Thought provoking as I have by now crossed well past some nebulous financial and actuarial Rubicon and must acknowledge that I am earning money that I will never personally need or benefit from. So, who will? A classmate once implied to one of my kids that they were "rich kids". "No we're not, our parents are!" Which is exactly how they were raised. I remain convinced that a trust fund robs young people and couples of too much. We only promised them an education. But at some point, they SHOULD be a good direct investment. The most important thing for the Christian (and my wife and I started with a net worth of zilch but have always strictly tithed at multiple stations in life and have yet to miss a cent or a meal) is to remember that we are only stewards of every gift we are entrusted with in this life and should always seek His wisdom and will.
Unless housing prices come down, and they've gone up substantially for young people relative to starting salaries, helping out with a larger down payment to buy down the monthly payment seems particularly helpful these days if everyone is working hard and doing right generally. It might even result in more years with more grandkids.
I do want to stick up for the Die With Zero book though. The author actually advocates giving everything you plan to give to the next generation when they are young enough to make a difference (such as when they are 25-35yrs old, as opposed to perhaps 50-60s they'd be if you die closer to avg life expectancy), and keeping only enough to live happily until death with zero/near zero. Not near as self centered as the provocative title makes it sound.
Your statement that the 10% tithe is only required for those who outright own their homestead is an fascinating conclusion I had not considered. When I was a kid, my father impressed upon me the duty to always tithe at least 10% of your income, and I've done that ever since I started earning money as a teenager. Now I'm married, with kids, and we're renting (I'm a young millennial), but I've still been tithing a minimum of 10%. This definitely isn't the norm for my cohort. I have a close friend, who is the same age, is married, no kids, and has a mortgage, and they don't come close to 10% in the amount they tithe. They have car debt, as well.
No judgement from me on their giving habits. I get how hard it is right now. I've idly wondered what life would look like for me if I hadn't been forking over 10% for years, but I don't dwell on it. I just follow through on the conviction my dad (and God) laid on my heart and keep giving "without my left hand knowing what my right hand is doing."
I have some knowledge of my church's giving patterns, and it does seem like it's mostly the highly successful boomer gen in the church that is able to keep our giving as high as it is (whether that is 10% of their realized income isn't something I know, or care to know).
I think I will continue to tithe 10%, but I'm going to reread Deut/Leviticus with an eye for how you reached this conclusion. I love these kinds of theological conclusions and want to find it for myself.
Thought provoking as I have by now crossed well past some nebulous financial and actuarial Rubicon and must acknowledge that I am earning money that I will never personally need or benefit from. So, who will? A classmate once implied to one of my kids that they were "rich kids". "No we're not, our parents are!" Which is exactly how they were raised. I remain convinced that a trust fund robs young people and couples of too much. We only promised them an education. But at some point, they SHOULD be a good direct investment. The most important thing for the Christian (and my wife and I started with a net worth of zilch but have always strictly tithed at multiple stations in life and have yet to miss a cent or a meal) is to remember that we are only stewards of every gift we are entrusted with in this life and should always seek His wisdom and will.
Unless housing prices come down, and they've gone up substantially for young people relative to starting salaries, helping out with a larger down payment to buy down the monthly payment seems particularly helpful these days if everyone is working hard and doing right generally. It might even result in more years with more grandkids.
Or at least make sure they can down pay the 20% to skip the PMI ripoff.
This a great read, thanks.
I do want to stick up for the Die With Zero book though. The author actually advocates giving everything you plan to give to the next generation when they are young enough to make a difference (such as when they are 25-35yrs old, as opposed to perhaps 50-60s they'd be if you die closer to avg life expectancy), and keeping only enough to live happily until death with zero/near zero. Not near as self centered as the provocative title makes it sound.
Your statement that the 10% tithe is only required for those who outright own their homestead is an fascinating conclusion I had not considered. When I was a kid, my father impressed upon me the duty to always tithe at least 10% of your income, and I've done that ever since I started earning money as a teenager. Now I'm married, with kids, and we're renting (I'm a young millennial), but I've still been tithing a minimum of 10%. This definitely isn't the norm for my cohort. I have a close friend, who is the same age, is married, no kids, and has a mortgage, and they don't come close to 10% in the amount they tithe. They have car debt, as well.
No judgement from me on their giving habits. I get how hard it is right now. I've idly wondered what life would look like for me if I hadn't been forking over 10% for years, but I don't dwell on it. I just follow through on the conviction my dad (and God) laid on my heart and keep giving "without my left hand knowing what my right hand is doing."
I have some knowledge of my church's giving patterns, and it does seem like it's mostly the highly successful boomer gen in the church that is able to keep our giving as high as it is (whether that is 10% of their realized income isn't something I know, or care to know).
I think I will continue to tithe 10%, but I'm going to reread Deut/Leviticus with an eye for how you reached this conclusion. I love these kinds of theological conclusions and want to find it for myself.