Tithe First or Pay Off the Debt First? Why Ramsey and Alcorn Agree, and Why You Should Still Run the Numbers

"Should we stop giving until we're out of debt?" It sounds like a straightforward budgeting question, until you try to answer it. You want to honor God with your money, and you also want to stop sending so much of it to a credit card company.

My starting point on tithing while in debt is to keep generosity in the plan. But a family making steady mortgage payments and a family borrowing to buy groceries need different counsel. Before deciding what to change about your giving, you need to understand what is happening in the rest of your finances.

Does being in debt mean you should stop tithing?

If having any debt disqualified us from giving, a household with a thirty-year mortgage could spend much of its adult life waiting to become generous. That is a poor foundation for Christian stewardship.

Giving belongs in our lives because God has been generous to us. In 2 Corinthians 8:9, Paul grounds his appeal for generosity in the grace of Jesus Christ, who became poor for our sake. The appeal begins with what Christ has done, rather than with the Corinthians reaching a particular net worth.

That matters because there is always another financial milestone available. After the debt comes the emergency fund, then college savings, then retirement. Each can be a legitimate priority. Together, they can also become a very respectable way to postpone giving indefinitely.

I would be slow to remove generosity from a budget simply to make a debt-free date arrive sooner. First, I would want to know what else is competing for those dollars. Have we questioned the vacation, the vehicle payment, or the spending we barely remember? Or did giving become the obvious place to cut because nobody sends a late notice when we stop?

For many households, there is room to give and repay debt if they are willing to change their spending. Others are facing a genuine shortage. We need to distinguish between them before prescribing the same answer to everyone.

What Scripture establishes, and where Christians disagree

Christians use the word "tithe" in different ways. Strictly speaking, it means a tenth. Some churches teach that giving 10% remains an obligation for Christians. Others understand the New Testament to call for generous, proportionate giving without requiring every believer to give the same percentage.

This article will not settle that disagreement. If you are trying to understand your church's teaching, talk with your pastor.

There is, however, substantial common ground for making a plan.

Paul instructed the Corinthians to set money aside regularly, in keeping with their prosperity, for a collection to help other believers (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). Giving was to be deliberate and connected to their means. He also told them to give willingly, rather than reluctantly or under compulsion (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Just as importantly, he said a willing gift is acceptable "according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have" (2 Corinthians 8:12). In the next verse, he explained that his intention was not to ease others while burdening the Corinthians.

Read that alongside the generosity Paul praises earlier in the chapter, including the Macedonians' giving amid poverty. His counsel leaves a lot of room personal conviction. But the enduring encouragement is for real sacrifice without pretending that every household has the same capacity.

That’s quite different from saying, "Give whatever is comfortable." Sacrificial giving often requires offering something we would rather keep. But neither should we use a percentage to avoid looking honestly at a family's circumstances.

The same God who calls us to generosity cares about the people in our household and the promises we have made to others. A sound plan takes those responsibilities into account without neglecting either side of the giving argument.

What kind of debt problem are you facing?

Start with a question more useful than "How much do we owe?": Can we meet our obligations and ordinary household needs without adding new debt?

A large balance does not automatically mean poor stewardship or fiscal irresponsibility. The background, interest rate, required payment, income, and reason for borrowing all matter.

When payments fit within your income

A household may have a mortgage or another loan, make every payment, and still have money available for giving, saving, and extra principal payments. There may be good reasons to accelerate repayment, but the existence of a balance does not establish a need to stop giving.

Here, the decision is about allocating money that is available. How much should go toward faster repayment? How much toward reserves? What spending could change to support both generosity and a reasonable payoff plan?

Being debt-free can be a worthwhile goal without becoming the condition that must be met before anything else matters.

When expensive debt is consuming your progress

Revolving credit card debt deserves closer attention, especially if balances keep returning after you pay them down. You may be making substantial payments while buying very little freedom from the debt.

Before cutting giving, examine the pattern. Are you spending more than you earn? Did an emergency expose a lack of cash reserves? Are predictable expenses, such as insurance premiums or car maintenance, landing on a card because they never made it into the monthly budget?

The response depends on the cause. A more aggressive payment will not solve a recurring shortfall if the next large bill goes straight back onto the card. You need a repayment amount you can sustain and a way to cover the expenses that previously led you to borrow.

There may be uncomfortable spending changes involved. That is worth facing before assuming generosity must absorb the entire adjustment.

When you cannot cover necessities

Job loss, illness, or another disruption can leave a household unable to cover food, housing, utilities, and necessary transportation. This situation calls for more than encouragement to tighten the budget.

If you are borrowing for essentials or missing required payments, bring someone trustworthy into the situation promptly. Your church may be able to offer practical support. A reputable nonprofit credit counselor may help you understand repayment options. Contacting creditors early can also help you learn what assistance may be available.

In that setting, the amount of financial giving may need to change while you work toward stability. Talk openly with your spouse and pastor about the actual shortfall. There may be a season when your household needs to receive help from the same community you want to support.

Paul's discussion of generosity includes that possibility: abundance supplying need, with circumstances changing over time (2 Corinthians 8:13-14). Receiving help is part of belonging to a church, too.

Count the cost of your repayment plan

Once you understand the cash flow, look at what the debt is costing you.

Consider a hypothetical credit card balance of $20,000 at a 24% annual interest rate. Using a simplified monthly calculation, the first month's interest is $400: $20,000 multiplied by 24%, divided by twelve. A $400 payment would cover that month's interest without reducing the principal.

Actual credit cards commonly calculate interest using daily balances, so statement amounts will differ. This illustration assumes no fees, new charges, or rate changes. Its purpose is to show why a payment can feel substantial while making little progress.

That cost deserves attention. It does not, by itself, tell you to take the money from giving. It tells you that maintaining the current arrangement has a cost, and you need to decide what to change.

For your own plan, use each debt's actual balance, interest rate, and payment. A repayment calculator can help estimate a payoff date and interest cost, provided you understand its assumptions. Check whether the payment stays fixed or falls as the balance declines, and whether a promotional rate expires before the projected payoff date.

Then compare changes you could realistically maintain. Lower discretionary spending, a suitable lower-cost repayment arrangement, or additional income may create room for larger payments. Each has tradeoffs. A lower rate helps only if fees and terms make sense and the newly available credit does not become new debt.

Include a cash cushion in the discussion, too. Sending every available dollar to a card may look efficient until a necessary repair forces you to borrow again. The appropriate reserve depends on your household, but pretending unexpected expenses will stop happening is a weak repayment strategy.

Build a plan that makes room for giving and repayment

Bring your giving conviction and your actual budget to the same conversation.

If you believe a tenth is required, make that conviction explicit and work through the spending decisions it requires. If you understand Christian giving differently, choose a deliberate amount rather than letting it become whatever survives the month. Either way, the plan should reflect thought, prayer, and an honest account of your means.

For married couples, agreement matters. One spouse may feel the weight of the debt more sharply; the other may be concerned about letting generosity disappear. Neither concern should be dismissed. Put the numbers on the table and identify what each proposed change would accomplish. If the disagreement is theological, involve your pastor. More spreadsheet tabs are unlikely to settle it.

Next, choose a regular debt payment and check the projected payoff date. Include ordinary expenses that do not arrive monthly, so the plan has a chance of surviving the next insurance renewal or school bill. If the proposed payment leaves no room for those costs, revise it before calling it a commitment.

If financial giving needs to decrease during a genuine hardship, define when you will revisit it. That might be a return to work, the end of a temporary medical expense, or a scheduled review in a few months. "For now" needs a follow-up date, or it can become permanent without anyone deciding that it should.

Finally, discuss what happens when a debt payment ends. Some of that money may need to replenish savings or address another obligation. Consider increased giving before the freed-up payment becomes a new spending habit.

You do not need to wait until every balance reaches zero to practice generosity. You do need to tell the truth about what you can afford and make meaningful progress on what you owe. A plan that protects giving while ignoring growing debt needs work. So does a plan that protects every comfort while postponing generosity until some distant day when money feels easy.

Start with the full budget. Be willing to change more than the giving line.

Want some help thinking this through?

I did too. That's part of why I started Openhanded Wealth: to walk with folks like you through decisions that feel complicated, but don't have to stay that way.

If you've got questions, reach out. I'm a real person, and I won't pressure you into buying products you don't need. You don't have to navigate this alone.

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