There are as many ways to calculate a financial commitment to God as there are people in the pews. You might have heard the word “tithe,” which means giving ten percent of your income annually. Tithing has frequently been taught as the biblical standard, or minimum, of giving. This isn’t a bad method of calculating a pledge, and it might be the right answer for you at this time. However, there isn’t a lot of evidence that tithing was routinely practiced in the Old Testament or in the new Christian communities of the New Testament. Indeed, the expectations were quite a bit higher in the early Christian communities, just check out Acts 4:32-5:11.

Furthermore, 10% of your income might be too much for you. Making a financial commitment to God should be an act of gratitude and thanksgiving that fosters flourishing. It is not to be a financial burden. Consequently, there are situations when giving 10% of your income would hinder rather than enhance. On the other hand, 10% might be too little. Most of us live far more extravagantly than the people we read about in scripture. In some cases, limiting our giving to 10% would not be an act of faith nor would we be doing as much good as we could with the wealth we have been given.

So, how should we calculate our pledges? Early in our marriage, Jodie and I pledged an annual giving amount equal to our monthly house payment. We did this because we wanted to be as invested in the kingdom of God as we were invested in this earthly plane. So, if you have never pledged before, I recommend this as a starting point.

Eventually we were able to give more. We set forth on a path to become “tithers.” We did this incrementally over a few years. If this method intrigues you, see the chart below for how different percentages of income equate to different monthly amounts of giving at different incomes.