how to teach kids about tithing

If someone walked up to us and said, “Give me 10% of everything you have,” we’d probably either laugh or call the cops if they were armed.

Yet, the Christian tradition of tithing is exactly what this can feel like.

For kids, they especially don’t like it when someone tells them to give something up or let someone else have it.

But tithing is a habit. Just like brushing our teeth. If we get used to it being a “non-choice”, then we see why God has instructed us so clearly in giving back to Him just a small portion of what we has given to us.

Kids really have to see things sometimes to believe it. Teaching kids about tithing isn’t as difficult as it seems when we put it in physical forms they can see and touch. 

Here are 5 ways to show our kids what 10% really looks like:

1. 10 one dollar bills. Cold hard cash. Let them decide which charity the one goes.

2. Cut a pizza cut into 10 slices. Place 1 on a plate. Wait until they ask, “Who’s that for?” Well, funny you should ask…..

3. Gather 168 pennies. one for each hour of the week. Take out 16 of those. This is a good illustration of how much of our time should be given back to God in one capacity or another.

4. Bake 1o biscuits. Show them that God only wants one of those fluffy, little tidbits.

5. Get 1o flowers for the house. 9 of one color and 1 of another. Arrange them together and put the single color in the middle. That single flower stands out! Our giving to God should stand out in our hears as well.

These are just a few exercises in showing your children the principle of tithing. It’s a concept. It’s a habit. It’s really a way of viewing life, as a good steward of everything God has given us from time, to talent and treasure.

What have you done with your kids to encourage tithing?

Would you let your kids help you decide where and to whom family tithing money will be given?

How can we creatively illustrate to our children the habit/concept of tithing?