First let me give you the theological answer. Our God is sovereign over all things. Everything. Even whether I will live from one moment to the next. If I have a job, it’s because God has decided that I should have one. If I have the talent or skill to earn money, that’s because God has decided that I should have this talent or skill. Because we believe this to be true, we understand that everything we have comes from God. My own life, my family, the jobs we have, and the money we are able to earn — it all comes from God. It is therefore not “my money.” It is God’s money. He declares that I honor Him and worship Him by giving 10% (a tithe, or tenth) of everything I earn, and from the gross, not the after-taxes-and-all-expenses net.

That’s the theological answer. If your husband does not believe God exists, or if he believes that God exists but isn’t sovereign (meaning God isn’t in control of all that happens, both good and bad, to us and everyone else in the world), those are the questions to deal with first. Not money. The willingness to tithe comes FROM the proper understanding of whose money it is, not in spite of it. God allows us to live on the remaining 90%, although He does tell us to be generous with THAT also, but in a different way. Responding to needs as we become aware of them, not in a regular tithe to the church.

Next let me answer that pastor question. I’m not sure if you’re part of our family at Rio or not, but I don’t recognize your name (and neither does my database), so I’ll assume that you’re not. Rio is a Presbyterian church, which is a form of church government where the pastor doesn’t “run the church.” The decisions are made by a group of elders who are chosen from among the members, BY the members. Some of these elders make up the finance team, and they put in endless hours trying to make ends meet and provide for all the needs of the ministry. I have huge respect for the guys who do that job here, because I know how hard they work and how deeply they feel the need to never make cuts.

So at Rio, our pastor knows SOME things about where money goes, but he really doesn’t know all that much. A budget is established, ministries are responsible to not spend more than their budget (at Rio, almost all our ministries UNDER their budget — we are very frugal). So if our pastor here says he’s not sure where the money goes, that’s because it’s not his job to know that, and in fact it’s best if he doesn’t become preoccupied with money issues.

Now let me give you the practical answer. You asked why we’re always in need of money, because didn’t you give YOUR tithe? That’s an excellent question! The short answer is, hardly anyone, percentage-wise, gives a tithe. If everyone at Rio gave a tithe of their gross income, our church would never have a financial need. We would be able to fully staff every ministry, support every mission we wanted to, house and feed the homeless and hungry, and keep our facilities in good repair. The average American churchgoer gives 2% of their income. That’s true here as well. So the answer is, we need money all the time because people simply don’t give a tithe.

Some here at Rio give far MORE than a tithe. (If they’re reading this, they know who they are.) We couldn’t keep the lights on without these people. What an amazing gift of generosity they have! I personally aspire to someday be as successful as they have been, so I can be as generous as they are. I’m not kidding you when I say that I feel a bit of awe at the faithfulness of a few of our families who give SO much, not just money but also time and talent. Rio couldn’t exist without them, they are God’s direct blessing to this church.

Now we understand that a lot of people can’t tithe. For years, I wasn’t able to. I felt that like a weight, a thing God and I just didn’t talk about…and I hated that feeling. It took more than a year to change. I had to cut back on spending, we didn’t eat out much (and when we did it was cheap eats) and we haven’t taken a family vacation in over five years. But gradually, we reigned in our spending and each time we did, I added a bit more to the check until we were finally giving that tithe. I’m not going to say that God IMMEDIATELY opened the windows of heaven and poured cash into my pockets, but I will tell you that, over time, things have improved for us financially. As I’ve seen God being faithful to meet my family needs, and even beyond now, I am grateful and eager to return a tithe to Him in an act of worship, and stay alert for opportunities to share even more of what He gives me with those in need around me.

And there was a great weight removed from me. I no longer feel like I need to avoid those verses, or argue that it’s MY money and why is the church so greedy! I trust Rio to spend the money wisely, I trust God to provide for the needs of my family, and I give back to Him a portion of what He has given to me.

Does that answer your question?

I just read your blog about personal devotional time with God and found it very helpful.I just finished a Beth Moore bible study, Breaking Free, from my church in Holland,MI. A more meaningful devotional time with the Lord is what I will be working on and the more I can learn about this topic, will be helpful to me. But the reason I show your church web site is because a friend of mine has a friend going to your church in Ft. Lauderdale and my son now lives there and is looking for a church. So, thank you for writing your blog on dovtional time with our Lord.
Scott’s mom:) Numbers 6:24-26