Giving to Get... Is it Wrong?

One of the concepts common in network marketing is success through helping others achieve success. I had an interesting conversation with a fellow marketer a short while back about the concept of giving in hopes of receiving. This gentleman is a religious man and his idea was that giving in order to receive, or giving to get, is the exact concept behind tithing. Members of a church congregation are encouraged to give 10% of their earnings to the church. They are told that they will be given back 10 fold - and you would be hard pressed to find a person who tithes regularly who doesn't agree that they do get back more than they give. Some will say that you must give in the spirit of giving, not with the expectation of getting back, but there seems to be agreement that giving begets getting.

My personal opinion is that it is not wrong to give for the purpose of receiving. I would take it a step further and suggest that it would be difficult for a human being, no matter how noble, to not consider that "perk" or have some sort of expectation. The "what's in it for me" syndrome is truly human nature. It does not always imply selfishness, but rather, as humans we tend to make our decisions based somewhat on our logic of what will benefit us.

After my conversation with the religious gentleman, I began to pay closer attention to the giving to get concept - and to tithing in particular. While I wouldn't consider my observations to be qualitative research, I believe that I made some interesting discoveries. It appears to me that those who tithe do so believing that it is in their own best interest to tithe. They believe that they will be rewarded, and most believe that they have been or are being rewarded. This tells me that the majority who make a practise of tithing do so with some expectations. It further tells me that they have faith. So, is it the tithe or is the faith that is truly the pre-curser to the reward?

It led to me to further think about those who do not prescribe to a particular faith. Those who rely on alternative spiritual growth - I would be one of those. I do not belong to a church, but I consider myself spiritual. I consider myself to be on a path of spiritual growth, and I learn and grow from the teachings of various individuals. Some would have no idea that they were my spiritual guides... but that is an entirely different post...

I am considering doing an experiment on tithing. I am considering tithing to various people - individuals who have impacted my spiritual development in a given week, or perhaps month. Wouldn't that be a wonderful way to say thank you? To send a check or a paypal sum to an individual for 10% of my week's income with a note or post script stating simply "Tithe".

I hope to hear from others who are doing this because I know they are out there. In my opinion, this is such a fantastic way of "testing" the tithe, but more importantly, of distributing it in a fair and unselfish manner. Think about it. Suppose that I decided to tithe my 10% this week to a multi millionaire who provided me with some spiritual guidance. Suppose that my multi million dollar spiritual guide was so moved to tithe in the same manner. Now suppose that he received his guidance from someone very poor... his 10% could make a remarkable difference in the life of a very deserving recipient.

Hmmm.... sounds a little like pay it forward... which was a wonderful movie.