It’s the time of year when our church begins to think about its budget for the new year, and people are asked to come up with money from their own budgets to support the church. This can be a challenge for many of us. Even though we value the church community, we all have tight budgets and sometimes it can be hard to find the money to contribute. Traditionally, a tithe is about 10% of your income, perhaps more, and it’s easy to feel floored by this number.
Think about the bones of your budget. What are the things that you must have in your budget? You need a home, and you need food. What comes after that? Are there other items that form the foundation of your budget? If charity is one of the foundations of your life, that should be reflected in your budget as well.
You don’t need to renovate your budget in this way if it seems like too big of a leap. However, taking a step back from your budget every so often to look at how it is guiding your life is very important. It’s like your daily schedule. We all have lofty ideals for our lives – or not-so-lofty ones at times. However, it’s how things play out in the day to day decisions that really makes our lives what they are.
While tithing is traditionally associated with a religious institution, you don’t need to tithe to a church, either. If there is something that you deeply value, think about how you can make a contribution to that. Perhaps you decide to support a number of families through World Vision or Plan and help children get an education. Perhaps you have a family member who has a serious disease and you want to donate money to those who are researching treatments and cures. Perhaps you want to support seniors on a fixed income. Maybe you want to protect a wetland near your home, and you’re willing to donate money to do so.
What if you reframe your budget and there is still nothing left after food and housing? What if you are struggling yourselves? As I mentioned in the Robin Hood post of a few days ago, we are all rich. We may not have a lot of money at times, but we can all give something. This might be a donation of time that you value as much as the tithe that you would have given. If there is something that you support, think of how you can reframe your budget or your life’s energy to support that cause: it will bring a deep sense of meaning into your life.