How Much Should You Give Away?

[Steve]

Ok, here's an interesting topic for a discussion. You've worked hard for many, many years and your efforts pay off...literally. You start making a lot of money, and before you know it, your family is wealthy. Now what? You recognize that you've been extremely blessed (in this case, financially), and you certainly feel a desire to give back. You pay your tithing regularly, and give generous fast offerings. Beyond that comes the question: how much do you give away, and to whom?

Do you give most of the money away such that your family scrapes to get by? Do you invest most of it? Do you save, just in case a costly emergency comes up? Do you keep enough to enjoy travel, a comfortable home, a beautiful yard where the kids can play?

Throughout history, the Lord has blessed His people. Some of them He has blessed with affluence. Lehi was blessed with abundance before being commanded to leave Jerusalem. Job was similarly blessed. Many of the ancient prophets had land, animals, and other riches. Consider the general authorities in our day. Many were men in notable positions with large incomes.

We'll draw out the scenario as needed, but I'd be interested to know what people think. There's no question that we should be generous and unselfish with the blessings we receive, in whatever form those blessings manifest themselves. The question is simply, "How much do you give away?"

[Tuly]

i'm sure it must be very hard to be rich. Those are very hard questions. But since I know everything is the Lord's anyway. I would take care of what I need just "sufficient for our needs" and give the rest to the church to pay for missions, BYU scholarships, and the continuing education fund. I think we should always be prepared to give everything to the church eventually. i love the story of the widows mite (Mark 12:41-44). On verses 43-44 it says "And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you. That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have into their treasury; For all they did cast in of their abundance: but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." - wow! what a lesson in faith. Like King Benjamin said "Are we not all beggars?"Since we are talking about wealthy people, I'm sure they have their one-year food storage, etc. money for their missions thought out, good life insurance, etc. Bottom line faith has to be the first principle to determine this situation as well as all our decisions in life.

[Edward]

I want to be poor, so I'm going to be a school teacher.

[Betsy]

what is "enough" to many is extreme abundance in my eyes. Being monetarily "wealthy"..... huh. I can only wonder what that would be like. Like mom said, I bet it's rough.

haha, i just think it's funny how this has been brought up amongst a bunch of artists and teachers. How much do THEY give away? Lots more than money.....

uh, my two cents? Being thrifty is good, but I say give away as much money as you can after that. Don't hoard it, cuz then you turn into a scrooge. And then you turn into an evil Jerusalemite, and then you turn into the devil himself. Ha, you think I'm joking, don't you.

And once again you are all two cents richer. Go put it to the poor box, you scrooge!

[Steve]

@ Betsy
Hehe, the question is really "how much SHOULD you give away?", not "how much do you actually give away?"

@ Edward
Don't you mean to say, "I want to be a school teacher, so I'm going to be poor"?

@ Mom Huntington
Your comment is a good one, as always. I really agree with the statement about being prepared/ready to give up everything to the church at any time. There's no question that much of this subject deals with our attitudes toward what we have and whether or not we'd truly be willing to give it away.

I'd be interested to know what "sufficient for our needs" really means. It seems like it's very much a relative phrase. After all, what do we need, when you really think about it? Interesting stuff.

Hehe, with all the debt we're racking up for education, I doubt this will really be an issue for Lily and I in this lifetime, but I still think it's an interesting topic.

[Bryn]

well, as far as I see it, it's important to understand the difference between affluence and overindulgence. If you work for the sustanance and well being of your self and your family (physical and emotional), then you'll have the right frame of mind. If your goal is for making money and taking advantage over others, that's bad. Of course, for the sake of being brief, I was very broad in this description.

There are wealthy people who are very good, and there are also people who have less financial abundance who are greedy and selfish. You don't need money to turn into MR. SCROOGE!

[Angela]

yeah, Steve... BYU is really expensive these days...

[Steve]

No no no! When you consider the costs of BYU's "economical" tuition, plus the cost of putting Lily through law school, plus the cost of putting me through PA school...it adds up!

[Angela]

[Ian]

[Betsy]

okay, you SHOULD spend the money on parties.

[Emma]

chewie has sweet moves

[Steve]

I don't even think a yellow frowney face with a white "off topic" sign can save this thread. Ah well, thanks to those who posted their thoughts on the topic. I still think it was an interesting topic, though, and if anyone has anything else to add, I think it'd be worthwhile.

[Emma]

ok one off topic frowney face won't save this thread but ten might

[Steve]

Haha, Emma, you rock. Thanks!