Story of Tithing
The beginning of tithing can be seen in the Bible, yet many Christians as well as non-Christians have the habit of doing some type of tithing today.
Tithe is a traditionally a Christian term that means to contribute one tenth of your income to charity or to your Church as a form of Chrch giving. However it has similarities with practices in other religious cultures. In Islam it is called ‘Zakat’. In India the Sikh religion also provides for such practice called ‘Dasvandh’ meaning one-tenth part of income to be devoted for religious purposes. Tenth Master Guru Gobind Singh started this practice. In Classical Indian society the Upanisads and the Bhagavadgita commend ‘true alms’ given with a sense of duty in a fit place and at a fit time to a deserving person from whom one expects nothing in return.
The word tithe is derived from the Hebrew word ‘asair’, which means to give the tenth part of something, often of a person’s income. Today, tithes (or tithing) are normally voluntary and paid in cash. However, there are still European countries that allow the church to mandate tithing and enforce it by law.
Denmark is a case in point where a church tax is mandatory for members of the Church of Denmark. The tax varies in different municipalities. It is mostly about 1% of the taxable income. And in Finland members of state churches have to pay a church tax ranging between 1% and 2.25% of their earnings and the Church taxes are included into the general national taxation process.
But still tithing as a confirmed tradition was established only after Exodus. Tithes were routine in the olden days through much of the Near East and also later in Carthage, Lydia, and Arabia.
The Hebrew practice of giving tithes was mentioned in the Bible, beginning with the gift from Abraham to the Canaanite king and priest Melchizedek (Genesis–:20). Tithes were also given in ancient Lydia, Arabia and Carthage. Tithes were adopted by the early Christian church, being mentioned in councils at Tours in 567 and at Macon in 585. They were formally recognised under Pope Adrian I in 787.
Tithing in some Christian churches is controversial because it applies an Old Testament process to a New Testament organisation (the Church). No evidence exists in the New Testament for the tithe to be applied to Christians. Indeed, only Jews living in the promised land were required to pay the tithe in the Old Testament, as it was actually a form of income tax used to support not only the government of Old Testament Israel, but also the temple and the priesthood.
Current day Tithing
Despite the fact that it has originated in the Bible and earliest Christianity, now it is a unique way to gift something whenever you are given something. Giving EVERY time you are in receipt is a compelling form of giving as it allows the benefactor to experience something exceptionally eloquent – more on that later.
Let us return to history. That section of the Bible that Christians refer to with regard to tithing is Malachi 3:10. Lots of Christians tithe to their church as they feel that they are under obligation to do so according to the Bible. And many Churches then as well as now insist that their members contribute to the church to help it carry on its activities. In spirit though, if the giving is not done out of free will and with a happy intention, it does not accomplish its proper benefit – if in fact you want to create a proper benefit by the gift.
Controversy about Tithing
Tithing has often been a contentious topic. The issue whether a Christian should pay tithe is often argued in many Christian congregations.
An article has been published in Wall Street Journal about tithing under the title ‘The Backlash Against Tithing’, in which the writer Suzanne Sataline says, ‘As Churches push donations, congregants balk; ‘that’s not the way God works’.’
Unfortunately, the potent mix of ideology, power equations, and a narrow perspective, can often give rise to a Jekyll and Hyde situation – the perfection of giving being lost in the mishmash and mix-up of mysticism. Despite the conflict, tithing is still a complete and amazingly forceful action that anyone can carry on to turn their lives around to come face to face with a more plentiful direction.
For those who are desirous of understanding the Christian perspective of tithing there is unlimited material available to read. For those who are interested in understanding the reason WHY tithing is so wonderful, continue reading.
Why is Tithing so amazing?
This is indeed a powerful question because if you just mindlessly follow something without knowing some key background pointers you may be heading in the wrong direction.
If more people who regularly tithed knew exactly why tithing works when it is done in the spirit of pure giving, then it would probably unleash a greater desire to give even more. And for those that give irregularly, it could inspire them to give first every time they received.
To look at the real ‘why’ of how regular giving creates more we have to move into the world of Quantum Physics and Quantum Mechanics. The laws in this world are not the same as in our physical or Newtonian world.
The movie ‘What the Bleep’ describes the quantum world through simple examples. The movie segment linked below describes a little about how matter becomes waves and acts like fluids when observed from a quantum physics perspective : http://video.yahoo.com/watch/1349535/4653525.
The movie describes an amazing world viewed from a quantum space. When a beam of electrons is fired through a plate with a slit in it onto a wall – as you would expect, it would it within a single line on the wall straight opposite the slit.
If the experiment is conducted by using an energy wave that reacts the way a water wave does, one gets a foreseeable result. As the wave strikes the plate it rebounds off the plate but where there is the opening, a part of the wave goes across through the opening. Coming out of the other side of the opening, the surging water moves out in the pattern of an arc, resulting in a new wave just as in the old laboratory tests done in schools in analysing wave patterns. As the surge of water strikes the wall across, it will have maximum force in the middle straight opposite the opening and will have lesser force all across the wall. This is exactly like the line the electrons make.
If we added a second slit in the plate, again we would get a predictable result with the wave experiment – two small waves would appear through the slits and when those new waves touch each other they would cancel each other out creating an interference pattern. Several waves would now hit the wall making a stripped affect on the wall. All this is as expected for wave energy behavior, so nothing new here.
All that is interesting about the quantum experiments come in now. As there are two openings in the plate, it is expected that there would be two lines on the wall opposite if electrons are shot through. But as against the expectation, what one gets are an intervention pattern and a stripped effect. This is not the expected result. So the matter has been converted into a wave. It can be assumed that electrons were rebounding off each other and creating a wave effect; so if electrons are shot only one at a time, the result should be different. But the result does not vary. This may happen if the electron break into wave like particles, when it strikes against the plate, then goes through the openings and then mixes with itself after it emerges from the plate. This results when matter is reacting like a wave, or rather a solid is reacting like a liquid. The world has perhaps too many mysteries that we do not understand.
Though the overall properties of the world appear to be solid in nature, it does seem that it has enough of properties of a liquid as well – flux or liquid energy, which behaves like fluids in the physical world. The laws of physics clearly state that liquids that are alike in nature are attracted towards each others, while those which are unlike each other has a tendency to segregate and form its own group. The ineffective combining of water and oil is an example of this. Chromatography shows clearly the dispersion in clear bands of one substance into the many substances of which it is made of, just like larger collections of human beings split into smaller groups of people sharing common passions, strengths and interests.
The essence of it is that we feel total fulfilment when we give a thing to another. The act of giving, the sense of bliss of it, is the greatest of all gifts. It is wrongly understood that he who is in receipt of the object is the only receiver and people fail to notice that it is the one who gives who is the real recipient. If you’re not still convinced, then look at yourself among children and see how fulfilled you become when you give to them whatever their reaction be.
When we understand that we are first giving to ourselves when we give and that we do this because we want to feel joy then we have a key. This key unlocks the door of understanding to giving. And when we give repeatedly the momentum builds up just like a wave getting bigger and bigger the more we add to it with our giving.
The reality that we feel contented when we give someone something modify our perspective literally – we feel empowered and on that instant we appear more beautiful to others. There may be peddlers on the street offering napkins or other sundry things that one is not in need of, but one day you may buy it just to see that smile lighting up the face of the peddler in relief and thankfulness. It is the same satisfaction one gets by responding to a street musician.
A contended individual radiates a natural magnetism that draws others to him and in doing so he enriches himself. It is clear-cut. They pull towards them both those who are desirous of experiencing that feeling as well as those who have already known the richness of it.
So just like water and oil, givers and non-givers gather in separate areas. And the best place to receive something is in a place where givers hang out! But of course you can only stay in the giving group while you give! Givers love to give to those who give.
So even though we can run to quantum physics for our answers, they also lie right in front of our face. Like attracts like – simple. Everywhere you look you see this happening. Lions hand out with lions, students hang out with students, women hang out with women, guys hang out with guys, ‘poor’ people hang out with ‘poor’ people and ‘rich’ people hang out with ‘rich’ people. And yes – givers hang out with givers.
So if you give from a sense of self-reproach then it will only boomerang on you – you will just attract to you like-minded others who have a guilt complex and cannot be contented and delighted. The borderline between remorse and anger is narrow; so people gifting things out of a sense of guilt tend to turn in that direction. Joy is one of the highest of human emotions – and from there one can only turn to love – and that is what all of us are forever searching for.
So when you start giving you are two steps away from love – pretty amazing to think that isn’t it. Especially seeing most people are desperately seeking love. Now we know the answer is simple – go get giving! And of course giving money is just a small part of giving – giving in general will create a space of joy for us, no matter how ‘small’.
There is also an emotional aspect to giving consistently. This aspect might not in the beginning appear to have connections to the sensation of joy – in the end it completely bonds us to the absolute bliss of joy.
When we give something – especially something we don’t feel we have much of – then we send a powerful signal to our brain that life can be trusted. When we give something and later on we look back and we observe that all worked out well we connect with trust. The opposite of trust is fear. So again, a party of fearful people would not be a happy and joyful one so their attraction point would be pretty darn low. However, a party of trusting people would be a joyful experience and would attract others seeking that experience. So in the end when we trust it converts to joy and again we are only one step away from the number one thing that most of us are seeking – love.
So the essence that has been forgotten over the ages is right here today for anyone to connect with simply and easily. My son received a lot of money for Christmas and I asked him what he was going to do with it. He said he was going to save most of it. I asked him how much he was going to give. He had not considered that an option until I shared it with him. What would happen if the first thing we did when we received was to give some away – do you think we would experience more joy
Transaction based donating – or transaction based benevolence
This takes us to the force of transactional giving. Many enterprises give when they have enough of money to give. When they do not have much they do not prefer to give. So their possible levels of joy fluctuate depending upon market variations – they do not have any restraint. But whoever gives EVERY time they get something is in charge and has their relationship with perfect joy forever.
Transactional giving rather than total giving is based on the highs and lows of business and so is a self-evident way of giving. The method is that when you get something you also give something – straightforward. If your business is bad you might give but according to the income. And when business is marking a rising graph, giving can also improve.
One of the major secrets of transaction based enterprise is that you can partake in the joy of giving so perfectly with all concerned – clients/society – staff – and enterprise. In this scenario customers understand that when they buy something they are also giving though it does not cost them anything other than choosing and shopping with you they feel power of the giving – that is why the traditional CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility, gets transformed into Customer Social Responsibility, with the customer responding perfectly to giving just by appreciating you and have that extra cause, though an elusive one, for preferring to do the shopping with you.
Members of the staff also get a chance to participate in the pleasure because every time they are part of making a sale, they know full well that they had their role in giving something to someone who needed that help. The event generates a strong sense of camaraderie within the team that promotes team spirit and motivates the team members.
Any venture, even a completely new one with no profit margin, can manage Buy1GIVE1 transaction-based giving – there are no problems in every sense to be part of it and everything is controlled by the business. The payment amount per deal begins from as low as one cent and rises to any large amount the person can decide with every business left to choose their own type of gifting and providing to sustain on the basis of their business type and success. There is simply no justification not to give in this manner when the advantages that ensue from giving are so many. Enterprises that are presently giving to a cause can easily change over very promptly and effortlessly to Buy1GIVE1 transaction-based giving while still helping the same cause giving additional substantial benefits to the venture.
At the end of the day transaction-based giving is a modern form of tithing that is easy and effective for anyone, anywhere. Now that we know it is not about the amount that we give such as one-tenth, but simply about the fact we are giving that makes the difference. When we enter the club of givers we move into a special and privileged world that only those who give are privy to. And unless you get giving today, you just simply don’t ‘get’ giving and never will till you start. So start now.
‘We’re not here to gift in order ‘to take.’ We want more to be able to give more.
Discover more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
categories: giving,marketing,spirituality,cause marketing,business,tything,self-help