Money

I often get asked, "Why does God need the money?"

It's a pretty good question. I mean, an all-merciful, all-powerful, all-knowing, infinite entity... requests money from those who are believers?

Call it tithe, call it zakat, call it dasond, or maal-e-wajibaat... at the end of the day, the result is the same. We are told that we need to give, to our fellow human beings, to the upkeep of our places of worship, to a specific individual or organization, or whatever the specific religious denomination may designate. So, why does God care? Why would not just ask for us to be charitable, why ask for a specific amount / percentage of our earnings as is the case in many religions?

I personally do not see it as a matter of charity. Charity is expected of believers, as an aspect of their faith, however specific money that is asked for such as tithe, zakat, dasond, etc... these are all not meant as acts of charity in my perspective.

Yes, charity is an eventual outcome of these specific ways of giving, but, these specific, required acts of giving are different. These specific acts of giving are specifically requested by God, and when I think of God, I think of Love.

Love is expressed in many ways, but the most poignant way in which one can express love... is to sacrifice. To give something of value.

What is the one thing that each of us has that is most valuable?

Our time.

So, how does one go about sacrificing one's time to God? Volunteering is one way, working within and for one's community or faith is another, but yet another extremely effective way is to give money.

When I think of money, I don't see what I can / could purchase with that money, when I think of money and amounts, I think of how much of my time it takes to earn that money. Before I buy an expensive, luxury item (okay, you've got me there, I don't buy many, if any expensive, luxury items... but just play along for a bit) I think of the hours of work I have to put into making enough to pay off the cost of said item.

Money = time. No matter who you are, it takes at least that one variable for you to make money... time.
When we are asked to give a portion of our earnings to God, or in the name of God, we are sacrificing the time it takes to earn that percentage of our income. If we give 10% of our income, 10% of the time that we spend working every single day of our lives is actually spent in service to God. The time becomes sacred, that time becomes prayer.

Only God can give us time, and when we sacrifice this precious gift back to Him, we are sharing in the essence of love that is the Divine.