By: Dr. Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Sr. Associate Editor, ICN Group
(In the past article, we knew about gratitude meditation. Today, we will discuss about the importance & benefits of regular tithing.)
Do regular ‘Tithing’
Since childhood, I had curiosity to know as to why charity is an important aspect of living. Broadly speaking, charity is understood mainly in the context of either ‘almsgiving’ or ‘donations to the needy’ or in the form of ‘chanda’. Mother Teresa’s understanding of Charity was going out to the poor with compassion towards them. Mother Teresa declared, “My home is among the poor, and not only the poor, but the poorest of them”
Benefits of tithing
Tithing is the practice of giving one tenth of your income for a charitable cause. For some, it is part of life and they don’t treat one tenth of their income as theirs. Tithing has various benefits:-
- It gives you an abundance mentality – When you spare 10% of your income, it automatically shows that your sub-conscious mind accepts that 90% of your income is sufficient for you. This prevails over scarcity mentality, which says that even 100% of your income is not sufficient to meet out your total expenses. Moving from scarcity mentality to abundance mentality is biggest catalyst for changing the circumstances in your life.
As you start thinking about abundance, you are bound to attract more & more abundance in life. You will start to believe that the universe is full of abundance and the universe also wants you to prosper. Once you change the quality of thoughts about the money, so that the larger part of your thinking is of prosperous nature instead of scarcity mentality, you will see that it is in your hands to change the way money behaves in your life.
- You can support a worthy cause – Nowadays, there are so many organisations, engaged in doing charitable work. If you are not in a position to identify any needy person directly, you can donate to these organisations to support a cause.
Don’t feel guilty, if you don’t tithe
Don’t feel guilty, if for any reason you are not in a position to title 10% of your income. When you tithe, do it joyfully, otherwise the real purpose behind tithing will be defeated. It should not be a painful exercise for you.
Real purpose of tithing is to do good. If you are not in a position to spare money, you can spare time for a good cause. You can volunteer in social or religious or charitable organizations, which you think worthy of your time. You can share your knowledge with others by teaching them. If you cannot spare money or time, you can still do good by doing prayers for others. The intention behind your tithing is more important than the actual tithing.
Almighty God, creator of the universe has provided us the livelihood. Some of us are financially better than others. At whatever level of financial income you are, you will find some of the other people in the lower ladder than yours. As God has entrusted you with more money, it becomes your responsibility to share a portion with your weaker brethren.
I suggest you to start tithing right now and do it for one year and then see the difference in your life state. I guarantee that you will be surprised to see the change in your environment. As you can easily survive on 90% of your income, it will fill you with abundance mentality and you will be more contended than ever before.
Don’t consider your tithe is so small
There are people who are giving huge donations of their whole life incomes. We have heard stories of charitable acts of Bill Gates, Ajim Premji, Anil Agarwal and Mark Zuckerberg, etc. Seeing the size of the charity done by these people, one may think that what contribution his small tithe can make and probably there would be no difference with his small tithe.
Here, one aspect needs to be emphasized that tithe is not your contribution to the income of the society as a whole or to God’s income, but it is simply a symbol of your gratitude towards the God; acknowledging that you are grateful that the God has given you much. God does not need any money from you, as he owns the whole cosmos. If you give, you get the benefits of abundance mentality.
As Mother Teresa puts it, “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.”
Start small, increase gradually
If you find it difficult to give 10% as tithe, start with small amount. If you start with 1% of your income, you will adjust to keep your expenses within the remaining 99% of your income. Next month, increase your tithe by another 1%. In this manner, in 10 months, you will start tithing 10% of your income, without suffering any real hardships.
Be careful that you do not fall in trap of expecting anything out of your tithing practice. You tithe because of your own decision to take a righteous step of helping the less fortunate brethren. You give to ensure that someone needy will receive and you will give your humble contribution to the God’s plan. Therefore, don’t expect that your act of tithing will immediately bring you good fortune. Your needs are already guaranteed by the Almighty God.
(In the next article, we will discuss about importance of inculcating good habits. I believe that you are enjoying the journey towards the future of your dreams with me. If yes, please stay tuned every Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday. Happy G.O.P.T.A.)
Dr. Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Creator & copyright holder of the concept G.O.P.T.A.© is an Author, Certified NLP Lifestyle Master Practitioner, Corporate Trainer & Motivational Speaker and recipient of Honorary Doctorate of Excellence (Management) by prestigious Young Scientist University, California, USA. He is Founder of ‘Read, Learn & Earn Movement’ and is popularly known among his fans & followers across the globe as ‘Time and Goal Guru’.
