Asking the Clergy: How faith and ethics guide monetary decisions

“Money and Morality,” a panel discussion featuring four Long Island faith leaders, is being sponsored by the Interfaith Institute of Long Island at 2 p.m. Oct. 16 at Jericho Public Library and on Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89792682547.

In today's column, three of the participating panelists discuss tithing, the value of money and giving to those in need as a religious obligation.

The Rev. Melissa Archbold 

Co-pastor, New Jerusalem Cathedral, Elmont

As believers and followers of the Kingdom of the Most High God, we have the opportunity to be blessed as we give to God through tithes and offerings. It is not a chore or an obligation but a blessing to be in a position to give out what God has blessed us with. For example, when you give tithes, which is 10% of your earned gross income or business income, it is based on your generosity and the level of gratitude that you have for The Lord our God. And offerings can be given at any time.

I believe that when we give to God out of necessity or impulsively, it does not come from a heart of gratitude or of understanding who The Lord is in our lives. Tithing’s returns can’t be measured like a stock market investment or workplace health care benefits. In return for our generosity, the Lord promises protection, healing, deliverance and financial stewardship.

God loves it when the giver delights in the giving. As you make up your own mind what you will give, remember, the Bible says, “A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop” (2 Corinthians 9:6,7). 

Arthur Dobrin

Leader emeritus, Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island, Garden City 

Money is a means to get those things that only money can buy: food for the table, a roof over one’s head, care when medical help is needed. At the same time, clearly there are things that money can’t buy: love, integrity, compassion.

So it isn’t money that’s a problem; for many, the lack of it plagues them. And it’s not even the love of money that stands in the way of an ethical life. Rather, it’s how money is gotten — and to what use it is put — that is the nub. 

Money is a means toward an end. The question for all faiths and ethical systems is what that end is. Money cannot be the end, but money can be used in the service of that end. The aim of Ethical Humanism is to create a just and caring world. Properly understood, money and its uses can help bring that about. Misunderstood, as it too often is, money is at best a distraction or at worst destructive. Ethics and faith in humanity are guides that help distinguish one from the other.

Sister Zainab Bey

Executive board member, Interfaith Institute of Long Island, and board member, Islamic Center of Long Island, Westbury

The Quran teaches us that everything belongs to the Almighty (God), and that giving to those in need is their right over our wealth, and what they deserve (70:24-25). Money has been entrusted to humanity by God to assist the less fortunate.

Providing various forms of charity for those in need increases one’s wealth, as the Almighty multiplies it many times over. Prophet Muhammad stated in The Hadith, “A man is not a believer who fills his stomach while his neighbor is hungry.” Consequently, true believers make a conscientious decision to share their wealth to fulfill a duty to support the disadvantaged. The duty to be charitable prevents the giver from becoming proud of his or her own generosity. Zakat, which means “to cleanse,” requires every Muslim adult who owns a certain amount of wealth to give to those less fortunate.

Found money, which Muslim says law cannot be kept by the finder, can become another form of charity. After a significant amount of time has passed, if the owner has not been located, it is permissible to give the money in charity.