If you're part of any organized religion and donate money on a regular basis, do you know where your money is going? Have you ever asked what they are spending the money on? Are you one of those people who feels that your pastor and church leaders know best and never even ask them, because you might feel inferior to them? Have you asked in the past and were told not to worry about it but still would like to know.
Before you give your hard earned money away, whether you're doing it out of guilt or pleasure, make sure you're supporting the right organization. You should never feel the need to donate money if you don't have it to give.
I went to a church that had funds for everything, building funds, starvation funds, church funds and even funds to fund of funds if they ran out of money. Okay I just threw that last part in their but all kidding aside, there's plenty of stuff to be done in our country, to help the starving, the poor and the needy. Why do we need to go to other countries?
I want to make a suggestion to people who can't afford to give their money away but feel guilty if they don't. In the Bible it tells you to give away 10% of your earnings to the church. The part that it doesn't tell you is what to do if you can't afford to give 10% to the church. I personally have known quite a few people who give money out of guilt and fear but will tell you that this is a requirement of their religion and its okay. God will take care of us and he always does.
I don't really believe God, the all powerful all-knowing and loving creator, wants us to suffer, if we just don't make enough money to survive. If you're planning on sending your child to a Christian private school and could only afford to send them to that school, using the money that you were going to tithe to the church, what will you do? Tithe the money to the church so that they can use it to feed hungry people in other countries or build a new church somewhere or help with your child's education.
Some of these decisions are made difficult by religious doctrine and these are the parts of organized religion that I have problems with. When do we use common sense, combined with a little education to seek the truth. Does your religion ask you to seek the truth but not to gather your information beyond their religious boundaries?
Only give what you can afford to give and feel good about it. If you don't feel good about giving your money away, don't do it. Take care of yourself, so that you can take care of others, if you choose to. Living a life of fear and guilt doesn't make sense.
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Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development.
Greg is currently working on a religious help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.
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