shimmer

The Juggler, a collaborative pagan blog: "'tithe - Function: verb: Inflected Form(s): tithed; tith·ingEtymology: Middle English, from Old English teogothian, from teogotha tenthtransitive senses
1 : to pay or give a tenth part of especially for the support of the church
2 : to levy a tithe onintransitive senses : to give a tenth of one's income as a tithe '
- Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

I've been thinking a great deal about the sacred in our fiscal lives as of late. It's an idea I have been stuggling with and meditating on for months now. In my personal struggles to understand my own relationship with money and its role in my life and in the divine nature of the universe, the concept of tithing has popped into my mind again and again.

I think the first reaction of some pagans to this word, 'tithing', would be to be uncomfortable or to pull away from it. We, as a loose faith group, can't even stop arguing if one who gives a significant portion of their lives to support a community spiritually should be allowed to eek out some income from it much less begin a conversation about giving a set portion of our incomes to enriching our covens, houses, clans and the like. Besides, the idea of tithing reeks of the Christian and Catholic backrounds many of us have left behind and have very mixed or negative emotions about. " -- by Jacqueline Waters (read the rest here)

I've always thought it a sacred duty to "give back" somehow. The main way I've done this over the past couple of years has been to give some of my money to panhandlers. I used to never do this, because people always say, "don't give them money, they'll just use it for booze or drugs." Finally I decided this was not a good reason to curtail my compassion. When I give someone money, I do it out of love and compassion... what they do with it is their responsiblity, not mine. I can at least be of some potential help to them with a dollar or so.

However, I'm also thinking about giving 5% of my income as a tithing. I know, tithing is actually 10%, but I'm on a pretty thin budget already. Still, not as thin as some, and I think every bit helps. As I do the math, and figure this into my budget, I see that I can not really commit to 5%... but that I can commit right now to 3%. But to whom shall I tithe? I used to give regularly to the women's temple in the town I live in. I also have made donations to the Democratic party or to Democratic candidates, which I think is particularly crucial during this time. Women and sex are both important to my god; perhaps I will donate to a women's shelter or an AIDS hospice. I'm also concerned with hunger and homelessness, so that could be another good place for my money, as could human rights organizations like the Human Rights Coalition or Amnesty International.

Posted by Jean on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 at 12:10 PM | Permalink