Hi there everyone,

How should I handle the giving of the tenth of my salary to te church? I've been told that I need to give that tenth before I use any of my money for anything else?

I'm commited to giving 10% of my gross salary, and I will do so no matter what. I'm just wandering since I need to start paying bills but I havent been able to see what my gross salary for the month is, even though I've already received my salary.

1st of all I have been focusing on this verse in Jn 17:3 - "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." which tells me that our eternal life is based on our relationship with God - the 1st 5 verses in Jn chapter 10 say that we know & hear God's voice so I wanted to say make sure that you are giving your money to the church that God tells you to. Most pastors say "Give to who feeds you (the word)" & the bible would agree compare Gal 6:6 (NIV) "The person who is taught the word should share all his goods with his teacher."

2nd of all I am wondering if this is your first check? Because you can always look at an old statement if you are on salary every check should look the same - if for some reason your wages fluctuate like due to commisions/tips then what I would do is take 10% of the net plus 5-10% more as a cusion & put it to the side - yes you are to give God 10% off the top or your firstfruits but there is no harm in giving Him more by rounding up to the next dollar. There is a thought that I saw the last time I was studying it - Prov 3:9 "Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:" - I think that "increase" means profit - taxes & other expenses (maybe perhaps even rent) could possibly be deducted before you calculate the 10% that God wants. But I am just a human talking remember how I started? You have to do what God tells you to do so make sure you are listening to him & not a human - & if you only hear God speak through humans then remember Isa 8:20 - if they dont agree with what the bible says then don't listen (that means you need to do a lot of study/prayer so you know what the bible says & means).

Perhaps you can postpone paying your bills untill you see your paperwork - someone in human resources or accounting should be able to help you get the form you need. Just pray to God that no one turns off your lights untill you pay & you dont want to pay untill you tithe first & you dont want to tithe untill you know how much you earned so you can calculate 10% - God is an all powerful, merciful, gracious God & will probably move major mountains in your life if you show a desire to be obedient to Him.

You can also do some minor algebra on your net to figure out a number close to your gross if you know the percentage that is taken out by taxes. For example if they take out 45% then every $100.10 you have used to be $182 - you see what I mean? { G [your gross] - T [your taxes] = N [your net] } Don't forget to add any deductions for your 401k or whatever medical insurance you might have to your net before you figure out how much your taxes were.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Slade,