well maintained for prayer and worship.
God went on to set the amount of the first fruits that He wants from us - 10 percent of one’s salary given to God. Hence, we have the word tithe, which means tenth.
Secularly, 10 percent is the amount of sales tax we pay for purchases. We all know that if we want to buy a McDonald’s Big Mac meal for $8, we will ultimately be paying $8.80. While the amount of each transaction changes, the percent stays the same.
Similarly, in tithing the amount changes, but the percent remains the same. This is mighty fair in that everyone is asked to pay at the same rate. It overcomes not only the objection of a person saying, “I can’t tithe because I make too much,” but also the objection of a person saying, “I can’t tithe because I make too little!”
No, by God’s design, everyone is called to pay the same percent of the first fruits of their labors to Him. It’s very fair! Plus, there’s some freedom in exactly how we distribute our tithe.
Note that Protestant churches operate autonomously, meaning they operate on their own and they’re not connected to any other church. They expect their parishioners to pay their full tithe to that individual church.
In contrast, Catholic Churches do not operate autonomously; they’re connected with other Catholic Churches on three levels: on a diocesan level, on a country level, and on a global level.
In their wisdom, the American bishops recommend five percent of one’s tithe go to the parish church. With the remaining five percent, the parishioner has the freedom to send a portion of their tithe in different ways: diocesan, national, papal, or a charity of choice. All of those charitable organizations signify and satisfy the mandate to tithe to God.
A beautiful suggestion provided by the bishops is to give five percent of your income to your local parish church, one percent of your income to the diocesan Church through the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, and four percent of your income to the charities of your choice, fulfilling God’s requirement of 10 percent.
The Bishop’s Annual Appeal for Catholic Charities and Communities, formerly known as Catholic Charities, provides the money to fund several offices, programs, and activities that effect the guiding and helping of people all around central and northern Alabama.
How does all this make you feel? Does it make you grimace?
Well, there are several things that make us grimace, but we do them anyway because we see the value in them. Physical therapy, for example, is painful but, depending on the circumstances, necessary to regain health and strength. In addition, paying taxes is essential to maintaining our lifestyle and staying out of jail. Over and above that, however, paying tithes honors God, keeps our churches open, and fulfills His plan.
I don’t know about you, but I like having my mail delivered daily, my garbage and recycles picked up weekly, my local roads and interstate Highways paved, and my neighborhood protected by policemen and firemen. So, I dutifully pay my taxes.
In a similar way, most people like the many amenities of the Church, such as good lighting, clean bathrooms, well-appointed gathering spaces, handsome hymnals, beautiful grounds, and a helpful staff. So, we need to dutifully pay our tithe with at least half of it going to our local parish church.
The whole goal of the spiritual life is to be free - free to love. One of the ways we demonstrate our love is by caring for God’s Church and for our brothers and sisters in need. Tithing is God’s perfect plan for doing this.
Dave Ramsey, the famous financial advisor gives us this encouragement: “If you’re willing to live like no one else … the day will come when you’ll be able to live like no one else.”
I prefer to modify it slightly: “If you’re willing to live like no one else, the day will come when you’ll be able to live and give like no one else! Amen.”
Msgr. Michael Deering is currently pastor of Holy Spirit Catholic Church and School in Tuscaloosa. He was associate pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church and School and taught theology at John Carroll Catholic High School for two years (2002-2004). He was pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Henry Parishes for 12 years (2004-2016). He also served as Vicar General of the diocese for 14 years (2007-2021).
