I was having a wonderful discussion with my boss who is the coordinator of the "Non-Violence Prevention" program I do in rural schools, he is also a certified financial planner. Since I am new to investing I asked what are the two mains things that people who have a lot of money did to get their wealth. He said 1.)They saved on a regular basis, no amount was to small. 2.) And they gave money to charities and tithed. He went on to say that financial planners today are talking about the spiritual component of money. Especially Suzie Orman the Financial Planner for the TODAY SHOW. My boss said to have a lot of money one must increase their tithing. What do you think?

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2001

Answers

Rev. Rogers, What a profound question? I believe that we must ask the Holy Spirit to help us tithe and also we should have peace about our tithing. God may cause us to lose our source of income and then we will understand that he is the source of all income as I experienced in the past. I must admit that I fall short a few percentage points of the tithe(The tithe is 10% of income). I do believe that God will supply your needs and some of your wants when you tithe because it truly shows that you love God.

JazzMan

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2001

Hotep (Peace)

Sister Denise, giving and receiving "money" deals with the universal spiritual Law of Reciprocity. Whatever energy we put into the universe, is returned back to us picking up momentum along the way. The more goodness we give, the more goodness we receive. I am not a tither (money) to a church, per se. However, I give my time and resouces to various individuals and charities. There is no "set" amount. I do whatever G-d lays upon my heart.

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2001

One of the postulates I teach at work is "You never have enough money". It seems that most people who come to a job give such heavy consideration to the amount they are paid, but never stop to understand what it is they want to do with that pay. They just assume the bigger the paycheck, the "happier" they will be. This is a fallacious assumption. As a result of the postulate, I have come up with some corollaries:

1. Learn to live off less of what you have. Bad financial habits begin when we spend every dime we get. Isn't it interesting that 6 weeks after you get a raise, you once again don't have enough money (See Postulate)? This is because our lifestyles have immediately expanded to embrace the increase. Good fiscal discipline begins by containing the expansion of needs/lifestyle, thus freeing up increases to work their power where needed.
2. Pay God: Pay Yourself. Herein lies the key. We always have bills (unless you're Bill Gates or your last name is Walton/Mellon/Rockefeller). Thus it's easy to rationalize using every dollar now to pay a bill. But without the commensurate restraint on consumption, those bills will never go away! So, rather than delaying the work of God by not giving, start at the top with the tithe (or whatever your level of spiritual commitment). But don't stop with God; breaking the poverty cycle begins with saving. So pay yourself! (Thanks to Rev. Floyd Flake, Allen Cathedral, Jamaica, for this efficiently pithy expression.) Rev. Rogers' planner is right: even if it's just a dollar a week to start with, it's important to start. The habit> of saving is an important thing to engender. Once the habit is in place, the bearable amount will soon make itself known.
3. Invest to Increase. Having developed the habit of saving, now it's time to put your money to work. If you have a 401(k) plan at your job, I encourage you to max it out as soon as possible. The Eighth Wonder of the World is the miracle of compound interest. The sooner and younger you can get your money working for you, the more comfortable you will be in achieving your long-term financial goals. Rev. Rogers is doing a good thing in getting her daughter, at 23, on track. These next 15 years will provide her daughter the minimum she will need for a retirement.If you don't have a 401(k), look into establishing an IRA, or a Self-Employment Retirement account (IRA-SEP). Finally, whatever you can save above that consider placing into tax-free bonds, such as municipal bonds. A conversation with a Financial Planner can give you more ideas along these lines.

But the key is to start - now!

Finally, let me conclude with this scripture from Luke 6:38: "Give, and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over shall men give into your bosom. For with the measure ye mete withal it shall be measured unto you again."

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2001

Thanks to all of you. I can honestly say in the three months since I have started tithing to St. Paul Community Church. My personal income has increased three fold. Because I am tithing more than 30 percent to our church. We are a small congregation, but everything we need has been given to us. We do not have thirty members yet, but this month we as a church will be tithing to our sister church in Namibia. Since tithing jobs are falling into my lap. I am not even looking. I make my money from doing workshops in schools. It is amazing what happens when we tithe. We even have a member of our church who is unemployed and she tithes, and wants to start a fundraiser for our sister church in Namibia. And since she has started our church. Blessings are happening to her all the time! There is a reason Scripture tells us to give financial tithes. It blesses those who receive it and us.

-- Anonymous, March 09, 2001

Tithing is a joy. Every time the plate goes by and I put something in I want to yell TAKE THAT DEVIL! I know my offering will be used to get him somehow. My offering is a weapon as much as my prayers and witnessing. I am not rich but God always makes sure my family does fine because we obey God's command to tithe.

In Christ, Nathan Paujo

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2001