Tithing: Should this be part of your wealth building?

Aside from all the wealth accumulating disciplines that you can adapt and execute, I think this is something even deeper in a sense that it dwells in the subject of spirituality. Ask science and the answer is probably “No”. Ask the church and they’ll say “Yes”. Before we go on to this kind of argument, let us try to define what tithing means. Tithing is a voluntary contribution in the form of cash, goods or in kind. The word “Tithe” was derived from an Old English word meaning “Tenth”. It was believed in the early times that one-tenth of what you earn or something should be paid (usually voluntary) for tax or levy. Often times, it was done to support Christian religious organizations. Some interpretations of Biblical teaching conclude that although tithing was practiced intensively in the Old Testament, it was never practiced or taught in the first-century church. Instead the New Testament scriptures are seen as teaching the concept of “freewill offerings” as a means of supporting the church. Today, though we don’t really have any concrete evidence if this is true nor could we say this is non-sense. I have encountered people who have been saying that their lives have literally changed financially when they’ve religiously adopted tithing. On the other hand, you can’t blame others to think that these cases were mere coincidences. Have we found and talked to people who were tithing for years and still find it difficult to make both ends meet financially? Wherever this topic may lead us, whether you believe or not, I guess, tithing isn’t really that bad at all. A part of my rational thought says that tithing may not have anything to do with financial reward. Spiritually, I believe that this will do more good than bad. Not only that you enrich your soul but also helping those who are in need somehow gives you a different level of satisfaction. Even if you don’t have that much money in your hands, sharing something in a small way could make a big difference to the lives of the others. Have you tried giving something, like a piece of apple, to somebody you don’t know? See what happens? Congratulations you’ve just earned a new friend, and I mean, that’s your reward. That’s probably the reason behind cause and effect. You reap what you sow as people would say. The Indians believed in good karma. Don’t worry about not giving one-tenth of your earnings or wealth to charity, it depends on what or how much you’d like to share, anyway, it’s the thought that counts. Nowadays, we witness countless billionaires and millionaires who donate huge amount of money for charity as a way of giving back. For those who are religious, you know that God will take care of you and will give back everything in ten-folds if you do tithing. For the non-believers, sharing or helping others won’t hurt at all. Besides, you can’t bring all your money with you when you leave this world.