I get a lot of questions about tithing. Many personal development and LOA teachers swear by it. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it’s almost like a magic formula: tithe and money comes gushing into your reality like a green Tsunami (or you know, whatever color your currency is). There are even those who claim that you’ll never get rich without tithing.
But is this true? And what exactly constitutes tithing? Do we have to give to an official charity? Does it count if we give the homeless guy on the corner a dollar? What about if we buy some candy bars from our colleague’s kids, even though we don’t like the taste, the colleague or the kids? Do we really have to tithe?
Obligation = Resistance
Ok, first of all, we don’t HAVE TO do anything. No matter how helpful something may initially be, if you make it into an obligation, it stops feeling good and stops serving us. Because, as you may have guessed, it’s all about how you feel. But that doesn’t just mean that you have to feel good about tithing (you do). It goes further than that.
What tithing really is
Tithing is the act of giving away money without getting anything tangible in return. Seen from that perspective, giving to charity counts, as does giving the homeless dude a dollar. And, if you don’t like the candy bars, you could technically buy them and then give them away, too. That would also be tithing.
But, does tithing always automatically lead to bigger income for you? No. It’s not a magic formula. Some people have experienced great success with tithing while others haven’t. That’s because the mere act of giving away money, the action itself, doesn’t have any power whatsoever. It’s the energy behind it that has all the effect.
Tithing can be a useful tool
Just like meditation and visualization, tithing is merely a tool to help you line up energy. It can be a powerful tool, when used correctly, but it’s just a tool, nonetheless.
The idea is that when you give money away, you are telling the Universe that you have more money than you need. Hence, you can give some of it away. And if you actually feel that way when you tithe, it will indeed bring you more money. When you line up with the energy of having more money than you need, the Law of Attraction will ensure that this becomes your reality – you’ll have more than you need.
However…
- If giving away money makes you feel all anxious and MORE aware of how little you have, then tithing will only serve to make you feel even poorer.
- If it makes you feel resentful, as in, why can’t the homeless dude help himself, or why does it always have to be you, why can’t it be some rich dude who helps, then tithing will fill your reality with lots of needy people who could get help from someone else, but won’t. Everyone will suddenly want a piece of you.
- If you’re only tithing because you desperately think it will increase your money flow, then you’re most likely focused more on how little money you have, and will create more of that.
How to tithe correctly
When we consider that tithing is merely a way to help us feel more abundant, to get into that feeling of having more than we need, then it becomes clear that simply chucking money at the needy isn’t good enough. In fact, we may not even need to give money away (again, if it makes you more aware of how little you have, it’s not going to work the way you want it to).
I once heard Abraham say that they would advise us to tithe to ourselves. I loved that. It really illustrated the point. If you create an account for something frivolous, something you really don’t need but just want, and start tithing to that, you’re also sending the message that you have more than you need, but you’re less likely to trigger the feeling that you’re giving something away when you don’t have enough yourself. It’s a nice, easy way to line up the energy of what we want.
So, we shouldn’t give to charity?
But, does that mean I’m saying we shouldn’t give to charity or hand the homeless dude some change? I’m not saying that at all. Give freely, give joyously, give when it feels good to do so. But don’t give out of obligation or to get something back. Because even wanting to increase your money flow in return for the tithing is trying to get something in return.
And think about it: If you attach the energy of obligation or responsibility to your gift, if your vibration is saying that they need you to give them this money because they can’t create for themselves, then that’s the vibration you’ll perpetuate in them. The money will go to people who feel totally powerless and who will continue to do so. However, when you give from a place of being aligned with Who You Really Are, when you give because you KNOW that you have more than enough, simply because it feels good, for the pure joy of it, then your gift will find its way to someone who is a match to that – someone who is ready to feel empowered. They will use the money you give them to move towards their own goals. They will hear the call of Who They Really Are. Attaching a high vibration to your gift will ensure it perpetuates happiness. Attaching a low vibration to your gift will ensure it perpetuates misery. What do you want to perpetuate, both in yourself and in others?
What are your thoughts on tithing? I look forward to reading them in the comments.