When most people consider giving a tithe — one tenth — back to God in gratitude for His allowing them to be stewards of all the blessings they enjoy, they think of tithing from their monthly or annual salary or wages.

In fact, a life well and wisely lived will naturally accumulate some trappings of security and value: a house, retirement savings, some life insurance, transportation. Those things add up. In fact, most of the 2.2 million people who die each year in the United States approach their final days with an estate worth far more than they imagine.

In a report for the U.S. Department of the Treasury 10 years ago, David Joulfaian reported average bequests per household of $44,000 and per estate of $285,000.

While some nine trillion dollars in wealth has evaporated from American bank accounts and home equity in the past 18 months, enormous resources still reside in the hands of Christians whom God has made stewards of His wealth.

Clay Warf, executive director of the North Carolina Baptist Foundation, urges Christians to consider tithing their estates when they are creating their final wills and testaments. When addressing churches and other groups Warf often holds up two glass jars, one filled with 900 pennies, the other with 100. The larger jar represents the estate a typical person accumulates during a lifetime of working, earning, saving and stewarding. The smaller jar represents annual income.

Tithing Christians most often consider only the smaller jar, only their annual income when     contributing their tithe. You don’t normally consider the value of your accumulated goods when tithing because you need those things to live on. Your truck is a work tool; your house is your shelter; your clothes keep you warm.

But there comes a time when you no longer need those things because you are passing on to your great reward.

Warf is not asking that you ignore your children, but that you consider leaving at least a tithe of your estate — of that larger jar — to Christian causes. Just think of the multiple millions of dollars every year available to Christian causes if those who love the Lord would just “testify” to His providence by leaving at least 10 percent to further His work.

A brief study from six rural North Carolina counties found 149,000 senior adults on Sunday school rolls. If they tithed just an average estate each, invested at five percent, their combined gifts would contribute $33 million annually to Christian causes. That’s just from six counties and the annual contribution would nearly equal the budget of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

January is “make your will” month although any time you do it is the right time — if you do it before your children or spouse are stuck making decisions for you that you should be making for yourself. If you don’t prepare a will the state of North Carolina has one prepared for you. Although be sure it will not provide a cent for Christian causes, and it will not provide for your family the way you intend.

Make the call now. Call your legal consultant or (800) 521-7334 to find a reference from the Baptist Foundation of North Carolina.


Financial health package
Across three issues of the Biblical Recorder and numerous postings online, the BR staff compiled stories dealing with financial health, budgeting, teaching children about money, stewardship issues, etc. For a complete list, click here.