Tithing can be a very complicated question. I wonder about whether I should pay tithing on student loans. I think that it is not really increase since I don't actually get to have the money and spend it any way that I want to (although I can use some of it for living expenses, after tuition). Also, I don't get to keep it. I will have to pay it back to the lender plus interest. So I think it is not really income, any more than the loan on your house or car is income.
Another question I have is for people who live at poverty level (or maybe also those of us who live beyond our means), and when you add up the monthly bills compared to net income, there isn't ten percent left. Under those circumstances, I have tried to pay tithing and kept it up for a few months before bills got out of hand and I had no choice but to pay the bills instead of tithing. I didn't need welfare to pay the bills, but simply couldn't pay them and also pay tithing. At some points I was doing without luxuries like heating the house beyond enough to keep pipes from freezing, and wearing heavy coats all of the time.
I struggle with tithing, because often my ideal is beyond my capabilities. I would rather live the law of consecration, and volunteer anything that I have including my services or goods that I can produce. But maybe the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. When the law of consecration was attempted, people refused to give their excess, for fear that they might actually need it, or maybe they thought that they could make better use of it than the Lord could (or the bishop or prophet or other who might receive it). It really is easier said than done. Even if I offered my services, how easy would it be to say I just really don't have any extra time this week because of all of the other demands on my time. I'm not sure that I have any real answers here, other than that I can offer ideals. Ultimately it is between an individual and the Lord.
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