We received a letter in the mail this week about our pastor. His family has been fighting medical bills for a while for their children and now it has come to be that their septic system is dead and needs to be replaced. The total cost is somewhere around $15,000-$18,000 mark. Our church is going to do a love offering for the pastor. If I had the money, I would do it all myself, but I know others will be helping and it's not the job that God has given me. This church helped us with $1,000 at the beginning of the year to replace our water line (not a fun week) while I was unemployed. Any amount we do give will be taken out of our debt snowball (which next month we'll have around $1800).
My question is (to God and all of you), how much should we give? We've been tithing for most of this year when we could (well over the $1K we were given). Our church is about mid-sized (300-400 people) and knowing our church members I suspect that we will meet and exceed it. We've been going to this church now almost 2 years.
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I think this is really tricky. You want to give, it's an emotional thing, but your intellectual side is saying you really have little to give right now because of your debt situation.
I honestly don't think you can afford to give financially, but I would offer to give other things. Does he need help around the house, a babysitter, cook casseroles, even some computer work etc . . . what you give doesn't have to be in the form of money.
As far as tithing, I know this is a sensitive subject, but I think giving 10% is too high in financially difficult situations. However, that's my opinion and I know not everyone agrees with that opinion. I'd make sure though the 10% is after deducting estimated taxes/SSN/Med./expense deductions for any self-employment money earned. Or I'd just tithe 10% from the money earned from work and not from your rentals/self-employment/etc . . .
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