Sunshine Cathedral Blog

Question: How can I have more faith in divine provision? Should I tithe more? Would that help?

Answer: I define tithing as percentage giving, an intentional financial commitment one makes to a spiritual home. If you consistently give a generous percentage of your income to support the place that nourishes you spiritually, that is the spiritual principle of tithing in action. Feel free to increase what you give if you can, but do it out of the love of sharing, and not as a way to trick the Universe into giving you more!

Now, consistent giving does seem to help us feel more prosperous. Maybe it’s because we have to be more disciplined to be consistently generous, and discipline will help us in all financial matters. Or, maybe the act of giving is a way of expressing gratitude, and gratitude always helps us feel better and when we feel better we seem to do better. Maybe giving just reminds us that we something to give, and if we have something to give, we must be in some measure prosperous.

I’m not a financial advisor, but I can share a few tips that seem to help me feel more prosperous, even when times aren’t necessarily easy:

(1) Be thankful for what you have. What we praise, we raise! What we bless with gratitude seems to flourish; so, rather than fretting about what is lacking, notice what you have and be grateful for it.

(2) Be generous with your church and other good causes. Consistently giving to church and charities does seem to help us feel more prosperous, and it definitely feels good to know we are part of helping good causes thrive.

(3) Be generous with yourself. Put something aside, even if it’s just a few dollars, from every paycheck. As your savings expand, you’ll have a little extra for a rainy day. One good formula for sharing and saving is to put aside 15% of your net income, and live on the other 85%. Give 7% to the church (or 5% to church and 2% to other good causes) and 8% to your own savings account. Live on the other 85% (knowing you can dip into your savings if you need to). If you can’t live on 85% plus savings, you may be living beyond your means and should find a few areas to cut expenses.

When you are grateful for what you have and are generous with not only church and charities but also with yourself, you’ll feel more prosperous and if you feel prosperous, you are prosperous.